Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS ~ AUSTIN xonorsb1.r F. M. Cfmaprt DireatOr of Law lbISoraanekot t%ma, Fleh and Oyrter Qommlaalon Austin, Tax88 opinion lo. o-70M Warrant mar Dear Slrt TbSa la in reply to roquaatlrrg our OplnlOll 011 0 Your l&tar 8180 oontolna 7 has bean vary helpful to ua ad laaroh l 08 uaad in this tltlo, is the aoqulaitlon or proparty by tha law ot the State.* 306 prorldear *When it la 8llqed that the proper+ wa* ae- qulrod other than by theft, tha partlaular mannor of lta aaqulaftloa must ba ,aet forth in tha oomplaint and in the warrant .” 2159 I' Artlols 871s or the Penal Code de?clsrea al1 wild animals within the border8 of thin State to be the property of the people of this Stats. There are numerous statutes in our penal Code restrioting the right to kill wild deer in this State and afilxlng puniehment to the vlolatlon thereof. The aaraasa of a dear aaqulred by killing It in violation ot the oam Law or in any other manner prohibited by the lawa or thle State 1s psraonel property acqtirod in a manner whioh makes lta loqulaltlon unlawhl. It 1s our opinion that a aaaroh warrant msg be laaued to aearoh a grain elevator, whore it la bellerod that a deer, illegally killed, 1s aonoealed. “2. May suoh seerah warrant 80 lesued ba sxaoutad by anr poaoe offlaer?” Artlcla 317, 0. 0, P., provides: *w peace ot,flaer to whom a search warrant la delivered shall axaoute it without delay and forthwith return it to the pzopar maglatkta. It must be! axeout& within three days from the tlma OS its 18auenoo, and tihall bo oxsouted wlthln a shorter period if 60 direatsd in ths warrent br tho mcrgla~trats.~ It 1s thereiore our opinion that auah searah warrant may be exeouted by any peaaa oifloer of this Stats. "3. May auoh ssrrah warrsnt so laaued be axeautod by e garua and flrh waiaen?” 5% quota from our Opinion no. 0-62711 *The Came, Fish & Oyster Oommlaslon, and lta. deputies, whioh are oonnnonly keferrod to aa 'gsma wardene’ are pub110 ofilaer6 of the Stati .of Texa~a end as such the law has plrord upon them the ap~oial duty to *enforoe, the stetutefi of this ata’te~ for the proteatlon end presarvatlon of wild game and wild bird8 . . . * Artlola 906~, Verncm~a Annotated Penal Code of Texsa, While these offioers have not been legally endowed with the ganeral authority of the 1 I:::,n * “. “. Cowsert, page 3 I ordinary peaoe orrloar in thla Ctatt, they heta been &van nubetantlal enroraemsnt powers within their own enforoement field. We note that they may arm themeelvec in the offlolal dieaharge oi their duties and that' they nay serve- criminal process in oases d vlolatlona of the game lawn with the eame suthoritg aa the aherlrr. Artlolea~ 483 and 905, V. A. P. C. Also, they 'm%y arrest lklthout a warrant any person found by them in the sot of violating any of thi laws for the protsa- tlon and propagatlori of game, wild birds or iirh. . * Art1014 905, V. A. P. C. Furthrrmoti, ; &me werden may searah a *game bag or other reoeptaole’ and *any buggy, wagon, automoblle,,or other vehlo$e* without e warrant when he ‘has reason to suepeat’ that it ‘may oontain game un- lawfully klllbd or taken.’ Artlolee 897 and 923d, V. A. P. '3." Slooe the. at.stutqa (Arts. ,897 and 923d of the Pins1 Code) authorize game wardens to 80~~4 only osiminal DrtweaiE in oases OS vlolstiona of the gam.e laws, it la neoeseary to determine whether, under our law, suoh a searah warrant la a worlmlnal prooeaa.w *The term ‘orlmlnal prooeaa’ la intended ~to signify any oaplas, warrant, oltatlon, attaohment or ary other written order issued in a orlmlnal prooeedlw, whether the (Iamb be to arre~at, ocmmlt, oollaot money, or ror whatever purpoes uaed.R C. C.P. Art;. 26. *When Plmployed, CI eearoh warrant is one of the initial steps ln a orlmlnal prooeedlng. Aa in the maa of a wsrrsnt of arrest, a lrearoh warrant la crfxtln~l prooeesi it la lseurd to afd in the deteo- tlon or auppresalon or orlme. Employment Of such, a warrant in a orimlinal prooeadlng meg be da important ae a warrant of erreats end 1~ brlnglng to the invea-- tigatlon ell,of the evldenoe showing guilt, it may beoone more 1mDortant than a warrant or arreat.w 38 Tex. Ju. p: 33, oiting Bloea 0. State (Crim.App.) 75 c. w. (2d) 694.. It 1s therefore our opinion that suoh aearoh warrant may be exeeutfd by a game an8 fish warden. “4. :hy $2 ::me end flab warden reeroh e grein elevator, where it 18 bellered that a deer, ll.:e+~elly killed, hee been aonaeeled, without a senral. werrent?* The answer to this question depends upon whether e preln elevator comes within tha meaning of the phrese "or other reaepteole of any kind”, as used iA 4ela Artlolee a97 end 9236 referred to above. We note that in these statutes the words “01: sny other raoepteol~e Of eny kind* follow immediately efter the words ‘%ie gene bag" end ere hollowed by the words "or any bwu, -&'A; automobJ.18 or other rehlol,e”. Me believe thet the meeAing of the words "or any other reoepteole of any klndw es used in these eiatutee, 18 restrioted by the rule of etetu- tory aonetruotlon knowA as the dootrlne of ejuedem ganerle. The rule end its epplloation are stated thus in 39 Texas JUrisprU- denoe, page 202, et 4eq.r “The dootrlne of ejusdem (Isnerie (of the same kind) imports that general words r0110*lfng an laum- eretlon of pertlouler or epeoitio things will be confined to things OS the eeme kind. IA brief ,the general *orbs so used era not to be eonstrued ln thrlr wldeet sense, but ere to be held as epplylng only to persons or thin- of the leme kind aAa 01484 as Worse anumerated. Suoh words *ill not be held to 1AOlUas thingp of a oleee superior to that to wbhioh tha pertloular words balong. “The ejueaem generle dootrine 18 8 @enerel or ‘prima* rule or etututory aonetruatlon, employaa es an aid In deterfnlnlng t&e intention of the Legle- lature. It le epplicebls both to oltll and orimlnal etetutee, but more repeolally t0 statutes aeiinlqq crimes and reeuletlng puniehmente.~ Zuaerro 1. State 82 Cr1.m: Rep. 1; 197 9. X. 982; L. R. i?. 19188 354. F’X parte Roquemore 60 Grim. Rap. 282; 131 F. ‘++‘1101; . 32 I.. R. A. (N. 8. j 1186. Ih parte Muokanfuee. 52 Crl& lisp. 167; 107 r. ??. 1131. The Supreme Court ot the wAItea ctetee he8 held that the words of a statute giving s meahanb’sllen OA 4 *bullaiAg*, “lot” ) w?eraP or *my kind of property not herein enumareted*, era tco limited in their eoope to justify the a.onalueion that th4 Legislature had any lntentlon, by that Aat, to give a lien E!>O. 1;. . Coksert, page 5 upon rellroed property. Bu?r,oombeCounty C~iSeiOA~s vs. Tommy, 5 c’,,p. Ct. 626, 629; 115 1J.f. :. 122; 29 L. Pa. 308. A grnln elevator olearly does not some within tha olaee of reaeptaoles enumereted in the etstuts here aonelderaa. It is tkarsfore our opinion that #ala artlolee do not euthorlze a gem warden to eearah 4 grain elevator without 8 search warrant. Yours very truly, By Lc/-k QQ-L. 8. B. Allen, 8R.A !rt Aealetaat.