Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1974 )

November 29, 1974
The Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. H- 463
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: Construction of Arti,cle
Houston, Texas 77002 42. 13. Tex. Code Grim.
Proc., regarding fur -
nishing of fingerprints
Dear Mr. Resweber: as a term of probation
You have requested our opinion concerning the construction of section
5(b)(lO) of the Misdemeanor Probation Law, Tex. Code Crim. Proc.,
Article 42.13, which provides:
(b) . . . The terms [of probation] must include,
but are not limited to, the requirement that a
probationer:
(10) submit a copy of his fingerprints to the
sheriff’s office of the county in which he was
tried.
The clerk shall send such fingerprints to the
Texas Department of Public Safety [for certifi,ca-
tion as to criminal record] s . .
You ask whether the sheriff’s office is responsible for taking the finger-
prints and, if not, whether the probationer must procure the services of
an expert to do so.
Statutes are to be construed with reference to their general purposes
and ends. Magnolia Petroleum Co . y. Walker, 83 S. W. 2d 929 (Tex. 1935);
State V. ‘Habe* 146 S. W. 2d 731 (Tex. 1941); City of Mason V. West Texas
Utilities Co., 237 S. W. 2d 273 (Tex, 1951). The purpose of section 5(b)(lO)
is to facilitate a true exami,nation. of the probationer’s criminal record if
any exists. A pre-requisite to the fulfillment of this purpose is a true
and adequate copy of the fi.ngerprinto. Not only must the fingerprints be
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The Honorable Joe Resweber, page 2 (H-463)
those of the probationer, but they also must be of a quality adequate
to allow an accurate comparison with those prints in the records of
the Department of Public Safety.
This degree of reliability may be most easily attained through the
submission of a copy of fingerprints which have been taken by a law
enforcement agency. It is therefore our opinion that the probationer
may satisfy section 5(b)(lO) by either submitting a sufficiently authec-
ticated and clear copy of his fingerprints or by making himself avail-
able for fingerprinting by the sheriff’s office.
SUMMARY
A probationer may satisfy Article 42.‘13. section 5(b)(lO).
Tex. Code Criminal Procedure, by either submitting a
sufficiently authenticated and clear copy of his fingerprints
or making himself available to the sheriff’s office for
fingerprinting. With respect to the latter, the sheriff’s
office has the duty to take the fingerprints.
Very truly yours,
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:
LARRY F. Y RK, First Assista,nt
GM
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman
Opinion Committee
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