HOno &Ul L. &l%ChfASOA &iAiOA No, V-627 County Attorney Bow10 CouAty Reg Appllcab llty of tit, Texalsltma, Texas 6664cj t11 of the Penal Code, ~egulrt- IA& the COASIl@i~ of alcoholic bovep- .ageS in SAY public place, to the estab- liShIleA% described, Dear SIP: YOUP let%eP askiQ fop UL OpiAiOA of %hhis de- grPtU6At COAtdAd the fOllOWfA@ “Will you please advise me whethew the following facts constitute a ppivate place, and If found %o be a private place p whether Article 666-k(@)(1) would be applicable thepe- to. ‘The OWAep and 0pa~a%OP of a foama~ AI%O club IA Bow$e County, Texas, vhefefg food aAd beverages* lacludirng beep, ape legal17 sold aAd dancing pepmit%ed, Aow abmf%s oAl$ %hose wL%h a membez?shlp card fop %he year 1948 pold in advance, After suoh members ape admi%%ed, food and beverages, includdfng beep, ape pi- chased by such members, as well as dpncilag lo- dulged LA, however, AO cover charge is made under the present plaA, There Is 80 chaAge of fame of the bustiesa nor the ovnership thepoof r, %‘he place Is si%uated ou%slde the CftJ lititS' Ofn&Al Ci%y OP tOWA fA BOW&S County, Texas. Apticle 666~4(@3(1], bPnOA*S PeAal Cod., I)PO- sides 9s followss “1% shall be u``%awful fo%O any person to co~aume eny alooholic beverages in aAy pub- lic place, 0~ fop any person to passers aAy . . fiOA. BUA L. &tahiAson, page 2 (V-627) alcoholic beverages in any public #see fop the puzlpOSe Of cOASURl%Ag the same in suOh publla place* at aAy,time on Sunday between the hours of ln15 adsi .aAd 1~00 polo, and 0x8 all other days at any time Petwsbn the hours of 12:15 kern. Andy 7800 a,.m. It&s provided in Section 10 of k&et. 667, Vernonls Penal Code, th#.: “(a) It shall be'anlawfUl for atiy pep- SOA to sell beer OP. offei Same fOP Sale8 "(1) OA Sunday at a~ tine between the houFs.l*OO o'oloc3k (Lem. and ISa, o'clock P.m. SOtStiOA 10 of h'tlole 667 &plies to all places, publlo,oP prfvate, go person shall sell beer or offer same for sire OA Sundat at any time between the hears-of llO0 a.m. and 1~00 p.m. or on any day exoept Sun&$ at any tlaa pclor.to 7800 o'clock a,& If beer is belAg sold or Off@zNM% for sale iA the place EieAtiOA- ed In ywa~ opinion r,gu.st dwlna the hours set out in the statute, there 18 okearly a iTiolatioA of law, There Is a8 eneral statute defining the term "publae place' nor,ir fhepe a statute defining ,"pabllc place .in oonnectlon with the snfoqrm~t of theJ&&mr COAtl'Ol Act. wh6ther a plame Is a public )laoe w&en not deslgAated as auoh by statute la a question of hot OF 8- mixed queat.ioB of 18W.aAd fact fOP then determiaation of a jury under p?epeti instruotlone from the.oou~t. hr- ;t'v. State, 26 TeSh 207; denubrg v. State, 1$6 S.Y, Then definitiolw of the t&m' publie plaos in the Pe&l Code'are limited to the ticol&r offease or of- f0ASOS to which,%key Nlateo r ovevor, It la reasonable to assume that the, ta~rltbin the defltitloas,~ as. set out in Artiolrr Snd 475 of~the PeML Cod., " ,ape the ores that the Legislature Intended shou&d be lp- plied In the determfnati(ln of the que@ioa of whether a partLculer lace~ls a public place o &%iole 454(b) of the Penal 8odr &mev~&@r,ip p B r t, lI rol&WBt i” "Any public place b ., O is e * O any place~at which people are assembled OP to whioh people oonmonly PoaoPt for tha pur- Eon. Bun L. Hutchinson, page 3 (V-627) pose Of bUSiAsS8, a$usemeAt OP otheP lbw- ful pUPposes, @ 0 D If, es a matteP of fast, the place hePe being considered aasn be bPough% within the tePms of &tlcle 45$b), we am of the O~IA~OA that it Is a ?public place e we bPb AOt giVRA aAy fbCtSt$at~WOtid indicate that the place Is not a public plrce 0 We ape of the oplnion~that the feet that only persons vith a .member- ship card ape edncltted Into the place is pot decislvesi. IA holding that a paPtloulrP place we8 6 ipublic houre thder OUP gaming laws, it was said in Lockhart v, State, 10 Texas 275, that: n to SUStbiA the Charge iA the iA- dlctme&Oii vas not AecessaPy to pPovb, on the paPt of the State, that evePg pePSOA who deslPed.had access to the POOUIS proof that aziy given AumbeP of persoss ~8~0 pePmi%ted habltu.ally to play thePe would be sUfflcient,* It Is OUP O~IA~OA that the sew rule wotild rpply IA the present instance, If the place hePe nndeP COASidePatiOA Is es a matter of fact a public platie, it remains such a place PegaPdless of the method used IA allowing patrons to oome IAtO the place. CleaPly, a club which Is not 6 bona fide oPgaAlza%fon but Is a subtepfuge OP device to evade the law will fuPAish A0 pPOteCtiOA to OAy pePSOA. 1% Is a vlolatloA~oP lav Section 10 APtlcle 667 of the Peaal Code for kny pep- SOA,,fA 6Ay pla@ep public OP pPiVate, to sell beep OP offeP sbme for sale8 OA Sunday at 64 time betweerr.%he ho$lPs of 1300 aOmO md 1:OO p.m. OP on rAy day except SUA``Y at any time p~for to 7200 onclock a+. WhetheP.%he place $escPlbed in ;he letter of iAqUiPy is 6 public lace with- +r.;he seanleg of Article 666ds)61), Ve D 0s Is a question of fact OP 6 mixed - . Hon. Bun L. ~AtchiASoA, page 4 (v-627) " auestlon of law 8Ad fact for the deter- nilnation of a jury under pPoper lnstruc- tlons from the couFt. Yours very tPu1y, ATTORHEXGE?IERALOFTI3XAS