Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

LI . -
R-147
Htwah 7, .1947
Bon. George T. ThosSs Opinion No. v-77
County Attorney
Howard County Rez Whether or not a girl of 17
Big Spring, Texas years OS a60 ah0 has besa
married may be tried, for
crime under the $weml pe-
lial .statutes, or should be
treated in law as a “delin-
Berr 32r: quent child”.
We beg to scknowledge receipt of your letter
nuking request for an oplniou by this depsrtment on the
above titled subject matter, your letter being 88 f'ol-
10W3:
“IS a girl who is 17 yeam of age, but
who bra been mrrled, to be tried and pun&ah-
ed under the general penal statutes as a grown
person for offenses which she commits, or 1s’
she a “delinquent child” and to be tried and
treated as such, n ,.,
Chaptw 204, S?naOe Bill No. 4liof the 48th
(Vtwnou’s Codlfi-
is a com-
prehensive lav upon the subgict of delinquent children.
Awing ite provialona me the r0n0wiag:
the pande~ag of a crlm-
agalnat say person In
any other court than a Juvenile Court, it shall
be ascertained thst said person is a feprrle over
the bge o ten (10) yeara and under the age of
eketeen 18) years, or is e male person over
Hon. George T. Thomas, Page 2, V-77
the age of ten (10) years end under the age
of aeyepteeo (17) years, at the time of the
‘trial ;for the alleged offense, it shall be
the duty of such~ court to transfer such .cese
itmnediately ~together with all pspers,.~ flocuf.,:
,,:.,,,,
mn,.s and testimony connected thereviig;b” t``:i::“````:~“``:
the Juvenile ,Coup& of mid county. + +.*. " li.:?:~?-``;,r,~:.*
“Sec. 13.. No adjudication upon the ste-
tua of any ch’lld In the jurisdiction of the
court sb&ll.:opera,,te to impose any of the civil
dissbllltles~,ordinsrlly imposed by conviction,
nor ‘shall any child be deemed s criminal by
reason of such adjudication, ‘nor’ shall ‘such ed-
judlcation be deemed a conviction, nor shall
any child be charged with o,p convicted of e
trims in any court. * * *
Bo female person over the age
end under the age of eight-
or any mle person over the
age of ten (1Oj years and under the age, of
seventeen (17) years, shall be placed or com-
mitted to any compartment of say jail or lock-
up in which persons over juvenile age are in-
carcerated or detained; * * *.
Moreover, by that act the juvenile proceeding
Is made a civil proceeding, appeals in which are to be
taken to the Court of Oivll Appeals, and nay be carried
to the Supreme Court by writ or error or upon certlfi-
cate as in other civil cases, (Sec. 211, and the pro-
Ceedlng,,is declared to be “In the nature of e guardian
method. (Sec. 25).
The article contains no exception to the above
emphatic cleaslficationa.
Article 4625 of the Revised Civil Statutes de-
clares that:
‘Avery female under the ageheof twenty-one
(21) years who shall marry in accordance with
,‘.’ -the laws of this state, shall, from and after
the time of such marriage, be deemed to be of
full age end shall have all the rights and priv-
ileges to which she would have been entitled
had she be,en et the time of her surriage of
full age.
Hon. George T. Thonna, Page 3, V-77
From e consideration of these two statutes
(both of which you have cited in your request) it is
clear, we think, there is no conflict between them.
If there should be irreconcilable conflict, however,
the Delinquent Child Act being the later, vould,bg
implication repeal the former statute Insofar es the
conflict extended.
It is clear, however, that the only effect
of Article 4625 is to emancipate any fermle of msrriege-
able age from the dlaebilitles of minority upon her mar-
ricLge * It has been held that this is true even though
the marriage was in law e void msrrlege. (See Earkley
vs. Dumke, 87 S.W. 1147).
We express ne opinion upon the right of the
state to Ilaintaln a prosecution sebinst the delinquent
fenale after she arrives at the age of eighteen (18)
'pars. m question Is not before us, end we under-
stand such a question la nov pending under submission
in the Court of Crlmlaral Appeals.
SUMMARY
(1) A female seventeen (17) years of age,
who la amrrled, does not thereupon become sub-
ject to e crlmlnal prosecution, (Vernon’s
Civil Statutes, Art. 2338-l)
(2)Article 4625 of the Revised Civil
Statutes providing “that fenales under 21 years
of age upon marriage are deemed to be of full
age, and shall heve the rights and privileges
to which she would have been entitled had she
been at time of merrlage of full age", hes no
bearing upon the ueatlon of crime by e delln-
quent j uvenlle . 9 Art. 2338-1, Sec. 3, Vernon’s
Civil Statutes).
Yours very truly,
ATTORNEY
GRRERALOF TRYAS
APPROVRDOPXNICWCQEIMITTIEB:
BY BWB, CIi4IRMAR BY -dqh
Ocle Speep'
OS:acm:mj Assistant