Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

. ...
. . .. .
OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
191'
Eon. B. A. Baesttt, Page 2.
an a??ldatlt and tho lotuance of's wtrrant a? arrest noooo-
wry i0r.a lawful lrroot.
Your ltttntlonlo dlreotodto the followlagI;rt-
lo100 o? the Code of Criminal Frooeduro:
prmiderr
Artlolt ?!li!
*A peaot o??lotr or any other personmar,
without nrrtnt, arrest an o??endtrwhen the of-
iontt io otmmltttd la his prtronrt tr rithlahlo
. tlow, ii the otttntt is oao olatttd as a ttloay,
OT as an *ib?ftnaolgtlntt the pub110 paam.**
Artlolt tlg prwldso;
*A pttot ottlotrray arrest, rlthautwar-
Mat, uEtn a falooy or breaoh of the peaoe has
botn oommltttd in the prttenoe or dthin tbo
dew o? t magletratt,and uuoh ntglstratt ver-
ball? order8the lrroet o? the ciSitndsr.*
Art1010 El6 ~protidt.1
vhoro it lo thuuo dy lrtls?aotoryproo? ~.
to a pm00 t??lotr, 0pOn tb soprtrtntatiom at
l ortdlhlo-porroo, that a itloOt hit b~tn oamlt-
toa, and thqt the ot?oPdor lr about to mooapt,.
‘80 that thort f. a0 tire to prosure a rrreat,
luoh pttot 0rri00r maI* .rfthoutnrrtat, mrtut
a nda r r est the locumLa
Artlolt &I6 provide.:
"In ttoh tatt tataberottd. wh o r e
lXTtt.tO IBOY
be law?ully mtdt without wtrlPaOt,the o??iOor
or ptrroo makbg tho arrest 1s ostlflt& in adopt-
fog all the mtasurto whloh he Edght adopt in aasoo
or arrant aador w8rrmt.w
mlolo cli prmldorr
*In taoh oaoo tatmtntrd la this ohnptu,
th8 perron mu&log the arrest ohtll lmmedlatoly
tab tho ptroon orrtoted before the moglotratm
rho uy bort orgtrtd th e lrrtot, or btioro tho
``0t80gi0tw0a~0 th0 0mOt~O80aO
rithou$ an order.*
Eon. R. A. Bassett, Page 3.
Of reotot years, in view of the trlftnsst of trano-
‘port&ionand the probablo tlueirrnors of the criminal, the
Leglsloturt ha8 penulttad arrests ulthout warrant la oortala
lnttanuttoat tmlng within the porritno? the above-quoted
Artlolei~ 8uoh lo true under Artlolos 783 through~4
iaoloaily Ilrtlalt 802t 0r Title is, chaptsr 1 or the m4ti
Code of Texas, rtlatlagto hl@waya am? rahlolto, wherein
the luthorlzatlonfr wade in Artlirlo 80s as ?ollowa:
*Aay poaoo tffioor lo authorizedto arrest
rlthout warrant any porson found commIttlnga tie-
lation of any provlaion o?‘the preotdlngArticles
or t hi8 Chhptar.=
Row, uader she earn Chapter and Title ot the Peaal
Coda, is Artiols2i2Ta Stotloa5, providingthe T.000 pouad
Ieta lbit law as foliawor
*So ea nutrolalaotor tthlalt, trnok-trtotor,
trailer or ml-trailer shell be operatedon the
public hi h rayoutside o? the limits or aa lnoor-
porattd 0(i t r or town with a load eroeodlng 7,000
jmuad~ on a y ouoh tdfolt or train or oomblaatloa
of re.hl01.r 00a a0 motor r&i010 eommtroial
motor Tthlo .t, tmtk-trmtor, traftr or ad-
'trallrrho- .ng i greater wlght than 600 poimdo
per iaoh wl Ithof tire upon any wheel ooaoontrat-
lur?aot oi the hlghutythe11 bo.optrtt-
z r:hth; lb110hi&hWOyBootolde of the limitt
loratodolty or tan; grmldtd, how-
:or Et" ;h8provlolonnof'thloteotioa*ball
not ~ooomt.~rfootlro until tho first day of
J.mlory,1p 12."
Then, tudor the tcwm Chtpttr and Title of the
mm1 code lp p a x4
a Artiolt 827.. Eeotlon 6, speoI?loall~
plnoiagtho outbwity to nigh and require that tuoh I+
hltloo be wolghtI in -any l$oonrtand weight inopeotor of
the Stoto Hlghn r demrtaent* as ?ollowrst
*Aay lioeaae and weight lnoptotor o? the
state aiglwo~ doputmoat, hovlagroa6on to bo-
1i.v. t&t tha (promsrtleht of l 1004sdrshlolo
lo unladul, lo lnthorlotd to weigh the lamo
althtr bl means of porttbltw ltatlona~ OOO~OO,
and to roqulrothnt maoh tthloltbe drivoa to
the nearwt tttltt in t&o event aoh soales are
rlthla two mi1.0. The lnopeototi
!ttythen roqulrt
mm. It. A. Bsssstt, Page 4.
the driver or operator to unload lmedlatel~ euch
portion oi th8 3ad 88 my be nece8aaryto d8-
Or8aS8 th8 5rOS8 Weight Oi 8UOh V8hiO.18
to th8
MXimU8 &rOSS rdght 8p801f18d by thi8 hot."
if8 CCMtrIl8 fOUr il&Ui~ ii bring direCt8d Parti-
CUl.arlj t0 POtICe OftiC8rs
with r8?8r8ll88 t0 their authority
to arr8st for the Oif8CISeof over-1-U. W8 har8 oarsful-
1~ oonsfdsred all of ths cases ConstruIng the over-load
StatUt8 and OOCStrUil@ S8OtiOZl 6 in COlljUflCtiOC With .580-
tion 6 &bole quoted, and will pa’CO8Od to relate our 0011.
stmotion at 18ngth.
H8Cd 18. 8tat8, 96 S. 91. (2d) 981, d8tOXlSh.d
by th8 Court OS CriiainalApy8als in 1936. Ka quotr fram
th8 opinionas follows:
:*The State’s AttoiaeJ b8fOr8 this court
conc8d8s that the statute In question (ssotlon
6 above) confers authority only upon licens8 and
w8lght inspectorsta require clrdw3rs and operators
Ot motor t8hhlCl88 t0 haV8 th8lr tmOk8 and OOlttOiltS
wighadl and that con8tabl8s~6 other pea08 of-
ficers lr, dthout woh authority. In this li8W,
N8 ar8 inOlin8d to COZlOUr.’ (FIIr8nth8SiS and
8llOlfHUr8 OUrS)
CD motion for r8h8aring, Jude8 l+wklns,8p8Ckill5
ror the court, aald:
-Th8 prosecution na based solely u#on the
refusal to driV8 th8 truck to ths SCS18.C to 8888r-
tdn lDb8tbr it RB8 &iV8rlOSd86.=
The arr8st was mad8 by a constablewithin two
C&188 Of th8 SCalO8.
*The argument for th8 stat8 appears bas8d
upon th8 lssUz@iOa that the t2!UCkWW OVerlad-
8d, and may 08888 ar8 cited whlph are thought
to 8UatdE the Ooatmtion that.th8OpclratlOn Of
8II OV8rbS68d tRlOk 18 p8r 86, all& t8@rdl888 Of
th8 maM8r O? it8 Op r ~tiOII,l br8aoh Of th8
p8aao.w
CClbti.ZlUb5 00 WtiOn iOr ?8h8Srin((, th8 OplE%On
OikS th8 W815itt Of authotity&II98XS8 dth ?d8r8UO8 t0
Off8BS86 Oamiry within brush88 Ot th8 pSO8.
3.94
Hon. R. A. Easeett, ?a;8 5.
“Our own and the oneec doolded there-
statutes
under surtcin th8 idea that t0 b8
l bra&oh O? th8
p8ac8 th8 cot ocmplaimd o? must be on8 which dls-
turbs or tbreateal, to dllrturbth8 tranqulllltj
enjoyed by the Oitizsns. ... r8 think no act OS
appollsnt brings the present ca68 within the scope
o? a breaoh of the p8ao8 Welch could justiiy fhc
orrlocr in zmklng tb8 lrrsst dthout l~armr~t.~
On xotlon tar rehearing, the o?lnlon ooncludaa:
*'Ii th8 L8gi@titllr8 chOOld dCcmth8 auth-
ority rested lo th8 dsci nated o??lcers undsr
th8 hW (88CtiOJl 6 8bot8 e qUOt8d iti ORr OZi&iMl
Opinion to b8 t00 r8StriOtil8 Slid OoliO1Ud8 tbt
th8 rights ooni8rr8don said OfffC8rsshould b8
8It8lld8dto PM08 cbfiC8r6 6Oll8rtil7, then th8
Legfsfaturs 593~80 pr0Vid8; ...- (PaTeBth8SiS
and enoloeare ours)
IOU Will llOt8 that th8 OpflliOlZ in Hfiad 15. StCt8,
lb o T8 18ales llttl8 doubt but thst th8 cuthorlty SOT
"eighh@ Mb reqUiriIl&8 brit8r t0 proO88d to th8 Il8.Sl-Mt
808188 1s oon?lnad to lloanso and weight lnspeciorr'of
thr stat8 aigh=ay D8prta8nt. ma that the right to lr-
red an orrena8r wlthotit i warrant UXkdbr the Load Linlt
law 1s not con?errea upon th8 peaor O??fC8r gen8rall~
?or c Viotitiim'O? the Load Limit lc1, and uh8n th8
driv8r I8 not.guIlty 0r other not8 c? opsratlon brlz@lng
the O??enS8 within a breaoh 01 th8 p8CC8.
v8 qtlOt8?rOpmthe Bsrised Clrll %atUt8e, 192s.
ae ?ollors:
.Artloli 6699 proml88t
*The Co!dssion8ra Court O? eaoh oount~,
actI& 12 oonjunotlonwith the Sherf??,may
a~ploy not more than two (2) re&ular d8putis0,
LLOmO
T r 8th a n
tW0 ( 2)l& ditiOM d8mti88
l ?Or
8p88Ia1 ~8r~OXlO~ t0 8id Mid regtiar d8PUti86,
to b8 known 68 OOUlltytra??iO O??iO8rS t0 8n-
for08 the hl6hwar laws O? this St8t8 r84VIhtl44
th8 us8 o? th8 pub118 highways by motor vehiCl88.
&id d8puti8S 8h41b8, Whqn8V8r pnoticabl8, -
motorc~cl8 rid8rs, and shall br 8ssignad to
Hon. R. A. Eassett, -Toge6.
wrk und8r th8 direOtfoB (d the 6heriff. Th8y
8iU311give bond 8Rd tare oath or Of?508 aa
other deputies. ... said deputi8s shall at all
tlzes ooopsratewith the police departmentof
each alty or town within the county, In th8
enforcementM said trarfio laws thcreln in4 in
all other parts of the oount~, and still have
the cazc right and duty to arrest violators
of all lam 8s other Deputy Sh8riffs hav8.*
Article6699a prorides:
Thputlsa shall b8 paid a salary out of
the general county ?UB~ nd to 8x0884 $150
per month, th8 salary to be fixed by the aom-
missloners* 00urt~ and in addition thsr8to th8
commissioners*oourt 1s hereby outhortzed to
prOVid8 at the expense of the county such Beads-
sary uniroms, caps and badges, euch badges
to be not lass than two inOh8c by three inches
in dimecslon8,and other nec8scary crqulpment,
to inolude a not0royole and Its !nnlntenanoe, as
is neoesearyfor them to dlccharge th8ir'dutiss.
.*. suoh deputies as are provided ?or herein
Shill be CppOint8d b7 th8 00UI5fSSfOU8rS*OOUrt
8Bd be depUtis8d by 8itt8r the 6h8riff Or sly
oon8tabls o? the oountr in ahloh they ar8 ap-
poiutaa, and no othsr o??loers shall mak8 lr-
rertr In this State for violation of laws relat-
ing to highways ZloIin 8??8Ot in this Stat8.
Such deputies ae prwlded for herein &all at
all tines when in the p8rfomanos of th8fr
duties wear a full uniformwith a cap and .badge,
the badg8 to b8 displayed On th8 OUtSid Of th8
uniform ln a oonsplauous plaa8. srrohorrloara
shall rszmln in and upon the highway, and at all
tims patrol the cm8 while in the perforziinocl
o? their dutbs, only leaving the highway to
purr118 anI offender whom such cbflcerswer8 Us-
abl8 to apprehmd Upon the hiehway itself. No
arr8st by any such officer ahall b8 binding or
valid Upon th8 p8rson apprehsnd84 it th8 ctflocr
r a nk ing suo h lr r sa twas in hiding or I? h8 set
a trap to apprehend persons traveling upon th8
Hon. B. A. Eassett, Fage 7.
highnay. NO reee or chargeswhatever ahall be
M&8 for the.scrrlor a? suoh o??lo8rs prorIde&
forhrrein, nor shall any Se8 for the arrests
340 by suoh offloers be oharged 8.aataxed as
oosts or paid to such o?rlcsrs in any case
In which such orfloerc shall zake an arrest.
Such o??lcers shall performall their duties
and make arrests for vlolatlon of any law o?
this Stats appertainingto th8 oontrol and
regulation of tshlclec operating In and upon
any higkwn~, stra8t, or 6118~ of this State.
... Should any portion or seotlon of thlr artlo
be held lnralld or unconctltutlonal,such holding
8ha1i not affect the ralldlt~ or OOB¶titUtiOMl-
lty Of anr oth8r pOrtiOn Of this artlO18, and
all otkmr portions not held lnralld or uncon-
stitutional shall remain in full force and 8??ect.m
De shong Yotor lrclght Lines ~6. Yhlsnand, 98
S. W. (24) 389, deter&m4 by ths Fort Xorth Court of Civil
Appeals, 1936.
It was agreed by oounssl a8 fol1ows:
*It la further agreed that 0. E. Whimand,
one o? the defendants above m8ntlonsd~was duly
appointed by the CommiESion8ra Court of Ulohlta
county as a county tratflo o??loeir under art;-
018 6699 Of the R8Tised StCtUt80, and “hi18 h8
carries a commlasl0n of deputy sheriff th8 dUti8S
of his o??lce are those set out in said statute,
articlss 6099 and 6699a o? the Revised Statutes.*
The COLU-t, iB its OphiOLl,, qUOted ?l’Ql!i Art1018
6099a, R8vl&sd Civil Statutsk, •~ follows:
*such oiflosrs shall remain in and upon
th8 highway, and at all tima patrol th8 Ea!?18
while In the perionance o? their duties, only
learing the highway to purau8 any orr8nd8r
whom cuoh o??loers were unable to appreh8ndupon
th8 highway itself.*.
And th8d OOBClUd8d that SUCh 1!~1gUagsOf Mid
Artlol8:
ifon. Ii. A. Zaasett, ?age 8.
olearly implies authority to detemim
;i*;he first instance that a highway restriction
has been violated and then arrest the offeader,
withoat a warrant.*
*Articles 6399 and 6699a, applicable to a
specil’io situation, will bc coontrJe& as an
exception to any g.=neral statate, It any be
found, requiring a statutory warrant. for auth-
ority to da the acts done by the officer 0. E.
?ihisnand.*
“It w-as one or the statutory duties or
Whlsnand to stop and arrest the driver of a
truck carrying a load oi excess weight, . ..I
The Fort :;‘orth A?peala, in its
Court 0r Civil
OpiniOn in tto De ShOng length Iron the
Case, puotad at
above case of Pead vs. State, and in analyzlw Sead vs.
State, used the Iollariag language:
WThe court further conoluded that, since
the ofrense oharged was not a breaoh of the peace
which gave the constable lawful right to arrest
without a warrant, under articles 212, 213 oi
our Code of Criminal Prooedare, prosecution was
ior violation Of the provisions of article 227a,
Vernon*: Ann. Penal Code, end in order to convlot
it was necessary to show that the constable who
stopped the truck had authority utier that parti-
oular statute to require FIeed to drive it to
the scalee for weighing. If that authority
was not given him by t&t statuto, then it fol-
lowed, loglcslly, that no oftense was proven;
the rule of strlot construction Of pans1 &tat&es
being oo6trolling.*
In its closing paragraph, after rsfuaing an injunc-
tion, the opinion relates:
“But sinoe the aots complainsd or w4r4
done by 0. E. Ehlsnand under his special appoint-
ment bi the oomlssioners* court. ind by non4
other,- the rurthsr question, whether or-not
the constable8and deputy oonstablss also named
es deiendatitsin the suit and not actlnp under
nuoh an apnolntaent had authority to do the
Eon. R. A. Easu4tt, .Faga9.
things done by ;:%lvnend.is not bo?ors ua. and
upon that %ssue 114 dxprmm no opin10n.~ (Under-
lniq ours)
?!te ojinioa, at no place, took into cowidera-
tion the ?reolsa language ,ofsration 6 of Article 8P7e,
V4rnon*s Annotated Fend Code, upon whioh was tt.4only
bamio for the d4tensinationof ths Court or Crininal
Appeals in !?eadvs. State, supra. Further, the case holds
that an arrest .x111be lav.?ulxithout a warrant ror any
highway violation, ~oviding it la ade by a properly
appointed county trarrlo orricsr or properlyappointed
State otricer.
ff4 qmt4 for your oon4id4ratlonArtiols 1,
Seotion 9 or the Texas Constitutlont
*The people shall be secure in their per-
sons, houses, papers and porreasions; fron
all unreasonable seizurea and searohes, md
no warrant to search any plaoe, or to seize
gay mrson or thinu. shall ,lssur without der-
oribiag th& a4 n& as nay be, or without e
babls eeus4, 4uppdrt44.by mth or efrirmatioa.~
~rlinfii ourrl.
In aonueotlon with the above oonatftutional
provisioxi,ie now rerer you to the iollorvingcea4, ‘4on-
strulng ths am4 with referenos to th4 natter.et hand:
Wow Yay Lumber Company, et al vs. !Snlth,96
6. 3. (2d) 262, decided by the Suprazz Court of Text,
1926.
w4 .wlllbrirfly atate; th4 propositionftkthe
above oass. It was oontsndbd that reotion 6 of Article
%27a, Pen41 code or ‘Iems, was unconstitutional,in via-
lation of motion 9 nf Articl4 1 or the Texas Constitu-
tion. Arter nuoh retermme to th4 441~4 oonstltutional
objrotibn that was raised ma4 times to the seeroh and
sdzur4 law with rafsranos to liquor,, 4nd pointing out
that suoh saaroh and 44Lzrvs law had been upheld many
times, the court rerers to the authority of the Tezae
Highway Patrol, es found under Article 4415 (12)) S4otion
4, ea r0ilm8:
Ron. R. A. Eessett, sage 10.
-The offioazs, non-comissionad orricers
end alisted men at the f4x44 Sighway Patrol
4tmll be, and they are hereby clothed with all
of the powers and authorityrbich they nor
hsve end exercise ee members of the State RIgh-
ray Petrol of Texas, and their duti4s and
functions shall be the EIIE~as the dutlerv
end runotlons they are now perioming. 1n
addition they shall be, and they are hereby
oloth@d with all the boners end euthoritvwhich
la in thfa Act or othbmirc by law
members or the Texae RfmFOr force."
iniIl6 OUl-8).
Then, rererring to the authority of the T4xas
Bangsrs under Artiolc 4413 (ll), Seotion 4, the court atatar
a8 r0iia8:
* . . . All ofricers operatingby virtue
of this AOt shall be~4 the authority to mka
arrests. as direoted bv warrants. and wIthout
n rerrant under the co~&itious niwldthorlzcd
by lew,~and aloo in all caece when the alleged
orrcnder la traveling on a rnlhnd. la a motor
tebi,ela.aeroplana or boat.” (Uudarllnlng
oura.
fa the alosing paragraph or the opinion,written
by Justice Sharp, appears the following language:
WTherefore, if' the oiiloer (State Pighway
Patrolman) should bars robable oau~4 to believe :
that a motor vehicle Iapbeing opwd without
a perxit, or that It 1s being operatedwith
en unlawful load, he would have the right, with-
out a search mrrant, to stop the driver and
question him about hi4 rleht to operate e motor
vehiole upon the public highway, and, it need
be, asoertala whether the operation of thr m&Or
vchlola is in riolatioa or Lari and It such
driver i4 OD4ratim a motor T4hicle in TiOlatiOU
or law, am&t him-wlthoutorwarrant.* (Cnft4r-
lining ours)
Hon. R. h. sa:sett, Fe&e 11.
Hero, you dll note that the 3~lprmnrCourt of
Texas plainly hold6 t&t ior a highway vlolatlon,vhara
the orfender is trsvallng in a notor vehiala, a Stat0
Zig?zwayPatrolnan has authority ior the arrext vlthout
a varraut. It would ream that 8uoh authority be@ re-
oognizad in atate oiriosrr ror arrest ulthout varrant
18 broad, and Artiolerr 443.3and the e.8otlona above set
out bare not bpen construed by the Court of Crlnlnal
Appeals, but such a position lr apparently given sanction
by the recent aarm of Cook TIL State, 128 S. W. (Ed) 48,
detrrmlnsd by tihe Court oi Crlnlnal Appeals In Kay, 19%.
In Cook ~8. State, lroreoald, the derenbant wa8
aonvlotad of having regiaterod hia motor vehlala in a
olaas other and dlfisrent from that in vhlah it properly
belon@d. Article StX, Panal Coda of Texas, providaa a8
r0uor8:
Whoever operates apon a pub110 highway
a motor vehfole under a Iloense, however obtaln-
ad, ror a olass other than that to which suoh
vehiols properly belongs, shell b8 flned not
lxoeedlng two hundred dollars.* ',
Artiala 727a, Code of Criminal Prooedurd,pro-
tides:
*No evidence obtained by an offloor or
other person 1~ violation of any provirlons
of the Constltutlon iir tans 0r the State or
Texas, or or the Con6titutlon or tha United
States of Axerlaa, shall be ad&ttad in arl-
dauoe a.gplmt the acanesd In tha trial ot any
orlmlaal oa8e.~
Brlsfly, the propositiOn wan that the darandMt'8
truck weighed 13,140 pounds, .and his reglatratlon oert%il-
oat.0showed the might designated in the olae6 between
lb,Ool.and 22,000 pound@. ma aarendant oontended *at
thorn vaa no authority to atop and uolgh hi8 empty tnaok
aud no varrant of arrest having baen lasuad and in th8
po8ee88lon or th8 arresting urrloer, tha tmtirony 0r
~tho duly oormiasioned11WZl80 and rdght in8prOtOr Oi th,
State Elghvay Departsmnt should have b ea lnxoludod llndar
Eon. B. A. Bacaett, Page 12.
th8 above Artioh 72?a,Co60 of Criminal Prooodura. The
Court ai Criminal Appodr, ln it8 opinion,cited the New
Way LumberConpanT oaae, 8upra, and the !i8ad oa&e, aapre,
quoted the last peregraph above eet out in tbe 3s~ Say
Lumber Company aase, and deterslned that there was no
error in using the testimony of a oonuaiesioned lla8ne.e
and weight Inepector or the State Highway Department In
thi8 cause.
Wa nom take up De Shong Kotor Freight Lima vs.
BOpkill8, 99 S. W. (2d) 1053, detstimd by the Court of
Civil Appeals at Amarillo.
fn this Oau88, the XOtOr Frele.ht
Line8 8OUght
an lnjunotlon against a oountf highway tratfla offloor
to prsvrnt hi8 atopping and rslrhing trucks without anth-
orlty and arresting drivers without warrants.
The aourt oltes the Read aase, and, with rsrer-
on00 to aeatlon 6 or Art1018 827a, above, stater:
I(..a Sald rtatuto oonferrlng authorltr
upon lloenae and volght Inapeotorn of the
State Highway Department to require drivers
and operators of motor toRlolos to have their
trucks and OOnt8Bt8 weighed, ooarorred no 8UOh
authority on oonatablee and other peaae OfrlOer8
or the &ate.*
Apparently, the court did not oonslder any other
atatutee in conjunction with seotlon 6 of Artlale 827a,
'Penal Code of Texas, and relied upon thu Head oase as bsfng
d8Oi8iVa Or the iSSU8a exOIU8IVeIy.
Xhltehead ~8. Rloherdson, 127 S. W. (2d)'512,
detannlned by the Court or CIvllApp8als at Dallas. 1939.
Thlr nao a suit for injunotlrerelier against
tha Pub110 Satetr Co11iml8f&on, Texa8 Bighuay Fatrol,
sheriff8 a nd OOZl8tabh8, rir8t, $0 lfOin the d8rMdMt8
from vei&ing 8apty tmOk8, and 88OOndly, t0 SnjOin
aaranaanta rrom at 6nf time unloading any portion or a
load themsolvea, and, thirdly, to 6nJoln the tiling of
mor8 than\ono complaint ror over-loading on tho 8araooon-
tinuOu8 journey. The opinion Cite8 the above da88 Of
CO0k 18. Stat8 rOr 6U$h&Uitt t0 th0 8rrOOt th6t thOr8
18 110 8t&UtOm lnhibltloa lg&l8t V8ighhkJ =RtF tnWk8.
Zen. R. 4. Garrett, F.Cce13.
The court considers the appalleesand derendants
aa bring th8 Fubllo~ !br8ty Canalsdon aud State Highway
Petrol alone, and dlasolved the tmporary writ grsnt8d
in the lcwar Court, holdlw that a oourt of equity has
no poaw to 8CJOin peace OffICorS fro3 eIliOrCiZ& a valid
crix.tnal statute, on the ground tbet ttO parties arrested
will have a valid d8r6nS8.
The suprem court or Texas rlrst deterxlned
this prlnolplewith reference to this low In State vs.
Fcrguson and State ve. Ktrby',125 S. 111.
(2d) 272, which
ruling was also iOiiUe8d In Richardson vs. lEertin,127
S. 3. (26) 247, dat8z?!iin8d
by the Court of Civil A7peelr
8t Waco.
The Attorney General*8 D8QartuOnthen ruled
and our aourts have repeatedly held that a statute re-
quiring certain peace ofricers to wear oertain tyP8 uni-
foras, garments, caps and offioial badges while arresting
offenders for highway violations la in oontraventlonof
our State Constitution, seatlon 19 of Artiole 1, and sec-
tion 1 0r Artlcls t. Scoggln vs. Gtate, 58 s. 17.(za)
5921 Rx parta Relllng, 82 8. W. (2d) 044; SaOtt vs.-State,
114 S. '1.(2d) 864. In a resent opinion by Rorria Rodges
of thi8 I)sp8rtJIl8Xlt, Ro. 0-317, LrtiOltI803b of the Penal
Code was held unconstitutional for the additional reason
that auoh afrlaer 00ul.dsuspend the CnforOamut Of the
highway violations by voluntary leaving cfr his unlronn
In ViO~tiOn of Art1018 1, S8atfOn 20 of the COnStftUtfOII,
ae follows:
*Yo pw.veror suspending lavs in this
;;;~esball b8 exercis.ed~axce~tby the Le&.-
.*
AmOl8 6685, Revlsad GiVil statutee or Texas
provider:
v&ach oonstablc ahall exeoutr and return
aocordlng to law all prooema, warrants, and
precepts to him direated by any &wiUl.~fiOer,
attend upon all justice OOUFt8. held In him
prsalnot and .perfonsall such other duties a8
may be required Of him by hU.=
203 .
Zen. R. A. Bassett, "zge 14.
ArtdOle 6889, Revised Civil Statutes, relating
to oonstebles, providea:
I
%very oonstabli lnay lx e o ute
eny prooem,
oirll or orlmlnal, throughouthis oounty and
elsewhere, es zaj be provided for in t!ie Code
pi Crinlnel Procedure, or other law.-
Article 6873, Rsrlssd’Civil Statutes, relating
to aterlrrs, provides:
*zaoh sherlfi shell exeoute all process
and preoeptr dlreoted to him br legal authority
and mks return theraor to the proper oourt, ...*
Article 4413 [12), Seotlon 4, of the Revised
Civil Statutes ~of Texas, granting the authority to Texas
Rangers to make erreEtc wlthout a warrant of any offender
ridieg on a railroad, in e motor vehicle, aeroplene or
boat, was an eneotnent ef’rectlve In 1935. Xe have belier-
- ed that authority to mke arrests without aarrent nay be
oonferred by the Legislature on peace offloerewhere the
speoltio orfense is enumerated,and where auoh erreat
dthout warrant oan be justltled from .tho na%ure or the
orrense. It is unusual that a olasa of airloers as State
orfioere cay be elien authority for arrest without yar-
rent or difmders rlthout reiareme to the nature of the
offense oomltted, end espeolally, where ruoh authority
is not oonferred upon peace offioers generally. It is
diriioult to believe that the stetute erentlng authority
ror arrest without warrant tn Texas Ran&era alld Texas
?Ichway Petrolrm wee meant to inolude the type or Offense
a~ the usual highnay violation. However, in view of the
deolslon by the Suprem Court of Tsxes in the New bay
Lumber Company case, supra, and the apparent renotlon of
such ruling bP the Court M Criminal Appeals of Texas in
Cook ~‘8. State, aupra, wa met neoesearily advise you that
the State Highway Patroluen harr authority to xake arrests
vilthout warrant ror hfchway ~loletlona where the ollender
is traveling in a motor vehlole. And that other peaoe
oflioers, aa eherlrrr and oonatablsr dll not have suoh
authority axoept an oonferred by A&la SOS, Penal Code,
to inolude aumeroue highway violationa, but among whioh
ie not the Load Ltilt Law set iorth in Art1010 027a. SeO-
t%on 8,.supra.
son. R, A. Ess:att, Fege 15.
You are advised that only license and y.eichtInspectors
of the :t&ts Xghweg l?etertzectheva authorityto art&&h truoka
to detersine whether or a& there ir 8n unLLlufu1 lard, and
atxthorityto require that drivers dthln two nils8 of loalea
shall drive to those scales and determinewhether or not
there is an excessive load. So, a State dtloer, not a duly
cotiaaloned lloenae snd weight Saapeetor, will not have
the authority to welfh a truok and tequira that a tmok
be weighed to deternine whether or not an nffsnse mists,
though he doe= have the authority ior an arrest without
e warrant ror the ao?tieclon or the ofienae.
PTewish to point out this Further aonatruotlon
or Artlole 027a, aeotlon,8 oi the Penal Code. fou will
note thet any lloenae and weight Inapootoraunt i~sverea8011
to believe thet the groar welCht of the loaded v-10
s mti before he $6 authofized to weigh or require
thet the truok be welf~hsd. Then, construingthe oonatitu-
tional provision,Article.1, seotlon 9, supre, we believe
that rrobeble same met exlat before e lioenaa end wolcht
Sza;$w xend wei,-h e truck or require lt to be
wei;hed. Thus, the license end weight Intpeotor’sreason
ror believing the gross weight or a ‘truok to be tldiawrul
la e question ior the detenlnation of the OOnrt aa to
whether or not probable Cause rliated for I lawful relgh-
lnp,of t!m txuok.
?or authority, we cite thr leading Texas oaae,
Odenthal vs. State, 290 S. X. 743. ?or further’authorlty,
you are rererred to the leading oaaa similarlyconatru-
lag the Fourth Anxindant to the Conetttution of the
‘nlted 2tetes, Carroll VP. Unitnd Statee, 267 U.S. 132,
45 s. Ct. 200, 69 I..Td. !543,39 A. L. R. 790. Also, wo
redirtot Tour attentlon to the oloaing pera&rephof the
Yew ‘;;sy Luzber Conpany oese, aupra, and the tollowIng lan-
guage therein:
*Therefore, lr t% orrloer ahould havr pro-
bable oausa ....w
You are rurther adrlaad thet looal OfflOer8,
as aheritrs and oonstablrr, do hare authority to exroute
a warrent ot arrest lawfully issued ror the oomlatloa
or any hlghwey violation as any other afrenre in the Penal
code.
205
301~ R. A. Ba::ett, Faiza16.
p,ell``lngthis to enswer your inWirY, we ere
ATTCFXEY GEu"ER3.L
OF TiC3.g