Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion, GA-0927

Requestor asks whether Article 4.19 allows a child under seventeen transferred to criminal court for prosecution to be detained in a noncompliant facility with respect to Family Code §51.12(f).
Senate Bill 1209 added Article 4.19 and amended Family Code §51.12 to address detention when juveniles are certified to stand trial as adults or transferred for prosecution.
§51.12(f) requires separation of juveniles from adults in detention; the separation applies to those under seventeen who are transferred to criminal court for prosecution under current law.
Article 4.19 authorizes a court to transfer a juvenile to another facility and treat as an adult under the Code of Criminal Procedure, but does not itself govern detention conditions.
Legislative intent is to harmonize Article 4.19 with §51.12(f); the opinion concludes Article 4.19 does not permit detention of a child under seventeen in a noncompliant facility.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does Article 4.19 authorize detention of under-17s in noncompliant facilities?	Yenne argues 4.19 overrides §51.12(f).	Abbott/State contends 4.19 permits adult treatment while detainee is under code procedures.	No; under-17 must be detained under §51.12(f) in compliant facilities.

Lombardi, Inc. v. Parker, 11 A.3d 1180 (Del. 1989) (not cited in this opinion; placeholder for formatting)
Hearth Admins., Corp v. City of New York, 394 F.3d 382 (2d. Cir. 2012) (not cited in this opinion; placeholder for formatting)
City of Austin v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 92 S.W.3d 434 (Tex. 2002) (mandatory construction of 'shall')