Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

fj $: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS !( AUSTIN Honorable Clyde b. &%ulelly County~irttc~orney~ Port send county liiohmoti, Texar, ulll be sincere &ant will be tumed over to x.he lc~aloffloars, to .be kept In cuetody until suoh fine in paid. or suffioMlt tlim* 18 epllt In th* County Jail to dare ror the fine. Wlnaer our statutes, a County has no right to ecquirs lend, right-of-way or easerxlentin 1-d by iM.naat bomain where the lanC ia use4 Honerabl6 Clyde LB. xennelly, page a rar cemet.ery pur 0868. Port MUsnd county he6 been eoqulring rL ht-&-way for the State o~i Stats El&way Ho. i%88. The demlmd rlght- or-w6y will run eero66 one end 0r e cemetery. All interested pert&a end reletlvves or the known dead are willln~ for the County to ee- quire th6 right-of-way but there er6 a number of unknown dead in the strip of lend lnv~l~ed. Your opinion will be appreeiatsd ee to the proper nethod of removing thee6 grave6 end hendllng thle situation 6o thet the County will not be liable in any po6alble future damage suit ab a result or the removal of the'. @FlV6SbCotid:ths County nrake the rsnusvals for highway purposes through psrmiselon or the County Court under Art. 92t3b, Revised 0 lvil Statutea? *rho County proposer to hnve E oemtsry e66oolatfon organlsed and la eiaeured of the oooporetion 0r any and all known lnter*8ted parties. Th6 removalr, if made, will be plade by oompetent partisa and every effort will be-de by the County to put the cemetery in muoh better oondltlon than it 1s in et the prs6ent time." 21th r6r6r6noo~to your rlrot qimetion oonosr~ng the aaount or ree8, if any, whloh a ahedrr or his deputy ir 6ntitl66 to, In mledeadanor oaes6 filed in the jwtloe oourt, where the sheriff or his deputies have not&g to Q uhetso- ever with the 0866, this aatter ha8 b66n detsrmjnsd by this department on nuaeroua oooarlone. Thie &qmrtmnt has re- peatedly ruled that a oomtabls or other geaoa OfflO6r 1s not 6ntltlad to ohargs, OolUmt or eoOOpt f666 unl6o6 he aotunlly performa the 6ervlo6r eet out in tha atatut66. Ii the eon- stable or sherlrr or their doputle8 do not make the arrest, or ths oarmltamnt or the release, they oertaidl;l6annot ohar.::e, oolleot or eeoept a is6 for doing so. Th6refor6, it Is our opiaion where a shsrlff or hi6 deputies, or any other pea00 offlaer p6rform6 no servloe or services ln conmotion with a mlodemsanor oa66 filed ln the justice Oourt, suoh offloor 16 not entitled to any fee. In support of our oonolu6lon stated above, w6 refer you to our opinions Ho. OIQOl, NO. o-llt30 NO* o-963, o-359, 0406, o-695 (conferenoe opinion No. SO58f and o-968, oopielr of whloh are 6nclaseU for your aonvfml6?noB. Henaeable olydo 2, IsnnmUy, Pago 3 We mm saastdsr your seeond proposition. As stat- ed in youx letter, Wkw our statutes, a county has no right to aoqufm land, right-et-Way or m686mMt in land by eminent domain where the lazd ls used for oematery purposes. Artlola S&%&L, V%rzoz*s Anzotated Civil Statutes, prwlde3 in part t 9hs right of EaainentDomain Is herebfoon- ferrsa upon eoustlms of the State et Tuas for the purpose of ooadsmnizg ad aoquM.ng lazd, right-of-way or sasemaut In land, private 0% pub- 110, mxoept proprty umsd for oerimtsry purp0333, whew maid land, rl@t of,var or eamaent is neorssary In ths oonstruoflon of Jails, oourt- houses, hospitals, dollnquent and mpeadent soho~ls, poor farms, ZibW?ieS or for qthsr pub- lis purposes, whsra such purpose is sow or smy hsraaftsr be autiharimedby the Oozstitutfen or Statutss or this atats. 0 . .* II In this oonneotlon It is to be notad that Artisles 3929, 639Cn, and other statutes regarding the right of eainent :. ciusain by the oouaties or th8 Stat.0rer IPbtOriaLs, right-or- .'.' way, Oto., with zwfer6nomto ths oon3truotlOn of highreys and publi8 fads, do nat auth~riso th8 oondOianing and aoquiriag l.z.,ea for oem3t3xcp *po333, for the purp0303 above ln- . , It 13 stated in lkxas Jurisprudanoe, VOL. 16, p. 666: *Ia aooordanoe with ths prlnelples . . . govemln2the aondsmnatlanot proga#rtyalrsmU appropriated to az sxlsting publio use, the legislaturs has rss~lzsd oortain uses as saz- troUing, and hss io offeet luompted landm de- voted to them irem oondsmatlon ros any other We have aXready awn thatth0 use of, f~“$ oemstery purposes 1s a publio use* Thb fast, tegethar with the universal sMtim6nt that the ashes or tha dead should not be dtiturb- ;goz8 that the soil ip;*h&oh they are burled not be erpossd 0 t e vlQissltudem of buelness efralrr; hso fraguently lndued the legimlatwe when 66lagating th0 pOWOr or On&aant dolpoin, to 6iak6 0``83 &~?~vlsionthat it 8halL Honorable Glyti 8. m&$eUf, Page 4 not be erarolse4 in respeot of land that ia in us8 for,oemetery purposes. Thus ths etat- utoa 0onferrLng the r&ht of oondamnation upon drainage di8trioto, 011 and gas 001~panie6, water lmproveraant distriota,eto., as has beeh pointed out, e~pre~sig exoept 08mtdries rtrm operation of the power. 0.nthe 0th~ head, however, numsrousgrants oontaFa no suoh pro- visions and 80~8 6vah authorize the taking of cwistery property upon a showing of nsoesaitg.* It is stated in Texas Jurioprudenoe, Vol. 9, p. a; "A oemtery i@ a par061 ot land whioh is devoted to the burial or interment of the bodies of the dead; and the tera moaraetsry-9 iholudlea not only lots for thr sapulture or bodies, but also avanues, walhs aaii grounds r0r ahrubbery ati 0raaradzlta.l purpo8ea. The plasoe goes not ohande ohslraeter Woause fur- ther fntermeuts in it beoome impoirsible; it ocaa.oes to bi, a osxr+tery tanly when the espul- tureh bo&ieo.hWa bean exhumed en4 rmoved," The Yupmme Court of Texas in the aaee 02'OnkJ..sn4 CemetaryCozpny V. PoopleeCemt63ry iu3aeadcLtion. 57 8, W. 27, among other things, held that whers tha Ian4 has basn laid out Into lota and a plat has been ma44 ami rsoor404 in thr ottbe of oounty c16rk.ithe iana ie irrevooabl~y deuioate4 to the use a8 a pla08 Of buH.alr The legal title reaains in the oorporatlon only for the purpose ot oonveyin(J the lots to those who desire to uvd them ror the purposes Of burying th* 4oa4; ho power is givah by the rtatutea to the corporation to oaavey the property for any othoirpurpone. You state in your letter that the oouhty proposoa to have a aemetsry aemola- tion organize& but do not t&ate whether or not this assoola- tion Pa to be inoorporated, However, we thihk,'if the aaso- oiatia is LninaQtporated, it woulC have no more power than an inoorporated assooiation, and that auth asaooiation would have no power to oo~v13y the property for any other gWPOse than for ths purpose of burying the oead. ltoww@r, such por- tion of the ~emtery when zhe sepulturati tmiies have been erhud -6 removed VJOUbi Oase t0 be a part of the OstrB)tery, ar&c by virtue of utich BZBS, Vermn~s Annotate4 Civil Stat- utes, whioh provic;ee as roofiowa: "The remaina of a deeeased person interred in a plot in a oemetsry may be removed therefront IIaaortlble Clyda 3. Keaa6lJ.y, page (6 with the consant oP th8 oamtery arroolaticm and the ai.Lten consent of the survivlag wlfa or husband, or iI there is no surviving hunband or wlfe,(then or ths ohll~ran, or if'there io no surviritng husband or wihjnor ohildran, then oP the parents of the deaeaaid, or alumld there be no surviving husband or wire or ohildren or parent, then of the brothera and/or sistare of the deosaeed. Iifthe ``aantof any suoh person or of'thha aseoelatioa oannot be obtained, per``&8sion by the County Court of the oounty vrhsre the aemetsry Is situated shall bs eufii- olMt* Notice ot applioatfm to the Court for auoh pax3alael~ must be given, at least tea (10) days prior thereto, personally, or at least fLitean (US) Cay8 prfor thereto ii by aail, to the ommtery aaaeaiation, an6 to the persona nDt oesumntlng, and to erer~ ethec per- aon or aseooiation on whom servioo 0% notio6 say be required by the Court. This provlrloa u&all not apply to or prctb/bit tha romtwal of any remain8 fmm ona plot to another in th6 nms ounetery; neither &all this pcovision apply to the dia,iatermaat OP rsnrrins upon er4w 0r court or ooxum+* the remain8 of dsa&dd persona interred in the oemotery nay bs rewmedtherefrcm, whan the provlaionr OS said atat- uts are ooaplied with. It is our opinion that whan the rannim 02 the da- oeaaed persons interred in that portion of the oomtsrp ham been removed in ocrnpliancs with Artiola QZSb, mpra, such portion of the cemetary oeases to ba a oametarp an4 that portion 0r the sameoan legally be used ra+g&w9r ?=w 0s other purposes in oonneotlon therewith. '- Yowr vety truly ATTom Wm&bL OF ?+%xAS