Court Opinion

ID: 4140186
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2017-02-18 02:56:07.26213+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:46:20.341698
License: Public Domain

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                OFFICE         OF THE   ATTORNEY    C;fNERAL    OF TEXAS
                                           AUSTIN
    GROVERSELLERS                       September 8, 19I&

    Honorable       ii.   k.   Dad.8
    State Hegietrer
    State Eoard of Health
    Auetin    2,    Texae

    Dear Sir:

              Your requeet for 0                               the herefnrbove oap-
    tloned matter bar bee
    from your letter a8 f

             the district
             ia8uenco of                                     certificate8
                                                         appreoiate it it

                                                    court OonBidOr the
                                                er for a certified oopy

                                        he 1sBuenoe of euoh en order, la

                            please give me an outline or form
             for the petition to be submitted to the oourt in
             such oaeee?"
              Section (24) of Rule &?a, under Artiole 4.477of the
    ReriBed Cirll Statutes, Vernon's Codiflcetion, LB 13s follOWS:
I
                                                                             574

honorable    Pi. 4. ihliB, page 2

              "(25) And provided that the name of the fa-
      ther or any information by whioh he might be lden-
      tifled,    shell not be written into the birth or
      death oertlficate     of any illegitimate   ohild, and
      provided further,     that any statement the father of
      en illegitimate     ohild wishee to make ea to its
      parentage, may, when plaoed in the form of en ef-
      fidevit,    be etteohed to the original    birth record.
      Reither the State itagi6trar nor any looel regir-
      trar shall issue a certified       oopy of any birth or
      death oertifioate     wherein a ohild or an adult im
      stated to be illegitimete,       unlees suoh oertified
      oopy la ordered by a Court of competent jurisdlo-
      ti0n.w

              It is thus seen that neither the Stat. Reglrtrar nor
the local registrar      may issue a oertified    oopy of any birth or
death oertiticate      where&n a ohild or an adult la Btotod to be
illegitimate,      unless auoh oortliied   oopy is ordered by a oourt
2 oomnetent jurladlotion.
           How 0 oourt may not ex4rolao  its judlolal           runeti0n8
in raoetion except where it 18 rpeolally    authorized          to do 10.
11 Tex. Jur., Sec. 80, p. 816.
             We find no authority   for   the <)ourt*s ordering     suoh
oertiried    copy in raoatlon.
             Artiole   1915 of the R6vised Civil    Statutea,     however,
provide8 :
            “Judges of the diatriot courts may in vaoa-
      tion, by consent of the partioa,   exerolse all
      powers, make all orders, end perform all aats,
      aa fully es in term time, and may, by oonaent of
      the parties,  try any olvil oezlo, exoept diroroe
      ceses, without a jury and enter final judgment.
      All such pPOOOedhgs shall be oonduoted under the same
      rules as if done in term time; ana the right of
      appeals end writ of error ehall apply a8 if the
      acts had been done in term tims.W
Under this statute,  a judge of a distriot   oourt, with the oonaent
or all pertiee.  would be authorized to order the iesuance of the
oortlfled  copy of the oertlfi.oates mentioned.    See Seagraves v.
Green, 116 Tex. 220, 288 S.N. 417; Woods v. Lenier, 66 S.W. (26)
                                                                   575

Honorable Vi.A. 3avi8, page 3

360; Iebill v. Stovell, 92 S.W. (2d) 1067; Weaver v. Humphrey,
95 Y.W. (26) 720, 114 S.W. (26) 609; Dollert v. Pratt-&wit Oil
Corporeti'on,I.79S.W. (26) 346.
          M order requiring the iesuanoe of suah a certificate
is in legal essence a mandamus, and the registrar against whom
the order 1s ma;lewould, of cour8e, be the respondent party
whose consent la required.
          Other than upon oonaont of the partlee, the oourt
would have no juriediotion to make the order in veoatlon a8
herainebove stated.
          Your aeoond qua&ion is anaered In the negative.
Under the statute already dieoussed, any woourt of oompetent
juriBdi8tion" m?mn~ a oourt having Jurlsdlotion w8r the 8ub-
jeot matter and not nsocasarily  over the person of th6 parties.
Your queetion 2 pre8ent8 a matter of po88ible venue, but this
do88 not go to ths juri8dlotion of the oourt aa a oourt, but
would preB8nt merely a q~e6tion or privilegs of ths rrspondant
to be sued in hi8 own oounty, in a propar ease, whioh prfrilrge
oould be waived and would, of oour88, b8 waived if he 8hould
consent to the oourt'8 hearing in determining the matter in va-
oetion.
           With respcot to question No. 3, we will not undertake
to prepare an outline or form ror the petition since the faota
would ordlner1l.ybe SO peoullerly pertinent 08 to make our ef-
fort mile.
                                      Yours Tory truly,
                                                GENERAL
                                                      OF TEXAS

                                                      001s Sp8er
                                                       ABeistent