Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
~ AUSTIN
xonorsb1.r F. M. Cfmaprt
DireatOr of Law lbISoraanekot
t%ma, Fleh and Oyrter Qommlaalon
Austin, Tax88
opinion lo. o-70M
Warrant mar
Dear Slrt
TbSa la in reply to
roquaatlrrg our OplnlOll 011 0
Your l&tar 8180 oontolna 7
has bean vary helpful to ua
ad laaroh l
08 uaad in this tltlo, is
the aoqulaitlon or proparty
by tha law ot the State.*
306 prorldear
*When it la 8llqed that the proper+ wa* ae-
qulrod other than by theft, tha partlaular mannor of
lta aaqulaftloa must ba ,aet forth in tha oomplaint
and in the warrant .”
2159
I'
Artlols 871s or the Penal Code de?clsrea al1 wild
animals within the border8 of thin State to be the property of
the people of this Stats. There are numerous statutes in our
penal Code restrioting the right to kill wild deer in this
State and afilxlng puniehment to the vlolatlon thereof. The
aaraasa of a dear aaqulred by killing It in violation ot the
oam Law or in any other manner prohibited by the lawa or thle
State 1s psraonel property acqtirod in a manner whioh makes lta
loqulaltlon unlawhl.
It 1s our opinion that a aaaroh warrant msg be laaued
to aearoh a grain elevator, whore it la bellerod that a deer,
illegally killed, 1s aonoealed.
“2. May suoh seerah warrant 80 lesued ba sxaoutad
by anr poaoe offlaer?”
Artlcla 317, 0. 0, P., provides:
*w peace ot,flaer to whom a search warrant
la delivered shall axaoute it without delay and
forthwith return it to the pzopar maglatkta. It
must be! axeout& within three days from the tlma
OS its 18auenoo, and tihall bo oxsouted wlthln a
shorter period if 60 direatsd in ths warrent br
tho mcrgla~trats.~
It 1s thereiore our opinion that auah searah warrant
may be exeouted by any peaaa oifloer of this Stats.
"3. May auoh ssrrah warrsnt so laaued be
axeautod by e garua and flrh waiaen?”
5% quota from our Opinion no. 0-62711
*The Came, Fish & Oyster Oommlaslon, and lta.
deputies, whioh are oonnnonly keferrod to aa 'gsma
wardene’ are pub110 ofilaer6 of the Stati .of Texa~a
end as such the law has plrord upon them the ap~oial
duty to *enforoe, the stetutefi of this ata’te~ for the
proteatlon end presarvatlon of wild game and wild
bird8 . . . * Artlola 906~, Verncm~a Annotated Penal
Code of Texsa, While these offioers have not been
legally endowed with the ganeral authority of the
1 I:::,n * “. “. Cowsert, page 3
I
ordinary peaoe orrloar in thla Ctatt, they heta
been &van nubetantlal enroraemsnt powers within
their own enforoement field. We note that they
may arm themeelvec in the offlolal dieaharge oi
their duties and that' they nay serve- criminal
process in oases d vlolatlona of the game lawn
with the eame suthoritg aa the aherlrr. Artlolea~
483 and 905, V. A. P. C. Also, they 'm%y arrest
lklthout a warrant any person found by them in the
sot of violating any of thi laws for the protsa-
tlon and propagatlori of game, wild birds or iirh.
. * Art1014 905, V. A. P. C. Furthrrmoti,
; &me werden may searah a *game bag or other
reoeptaole’ and *any buggy, wagon, automoblle,,or
other vehlo$e* without e warrant when he ‘has
reason to suepeat’ that it ‘may oontain game un-
lawfully klllbd or taken.’ Artlolee 897 and
923d, V. A. P. '3."
Slooe the. at.stutqa (Arts. ,897 and 923d of the Pins1
Code) authorize game wardens to 80``4 only osiminal DrtweaiE in
oases OS vlolstiona of the gam.e laws, it la neoeseary to determine
whether, under our law, suoh a searah warrant la a worlmlnal prooeaa.w
*The term ‘orlmlnal prooeaa’ la intended ~to
signify any oaplas, warrant, oltatlon, attaohment
or ary other written order issued in a orlmlnal
prooeedlw, whether the (Iamb be to arre~at, ocmmlt,
oollaot money, or ror whatever purpoes uaed.R C.
C.P. Art;. 26.
*When Plmployed, CI eearoh warrant is one of the
initial steps ln a orlmlnal prooeedlng. Aa in the
maa of a wsrrsnt of arrest, a lrearoh warrant la
crfxtln~l prooeesi it la lseurd to afd in the deteo-
tlon or auppresalon or orlme. Employment Of such, a
warrant in a orimlinal prooeadlng meg be da important
ae a warrant of erreats end 1~ brlnglng to the invea--
tigatlon ell,of the evldenoe showing guilt, it may
beoone more 1mDortant than a warrant or arreat.w
38 Tex. Ju. p: 33, oiting Bloea 0. State (Crim.App.)
75 c. w. (2d) 694..
It 1s therefore our opinion that suoh aearoh warrant
may be exeeutfd by a game an8 fish warden.
“4. :hy $2 ::me end flab warden reeroh e
grein elevator, where it 18 bellered that a
deer, ll.:e+~elly killed, hee been aonaeeled,
without a senral. werrent?*
The answer to this question depends upon whether e
preln elevator comes within tha meaning of the phrese "or other
reaepteole of any kind”, as used iA 4ela Artlolee a97 end 9236
referred to above. We note that in these statutes the words
“01: sny other raoepteol~e Of eny kind* follow immediately efter
the words ‘%ie gene bag" end ere hollowed by the words "or any
bwu, -&'A; automobJ.18 or other rehlol,e”. Me believe thet
the meeAing of the words "or any other reoepteole of any klndw
es used in these eiatutee, 18 restrioted by the rule of etetu-
tory aonetruotlon knowA as the dootrlne of ejuedem ganerle. The
rule end its epplloation are stated thus in 39 Texas JUrisprU-
denoe, page 202, et 4eq.r
“The dootrlne of ejusdem (Isnerie (of the same
kind) imports that
general words r0110*lfng an laum-
eretlon of pertlouler or epeoitio things will be
confined to things OS the eeme kind. IA brief ,the
general *orbs so used era not to be eonstrued ln
thrlr wldeet sense, but ere to be held as epplylng
only to persons or thin- of the leme kind aAa
01484 as Worse anumerated. Suoh words *ill not be
held to 1AOlUas thingp of a oleee superior to that
to wbhioh tha pertloular words balong.
“The ejueaem generle dootrine 18 8 @enerel or
‘prima* rule or etututory aonetruatlon, employaa es
an aid In deterfnlnlng t&e intention of the Legle-
lature. It le epplicebls both to oltll and orimlnal
etetutee, but more repeolally t0 statutes aeiinlqq
crimes and reeuletlng puniehmente.~ Zuaerro 1. State
82 Cr1.m: Rep. 1; 197 9. X. 982; L. R. i?. 19188 354.
F’X parte Roquemore 60 Grim. Rap. 282; 131 F. ‘++‘1101; .
32 I.. R. A. (N. 8. j 1186. Ih parte Muokanfuee. 52 Crl&
lisp. 167; 107 r. ??. 1131.
The Supreme Court ot the wAItea ctetee he8 held that
the words of a statute giving s meahanb’sllen OA 4 *bullaiAg*,
“lot” ) w?eraP or *my kind of property not herein enumareted*,
era tco limited in their eoope to justify the a.onalueion that
th4 Legislature had any lntentlon, by that Aat, to give a lien
E!>O. 1;. . Coksert, page 5
upon rellroed property. Bu?r,oombeCounty C~iSeiOA~s vs. Tommy,
5 c’,,p. Ct. 626, 629; 115 1J.f.
:. 122; 29 L. Pa. 308.
A grnln elevator olearly does not some within tha olaee
of reaeptaoles enumereted in the etstuts here aonelderaa.
It is tkarsfore our opinion that #ala artlolee do not
euthorlze a gem warden to eearah 4 grain elevator without 8
search warrant.
Yours very truly,
By Lc/-k QQ-L.
8. B. Allen,
8R.A !rt Aealetaat.