Case Information
*1 27’8 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Eonorable ?. t. Sksair
county hld1tor
;rilbari[w County
Vernon, Texar
nner al80 a resld*nt citizen , narried daughter or Mr.
,~ .- b0t8
raotr, puoted in iu3.l rr0r your lottsr, you request our opinion upon the rollowlng qn*atlont
What la the relationsblp of f&r. Bysrs and - I&. Skinner, either atrinity oroonsanguinity, md would the relation8hlp, it anr prohibit the City Vernon, Trxas, from amplo&g Mr. Skiiifksr in any oq7qolty?'
Zoonorable ?. L. L!asaIe, page 2
Artlole 432, oi the Penal Co30, protldea a8 rollows: *SO ofrioer or thla Sate or an7 orrloor or uy dietriot, oounty, oity, preolnot, aohool dlatrlot, or other mnlolpal 8ubUtlaloa~or thla State, or-any - orrloer or nembor oi any 3tate dlatrlot, oounty, olty, oohool dietriot or other oaunio~pal board, or judip or any oourt, oreated by or under authority ot any gea- oral or apeolal~law of thfa State, or any mambcr oi the Leglalature, ahall appoint, or vote for, or eon- fin, the appolntnxent to any 0rriO6, poaltlon olerk- ahip, employment or duty of any person roleted within the aroad degree by aifkty or wlthln the third degree ot conaanguinlty to the person 80 appointing or ao~totlng, or any other sestw of any l uoh board, the Legislature, or oourt of whioh auoh per- aoa ao l ppointln6 or voting zmy be a maber, when the salary, feea, oonpenaatlon of auoh appointee la to be pda ror, directly or Indirectly, out 0r or rrm pub110 fuada roe8 or offlce of any kind or ohsrao- tar uhataoeter.g
St la apparent rrotl the foregoing artiole that the City or Vernoa oould not employ any one related to a Xeber of the City Comiaalon within the aeaond degree by afiinlty within the third degree by oonaan&ulnlty.
Collat4ral oonaangahltf 1~ the relotloaahlp eriating be- tween peraona who doao4nU from t&a aama oopmbo~~ anoeator but not rrom l aoh other. Lineal ooaaangulnity the relationahlp exlat- irq$ betweea peraoaa When one la deaoendtd rrom the other. In ooaiputlng the d4g464 llnral ooasangulnlty exlatinq betueea two persona 4tery generation in the dlr4ot oourse of r4lstlon- ahlp m&es a deizreo. The mthod ot oomputlng oollatcral oocsan- gtinity to &laooTer the oommon l noeator, begin 4th hln and rrokoa downwar& the drsreea the two p4raona or the zore resotr or then la distant rrom the anoeator the bsgr44 af kindred aubaiating between than.. Thus, brother8 are related to eaeh other in th4 flrat bsoauae iron the father aaoh one or them la on4 deBfee. An unole axA n4phew ar4 related to e&oh other the aeoond degree beoausa Mphcu 10 two -468 dla- tent from the ooimon anaeetor and the ~014 extend46 to the maotest de&reo of oollatcral relatlonahlp. Tyler Ta it. R. Con- pc.ny Douglaos v. Ov4rton, 1 Tax. Ct. App., page B *3 ,
Lionorable 1. L. Zaaale, pag4
Degrees of affinity nre oonputed the same mimer as those ot oonaanguInlty, thus r414tIv4a af the 81114 stand at ths ame oi arilnlty th4 h:Aaba:d as t:ey are re- lated the wife by oonaan.&nlty. Kelly t. Neely, 12 .sk.
657, 56 Am. Deo. 288; 2 C. J. 379; 2 C. f. Seouadum
Tk4 Court of Crknlnal Appeals oi Texas oltea the o&se of telly v. I:44ly, aupra, with approval in its opinion in the oaae strlngZellou T. Etht4, S. 3. 719 In whloh lt held in dr6Ot that by marriaEo thr 3811 places hfaaelf in the same degree of proplnguity to all the ralstlrea oi his wita eIth4r by affinity oonaangulnity as aho aotually stands tomrd them.
Thla la not the rule In thr najorlty of jurladlctlona not.the rule ln Texas In air11 o444a. See Sohultze t. XaLeary,'ll S. 'iV. 924, acd Seabrook, et al t. ?lrst Xatlonal sank of ?ort Lavaoa, 171 3. 3. 247. Eow4ver, .ztlole 432, Penal Coda, la a orls.inal statate and 314 are constrained to adopt the oonatruatlon plaoed u?on it by our Court of Crl~nal Aypetia. .
This department in its OplnIon 30. O-2225 a oopy oi rhloh attaohsd hereto, has adopted the aonatruotion ot.the Court oi Crlmlnal Appeals in the Strlngrellow oase, augra, and has oterrulsd prerloua oplnlona follorlnil tht rule prerclillng in 01~11 ma48 end In the majority of other jurlsdiotlona.
ihder the criterion set forth above, ve rind thnt the OOP- xon aEoostor oi ia. Bycra' wire end !ir. SkInner*a wife ran either the rather or aother oi.!Sra. 3ypera. It Is lmmaterl4l that sXra. Byera only th4 hali~alatcr of Xra. Sklnner*a rather. Zurthsr, under the IWlO, one common anoeator Oui- rlolent . See our Oplnlon So. O-791 attaahed hereto. C0lllhg dmmmi, we rind that two degrees aeparata the annoator cf tire. Byora frpm We. %.lnner, hence, ‘&a. Byem* is extended to the dog44 relatlonahIp being wst rexot4 troa the COW non ancestor, and la related to *tie. Skinner In the moon4 &agree. !.Ir. 3yere '3. Sklnncr, under the rule, are in the aam proplnqultp to etch other by aitlnlty as their wlrcia are oonarngulnlty and are henae related in the second 40~64. 3slng relzteb ln the sooond degree by efflnlty, the prorl-
i‘ .- -’ ‘283. ’
H~Aorable F. i.. I:asrir, pa30 4
crlonr of krtlole 432, Penal Code, would 2rohlblt the City of Vernon troll snployi~ 'a. ;irbmer a8 long 68 'a. Byorr is on the City Co~ssloa.
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C'CLOS"JRE3