Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable Mack,Wallace Onlnlon -. No. ~~-1338 County Attorney HendersoriCounty Re: Whether male minors under the Athens, Texas age of 17 years and female minors under the age of 18 years may be confined In jail for failure to pay fines as- sessed against them under Section 14(a) of.Artlcle Dear Mr. Wallace: 666-17, V.P.C. In your recent letter you have asked the question whether .._ or-_ nota _ minor could ?! "confined . __ to jail-to lay out nls fine m accoraancewith the ordinary rules concern- ing fines", where such minor has been fined for violating the provisions of Article 666-17, 14(a), V.P.C. In Opinion No. WW-1171 thls office held that Section 14(a) of Article 666-17, V,P.C, was an exception to Article 23384, V.C.S. Under Section 14(a) of Article 666-17 all persons under 21 years of age are subject to the penalty of a fine of from Ten to One Hundred Dollars for violating Its provlslons. We hereby affirm the holding in that opinion, a copy of which Is attached hereto, The general rule Is that persons coming within the terms of the juvenile statutes may not be punished by incar- ceration for their violations of the law. In Opinion v-1328 this office held that juvenilesprosecuted and fined under the provisions of Article 8~1i, subsequentlymodified and re-enacted as 802e, V.P.C., could begincarceratedin.jail in lieu of the payment of the fines assessed. The minor could not be placed In the same cells as adult offenders but must be segregated.asrequired by Section 17, Article 2338-1, V.C.S. Also, this office has held that juveniles may be taken to jail pending posting of bond In those in- stances where certain trafiic regulations,enumerated In Artic.le802e, V.P.C., have been violated. (OpinionWW-547) We think the instant situation l.s,analogousthereto and Inasmuch as the Legislature has seen fit to provide a fine for the prohibited act it necessarily follows that . ’ Hon. Mack Wallace Page 2 Oplnlon No. ww-1338 the.flne to be effectivemust be collected either In cash or as Is provided for by statute. Arts. 783, 785, 787 and 793 C.C.P. It seems to this office that public policy, as dictated by the enactment of the legislativebody of the State, requires that the offender In these types of cases pay fUr his crime In time or money. We therefore hold in * answer to your question that a minor can.be confined In jail to lay out his fine In accordancewith the statutory provision concerning fines In misdemeanor cases where he has been found guilty of violating Article 666-17 (14)(a), provided they are segregatedfrom adult offenders. Art. 2338-1(17),V.P.C. SUMMARY All persons under 21 years of e are re- - qulred by Section 14(a) of Art. 66Y -17, Ver- .') ,;"non's Penal.Code,upon conviction, to pay a fine of from Ten to One Hundred Dollars as ,. assessed by the proper authority. If they . are unable to pay such fine they must be con- " Pined in jail to lay out the fine as required by law or until such Sine has been pald,pro- vlded they are segregatedfrom adult-offenders. Yours very truly, NVS:sh Enclosure APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE: W. V. Qeppert, Chairman Jay Howell W. 0. Shultz Charles Llnd . John Hofmann REVIEWEDFORTHE ATTCRNEYCENERAL BY: Hour Brownlee,Jr.