Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
GE-C. MANN Anomlmv Gil”m*L
X’onorabla Georga E. Sheppard
ColriptroLler of Yublic Aocounts
Dear Clrt
Honorable George k 'heppard, Page 2
'*(a) The informtim desired is wh~thrr hot it in mcGatory thet thie dupwtmmt to sell L6fur.d Xotor Fuel whioh oenoel 1iOGncG has l>Cc!l !:GEUMI to c pcroon who ha8 been e,iven ,. e suopcnded mntebcc under the pmmlty proVl-
aiou 3ct out. in %hlou 27(k) sria %kotion 27(L) of tho Act rdfurroc? tc above. Kould thla dopartrzent bs authorized “(b)
to i5611e lio~nsct to Q person who tes bc:ec coh- vloted of 6 falony undr?r the sbOV~6 Aot during the the the scuta;oo'is suspended? At the eli pir&ticn of tbe susvended sontonoe, then would this bepertrrent be authorized to lrsue lloense to suoh PttlOxkO
*(o) Koulcl a psreoo who hsa been gi'ven R suspended nentenoo forfeit the right to fS1o a ,refunG alsim for a per106 of 0:ke (1) yenr from the dete of sdoh oonviatlon?~ 'M~thou~h thz obore statute has not been before the courts of this -"t&t8 or before this department rcr aonslaeratio- + we believe a review of the dooIsiana 0r the oourts of thin and other state8 end OS opinions of, this departxont upon aiailar statutes, elthougti not coh- trollit& will be helpful in arriving at the intmtion of the Legislature in the enaotvmnt of the instant statute.
your gueatfou resolve6 itself to a oonatruotlon~ of the words nfclony cooVv!yttlon* a8 used in the quoted portlx of Csotlon 13(d) or".iutlols 7065b, Vem on's Texas Clvll :%stuteo; thst is to say, do.suoh terma meen a mere fiadlng of the fact of ol,uiLC, either byverdiot of jury or a plea of guilty, but upon whioh flnel judscnt or sentence bus beon euspcr:dact, u?gar the oontrollin& Cus- pO!ldWl .Tk3~tt?I3,Qe CUW 02? e.o they man muh findfn~ or ed- ~u6icstion or @lilt, follo:;~~B up by the nppropriate aontenoe of the lsw. Th6 w<>rd "conviotlonW has been used in vrrious legislative ennotrrc-nts, to m&n both at these phasun, ttm firs-t te:::r:! Iho ~~oplar ixcinin;: 6scrtbed thereto 0uZ thf;. b6IhC th6 t6oliuios.I 6W?@5 111 which the fiord is en-
h~;L~r Nwd. +<
Th$n io Illu:4ratud I&>ha folloui;lg quotetion *3 . Xanorable Ceorgo B:~hepparb, Page ) Vbo tc;;rr: aonwiatian 1Pr Intlmtely bound _ up with the crl:iml luw, and It hen been cl%id thet iu critinal prooedure the war@ i~.of agtiv- ocal mcml~.~, hsvlng both a populnr, and 6 teoh- nice1 lkqal ei~liiiic6ti.Oil, the oonstruotion not el\rags helcs wlforn, but hpendirrg upon en in- torprcbotlon partloular I&w or utstute under oansiderntion; , . . . It may, however, for th0 purpose of classlflootlon be said to hsvs three montngo: (1) bnerali (2) ordinary; end (3) Cechnicel.
"33 its genorel or ooxprehendve, alao ro- ferred to OS its pop+&sr, 881166, the tern Ces been ilerinea as the overthrow or e dsfclndant the eotebll0hment of his guilt, according to sow of the known legal mocbs; a verdict, or flm.?ill~, Of guilty; . . . ;
qlAa orclinarlly employed in la& phraeeologg, or in ito ordinary legal aenfm, the ten *eon- . vlotionf is used to desii',nete that particuler .,:!s+5gq of a oriklnal pro~eou$lon, *:on a plea ot _' @lty la entered in open court, or e vsrdlot la returned by 8 Jury, . . . -wXn'a atrlot legal sense, or v&on uesd in
its zor6 reotrlcte% anS teohnlaal sl6@~lcatlon, the word hna been Cefined so denoting the final judaent of the court end as'ln?portin& tbc final connummtlon of the prosecution, rron tbo ootc- plaint to the jud@zent of the court of scintenoej sonfd&ms fnolud2ng, and acPr.etLmes not inoluding, the sentence; end in thi:; sense It is mid to aoncern the states of' Snfeay resultlne frorzthm flncl judgmnt of cnndwmtloa for ortie. . . SW Yhere c cuspenCed~sont%nce has been mrantsd weither the verdict of cmv:ctlon nor the judf.??ent entered t,barcon shall bccom firxl.. . . .R fi.rtiale T@,' Code of Cri5Lnal Pro- OBdUrC, 152 5. "i'3c:or t&e tex.xB ox- C,U.i‘ :IL~tut#c rc.:Ytipc to it has ken held that in a CDBB whore t&2 StZ3pC3SidFZG C4~Ilt~:lC>e, one receives ouch nnnt~~sco~ths judment 10 not final end oen- not be ep~!ealoC l-x-cm." ~t:nt2~ V. mm, 281 r. :i. 1072. If by the worth "felony ccnviction~~ as used fn the quoted artlohn *4 Eonorat3.e George H. rheppsrd, Pa@ 4
Cnder atetutsa prhcre aclviotloo is made the ground ot come dlsabillty or spaoi~l peacrlty, itbs been gonerolly buld that the term ~*oonviotlGn'l mm% a fins1 edjud~ontion by judgment of the court retrim then a mt'r~ vcrCiat of guilty. 16 C. 5. X266-67; i%3b@s v. :"ebian, 85 H. 7. 672, 18 L. R. k. (u.x.) 634.
This idbptibn of' the strlot teahniaal moaning bf terR “oonviatlon” rather then the .~opuler E~38tlilIf.& whe,n such oonvlctlbn io follon#d, unc‘;cr pcrtlmnt statutes, by civil penalties and aonmquenoee, Is illustratkd certein the stetsmmt of the aourt in tb% CHSB, eupra, thetr
". . . where disabilities, disqu%lificetions, and forr%"eitures are to rollow upon e cagviotlon, in the oy% of tho law it is thEt ccnvfcblon which in %vLdenaed by sentenoo and 'judgz.ent.; %Mt thnt, whhere sentanoe ia auopended, am? oo'tm dlreot oonsequttnoes ot fi.m end Imprisonmmt mm suupernd- rd postponca tfmporerily or indetlnitely, 8uT f&b, the indirect conoqucinoes %ro likewise post- ',< ?. , '.: ponod." . . Tids rule %ppc%re to hsv6 bcsn epproved by the:
fer~r Texne deoisions avelleble upon this question. The Su-
rem Court of Tezas in zhe early cene oi G%llaeher V. -tote, PO Tcx. ct. APT). 469, upon annctrtin~: oanntitutional and statutory provi~jion~ dingu%lifyfng sernons- frown voting is Taxes Q&O hive bc+cn'*oomioted of any felony," held that the word macxivictedw has a 4~fin13e si~~nlrfcntlon in few nnd deans t,hr:t B ~udtg%xlt of' rlnal t?c?lCh~iatiOn haa been tr:jalnst the acaused. pronounced
HOnorsble George IL phsppsrd, Pege 5
thc ouspennion WOB void and th0 vot%r WCB not qtmimd, - no4 heviag been pnr<oncd. yhile not dimotly 30 bald, r.e t.blnZ it ifi e- feir irir^erar;cs fro;rr thfa mlinr. that had th0 auepenfdon ofsentence boec effected under &.velid suspended . . ssnteaoa law, the votsr vzould not htpro been diaqualifled es
'heving been "oonvoiotod of any felony" within the monin,g
of the Constltutiou and stntutaa.
The courts have given a like oomt,ruotion to the word, waonviated' 5s mod-.in tha statuts (ainoe mended) dia-
rson t&o hod lean aonvlatod or 8 foiony. . “trite, 100 3.7. 771; L;5?iQO33 0. Ytate, 165 6.x. 208; sminnds v. ntate, 175 C.VI. 1064.
fn sppsrent oohflict with the above suthoritlea am aerteln deoisione of the Texas Court of Crlmlnel Appeals, holdlng that uader the S,uspmded Sentonce Lsw providing for au3gUmded atmtenoe in c03e the aoousod harr ncv0r befor been aonvlctod of e telony, uhiherc the eocuscd hi-id been aonvioted or a ra0ny aud ~03 oil Ilbctrty under 8 suspended ssntenoe, subziasion of a quontion of 3U33aAde& to the Jury sentence War3 'Fcrpropor , sic00 e Jue~icene or guilty in a felony oas% .accanpnniad by e MU3:cnsim of SGntaCCe is 8 cocviotion Of Callow3y v. CtatG, 240 F. '7. ClSk; IS.11 v. Ztate, reiony. 243 E. Yi. 982. But vm think them deolsiona can be distin- @shod froze those disaussed sbovo, under the pertiauler 1sngna~G of the suspended soutenoe statute, as ditraurssed in tha opinion of 31d.i;6 Lattinoro in iW.1 v. State, sup-e. Uoreover , unlike the other utatutea adverted to sb~ve, this oorlntruotion ~3s reesonablc and necaesary to rcn!er the Setitenoe Lsw ‘xorkabla en8 tdfcotive; beoauee if e SlSpXhXl rhi fUdPJW?tZt Or thG OOWt wes r,acessarg to oonatltute a vOonviotion" within the n;eaning of the Zuapended Scnteuce bi, than lSUfD65SiV0 appliOdiOIl3 fOl' 3U33Qnd0d senterae .-notid bG ponsibl0 nlt,hoU<h the defendtint had bmp. mng timoe aortvictcsd of guilt but &ven tbe.ben0flt of e suopsnaion sc.nteuce in prior a33as.
Answa’rin~ your oeoor,d que&ion~‘and ‘baaing our allswe~ upwn the prinOip~e# bsroiriabove dlsousaed, pw ed- vise that ywu would ‘be aul;horlzed to iesue a liaonae for ~tbe purpono OS sellirrg relund motor fuel., to a deelcr whono aentcnce of felony oanvfction bee boon nuspsndsd uncor the !Xspendod :kntanoo i.tiw, during who Clone of Eil& euny*aeion, provided t.het, dor.inE such period tts dhelor in not convicted of my other felony. Zf, on the ot!ter hand, sef& deelar ie oonvictod of enwther felony during tho pexI wd wf suspension aC eantenoo for hie first felony 0rfOmi0, fine1 judgment Is, under cert+in ntetutory pro- cuedin~e,, pronounsed uoon the .origj..neJ canvi.ction, an% thenceforth E J--Y& ju;i~~~~lt of cc~viction wovld erlst wt1lctl would 4WJCo:sLiLiCUll.y forf’ult t.ko lioeilue la question. This re.t3ultn fros t#bc. provislone of Article 379, Code of Crir:inid iYooedtm3, rcoCi~g; as f 011~~3:
“‘JPCQ the fi!sll. oo;i-~iction of ttc Ccfond- ant of my other falony pcr.ding Lho sua~~cnoion of sen~tcnco, tkc c:>urt ,~~nCiu:? cuci: suspcn5lOn shell CUUE~ e cr-,&txi to 1~3~s for tke arrrst 0r *8 .
Honorable Cieorga Ii. Gheppord, Fage 8
5%~ cmsv~er to yaw t!aird queetion la Koverned by ikcislv~!~ naci Opitifoii8 herckobovc diacustied, under which we held thet n suspended sentmae on. 81 .Selony con- vlction on verdict or pXae. OS gu,il.ty, i8 not a ‘Telony oonvla- tioo” wJ.tbln the r::ennla~g OS reul;ion .U (A) of ktlole 70&b, v~raot5~6 Tmas Civil ftntutea. Aa in the cum of the Sor- 0S tf.0 refund clwiler~s 1icwm0, the denial of the felturc rlE;fit of ecy person to S1l.a a claim md obtuin a tax refund ror a ~~rforl of cm yeor frca the bite of a felony convlo-’ tLan dwondu, under such statute, upon a fluul cc.miction and not n a(360 where centencc o f awmlctlon 1.3 ouopondcd. Ye aaoordlrqly aanaor your third question in ttm nogativa.
tozefplng fully anawera your inquiry, h c.1:.
Ft.i:.c.