Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

634 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN GROVERSELLERS *,no”nmr GCNIRAL . Honorable C. B. Cavnerr State Auditor Austin, Texar Dear SIP; Opinion lo. o-n41 Ret Dale8 and poverr of the Board of Pardon8 e hl'O108. A we beg to MknOVleJrigemoelpt of your 1'btt)rreqUt!J8t- lng an opinion upon the veriou8 matter8 thepln mentioned, touoh- lng the above 8ubjeot matter, vhIoh letter/in \y2tq ij a8 iOiiOV8r *'In oonneotlon vlth an audit ve amaov making of the book8 and moord8 Plii'dQn84lld P.SYPOle8, W find it ll80888 JOUZ'v on the r0iioting. "(Them have been paseed by the . Legislature, a8 veil 88 th@ Ckwetltutlon83 emenibnent in 1936. We hav#'m& the k,ollovltig but oannot olear- lg see the awirer to f+ese qtwrtlon8, and ve rid that the Maber8/df\the~Bofmdkm\~8o som8vhat un- ruoh but ve are not 8ure a8 to authorl- satlon). 635 iionorableC. H. Cavnerl, p8ge 2 ‘1*3. Who 08n legally obtain oople8 of prIaoner8@ oaso hI8tOrie8 and/or yxrI8onrecords from either the Texan lVl8on Syyatemor the Board of Pwdonr 8ud Psroles, and vhat legal pro- oedum mu8t be folloved to obtain 8-3 “‘4. m0 08n legally oontaat prisoners confined in the Texa8 Prison Syrtxm for interviews, eta., and Vhat legal prooedum should be rolloved? “‘5. Attached hereto am tvo form8 - Proolnmatlon for Cleraenoyend ProclasnMOa by Covernor to Revoke Clemency - ploa88 edvise u8 a8 to whether these form8 8re properly vorded 80 a8 to meet all legal asp8ct8 of the governing lam8 nov in effeot. “‘6. The Board of Pardon8 and Paroles, and we, vi11 appreolate It greatly if you vi11 klnd- ly apeolf’yall pardon and/or reprieve lav8 nov in effect. It appaaI'8that 8OIDBof those listed above have re$esled soxe of the others and then in turn, perhaps have been changed (and ve may not have found all 0r them). Them IO a definite need for a olarIflcatIon by you a8 to jU8t vhere everp- body 8tand8."" For convenience sake, ve number the paragraph8 of our Sn8ver in acoordeace with your que8tIOn8. 1. Them Is nothing In the ConstItutlon or the general statutes regulating the resldenae of the members of the Board of Pardons and Parole8 except the ellglbIlIt~ requirement of the Constitution, providing that the members shsll have been resident oltlsens of the State of Texas for a period Of not less than two year8 immediately preceding such appointmnt."--Constitution, Article Iv, Section 11, as amended November 3, 1936. The Legislature has ovlded In Ch. 292, ii. B. No. 1076, Sec. 2, Regular Session r5th Legislature (1937) that: "provided one member of the Board of Pardons end Paroles shall have his headquarters at Uunts- 636 Honorable C. H. Cavne88,p8ge 3 vllle, andtvombnbere of 8aldBoacd sh8llmmaIn In AU8tin, %X88, vhem the main office 0s the Board of Pardon8 and PaPOle 18 b o a ted, l l l.n The 8a1m provl8lon vab oontalned in Ch. 6, 5. B. no. 427, Aots Regular Sestilon46th I&glrlatum (1939). But the8e uem not general lavr. On th8 oontrary, they vem the regular appropriation Aot8. It 18 vsll Mttled that only ~ovl8lon8, rld8r8 and th8 like, gernuxneto the rpeolflo appFoxMatlOn8 r;ad4my be lnoorporated In the appropriation bill. At all event8, the80 appropriation bill8 of long ego expired. 'phe corresponding appropriation bill8 r0r the blennlum period8 0s '41 and ‘43, m8peotlvely, do not oontaln ruoh provl8lon. There 18, themfom, no mqulmw3nt 0s lav rixing the place of m8ldenoe of th8 member8 of the Board OS Pavdonr, neither I8 there any provision firing the plaae vhere the mom- hers shall keep their prln~lpl Office, hold their mtmtIng8 sad hearings, or mgulatlon In thew rerpeotr vhatsoever. 2. Thi8 que8tion ahould be ansvemd in the negative. Eoc. 11 o? Artlole IV 0s the Conrtltutlon vest8 in the Governor Fever to 1138~8 olemsnoles a8 fOiiOV8: "In all orlmlnal oa8e8 8roept trearon and Impeachment, the Oovornor 8hall have pwer, af- ter oonvlotlon, on the Vrlttin 8igned moonmwi- datlon and advloe Of the Board Of Pardon8 and Parole8. or a majority thereof, to grant m- prieve8 and cc4smutatIon8 0s punl8hment 8nd par- dOn8; and under 8uoh rule8 a8 the LegirlatUm may presorlbe, azld upon the vrlttenmoonmwda- tlon and advloe 0s the majority 0s the Board 0s Pardon8 and P8role8, he shall have the powr to remit fiIMt8and rorreiture8.” We (w advised by the Board, however, that It ha8 never iSSUed any prOClSDIatIOn,or made any order remitting a fine or SorfeltUm, but ha8 made moommendatlons with m- speot thereto to the Governor. 3. Article 3720 of the Revised Civil Statute8 says: 637 :ionorabloC. R. cavne88, page 4 "Copier of the reoordr and filed papers 0s al pub110 offioers md OU8todiPnr 0s record8 0s minute8 0s Bowd8, eta. u3d oourt8 ' of thlr State, oertlfled to under the hand and th8 8eal, if them b8 one, 0s thelavful p08f#880~ Of SUoh 3~100~48, 8h8U b0 dmittOd as evidence in all oa8e8 where the moords themwlvel would be adml88lble. l l l." Momover, it is a sound pub110 policy that the reo~rdr, nlnute8, Faper8 8nd instrument8 oontained In the files and ar- chives 0s all public Office8 8hould be open to the lnspeotlon 0s any lntemrrtod Party, 8ubjeot only to suoh privilege8 a8 the Legislature nay ln the interest OS the 8azsspub110 polloy de- clare, and eubjeot further, 0s course, to the limitation that no inspection should be permitted that would Interfern with the ordinary reasonable oonduot of the affairs of the offloe or de- prtnent . We thqmfore en8ver thla quertlon a8 fOiiOV8t Any per- son having an intern& in the matter vould have the right, upon Cemand , at any reasonable tims, 8nd in a maaonable way, to ln- qect such h18tOrIe8 and reoordr a8 you mention, and to have oer- tifled COpit' themof, ii the OU8tOd18li 18 Vil1ix t0 SUpply them. 4. The Manager or the Prison SySteli! 18 vested with broad Rovers Revleed Civil Statute8, Vernon'8 Codlfloatlon, Article 61666 I the Board being authorized to delegate to him authority to mansge the affsir8 0s the Prison Syrtem, 8ubjeot to it8 oontrol and 8up8rvlrlon. Th18 paver extends to pm- scribing “ma8onable rule8 and regulation8 governing the humane treatment, training and dlsolpllng of prl8oner8”, and the like. Article 6166~2, of the above statute, 1s even mom ln- formative at this point. It 18 a8 fOiiOU8t "The Governor, and all member8 of the Exeoutlve and Judicial dspsFtm43nt80s the State aad nmfb0r8 0s the Legislature shall be admitted into the prisons, camps and other place8 wham prisoners are kept or worked, at all proper hour8, for the purpose of ob- serving the oonduct thereof, and may hold conversa- tion vltb the oonvlcts apart rram all prison OffiC88. 635 32aeable c. li.CIVrn88, * 5 639 Xonorable C. H. caVW88r pag8 6 We knov 0s no deOi8iOA holding that the ooveaaos would h a w th ep o wr to ret l8lde a proolaEatloA revoking a pior ootiltion&l pardon. The moooatlon by the Oove~aor :rouldoperat8 a8 a full aad fita dispo8itiOA 0s the qUO8tiOA of olemenoy by the Govermr, aad leave the mat- a8 thou& no suoh application had been We vhatlroever.Kcimover, ve are Qdvlsttdby the Governor~8 0rrioe that it has not beea his praatloe la any ea8e to set aside a revooatlon prevlou8ly iaaued but that he ha8 treated the matte3 a8 048 of original cognleeao~by theBoard upon aa oxQlaal lpplloatlon for clemenoy. The quoted laaguag8 should be ellmlnated. 6. You' Sixth requ8st 18 80 broad md 80 ab8tZaOt that we vi11 not, in the oour8e 0s a legal oplnlo~, undertsh to COnrp118 the FniOl'ttWtiOll Otihd for. we SW be G&i, I:owever, to anttvcrany specirio question that may 8rlse at ay time. Very truly yours, ATTORRRX GRlCMUL OF -a, -. Oold S&ir d - AIsi8tPnt