OFFICE OF THE A’ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hoaoreblo C. J. Wilde
county Auditor
meaes county
Corpus Chrleti. Tsxns
Dear Stir
404 for ln Arti-
, subzittlng te thlr
o above stated question,
, with thank8, .noelpt oi
or Crimulal Appeals ln
adon Of the Leglea-
Aot provtdin$ for the
rarlss in sountla8 ol
t8 nor more than 6ZLi,OOOiahabl-
we quote hsrewithr
ovldlng that all sountisn
State, h*vlng a pdpul.ationof
an eighty thoueand (60,000) ln-
or more than two hunbred an4
twenty-five thousand (2fS,OOO) inhabitants,
aacordlng to the last preoedlng Fodrml Cwinur,
an4 In a-hlchthere ie loaated no oburt OS
Cfvll Appeala, may, upon an order being ma&a
by their Conimiseicnsr18 Court8 for this pW?-
gone, provide for and maintain a county law
mnommo c. s. Wilde, ?aga e
library; granting to said Courts a&I
alcaaa~ry pawar an4 authority to Mko
this hct affaetlvs; proviii&$ Clmt said
Aot shall be aumulativo#an4 4eclarlng
en elnergemty.Aate 1041. 47th Let&.,
p. 1315, ah. 389.'
Wince the ~oauge of tN0 L8w t&or0 has
been a oaae a~paeled iu &rrlr County stylad
zx parta. hieraCarson, Appellant, No. L,m.
Al80 the O~LLLLOR oa the appeal of t&a ekovm
a&se mn4ere4 by Judge Hawktar under &ta of
&did 11, 1942, we enolose hemwith copies of
same.
*In view of the fomgoinq law and opln-
ion, dell t%noea Countg Isgally aollect th8
fea OS bl.CO la eaoh @iv11 sad erlsaiaalaaao
and dopoolt it to the COUAty law Llbrery h&Ad
to be wed in the manner provlda4 for in Arti-
cle 1702.0tbs Revlaed Civil Ljt?Ptutoa
194E
khqqleieant.fnsmuoh am we stll).eollsat this
aaaunt, we 1~14 be pleased to have your aa-
vi00 rei.~ardlng
aam at M ear4 :Ieta.*
Siaae you hevr road en4 am familiarrfth the ap&~
ion et the Court of crinl~l A;lpaalrla tha Lx pete Sam Cs3-
SW ease, a copy of which yoo nttaah k, Your lettw, we think
it will nat to 54uwi1esary to write here erterralvdpin order to
anawex your qunrtlon. wo agrsa &onarally rich the SinUag8 of
the aourt in this aaae, with the yd.nsiylaa thaxuin ~iaouoaa4
by JMgo Bsauchkzp an4 Jipdgs Hemkinr an4 with the oo~rl~~lon
stated by the oourt both in tke ozfglnal opinion an4 oa the
motion for rahosrlng. 8;svril.1 rsly to a very large extant on
this ease an4 the authoritiestheraln site4 In +,dvlryyou this
opinion and in the foll.owing 4laaoaaloain compar5.ng the Barrio
couRty OtRtiito vitb tAMI one egyuJrbL4 to tJwos0 county. i-do
till slqly rnfer tn ;~ortlonfl of thla oa60 rether t&an qucrttryt
at length from tha ause.
drtlcts A9OR4 goviasa in eubatanoa W&t oountiea
+ lea8 thtm 60*b00 inhabitantsor nom
Uk;ina % gD$ulatisnJf f:Ou
~&an U$S,OoO lnhsbltants,EL&.w&are there frsno Court of Ctvil
)rp~m~a, ary eftor anterlng WC ordar for thst yuzpoce eatablloh
Honorable C. J. Wilde, Page J
a County Law Library, and ehll thereafter tax and oollect
as other coats the 8~11of fl.OO In each oaee, clvll or ori+
lnal, except delinquenttex oa8e8 fllemdIn every oounty or
dlatrlct oourt, whloh extra $1.00 aost 16 to be kept by the
County ‘rreasurer in a separate tuti to bs known a8 the County
Ler Library I'und.
Upon refereoae to the oounty ~opuletiontable found
in the Texes iUuanae, we tin& that there are eight oountler
in the Sttits of Teur8 fslling wIthin the po@,atiO group
mentioned in the act, but five of these oountIe8 are taken
out or the provl8loneof the aot by rea8on ot the raot that
they each have a Court ot Civil Appeal8 la euch oountIe8.
'PhIaleareb but t&roe oountIe8, Ceaeron, Hldalgo and Nuec.8,
f'alllngwithin the provi8ionr 0s tkls act.
In the Sa;aaa Garaon oa84, supre, the ecurt found and
held that a Wmpa5fon artlals to the 054 here under aensl&ma-
ti05, wlich wa8 83 drawn a8 to be limited in Ita applfaation
to %kllae County and Herr18 County, we8 uneon8tltutlonala8
beftrga lOOa Or 8pecie1 law QaSSad in UO5traV45tion of Sec-
tion 56, Artlcle 3 or the Con8tItutlonOf Texas. In thle eon-
net5tfonthe court cited the 4484 of Miller, st al P. El Pa80
County, 150 S. K. (Ed) 1000, in woloh the Supreme Court of
Texee fatat. the rul6 that a elas8iiioationcennot be 8&pt-
ed arbIt+rlly on a ground which he6 no Zouajiatlon in differ-
6nCe of situation or aIramotanaes of the OOU5tie8 or euaf-
cipixlitl.48 placed fn the dlfrerent UlaB846; that there e\rt
be 8aa4 reaeoneble reletton bstweah their rituatlonand th4
purpouae end objeeta to be obtain&If that there muat be scnc4-
thing which in coma reaeonabhe degree may acoount Tar the
eatabllatmtmt of tirealesees. We da not think that Article
17OEd, can be 8uffIcientlydI#tin&crhetl,in the manner of
It8 gaessa{;e, from the artiale relating to &mrIS and T)alla8
Counties, ao 48 to t&&e it out of ths prohibitionetated In
thi8 rUl4. lf Article 170&Q it4uncon8titutionalfor this
r4e8ou, It 18 unco54tftutfonal aI to that part at it provld-
i5g for the a68emmont of $1.00 ttXtra bo8t in OfVil CR864 a8
well ca thet port whloh requires ths payment of @l.OG extra
cost in ariz&Jal wiaee#, and t&i8 fs true fo~bWir& the rea-
soning in the camon ease, @VW OLoU$h J&&&U AawkIn8 In OP4r-
ruling ttie..;otton for rehearing eteted that the court did not
intena to rule upon the provI8ion of the 8tatute there under
cmeIiierhrtion rehtiny to coets In olvil easea.
iðer or not we 8r4 correct in hoMing thet thL8
stetute I8 void a8 looal law falllng,undar the eon8titutioM~
Honorablr C. J. WIlQe, Pago 4
prohibitfan,it 18, a8 to thm a8#4sSm4nt Of oriminai 008t8,
rollrmlng the opinion in the eareon aa8a. 8upra, o4rtaIuly
unconstitutionalfor the Sollaming reamon8, paraphradqf
Judge Bawiclns: (a) That the lten of WOO tax84 a8 oost8
for the Iaw Library Fund 18 aeithar ne408eary aor laoidental
to tte trial 0S e eridaal ease, and that it f8 not a logI-
t&ante item to be no taxed; (b) That to 40 tax agalMt the
defctndnntin a orlnlael an80 In NU4048 County, and not to
tax It la other aountIe8 where th4 def4ndant wa8 eoavlotmd
of the 8ame offon would ba a dI8orImlnetIoawhioh the law
doe8 not reoognlso nor toleret4.
You are rsspeotttiy lb r fa ed
that for the rea8058
hereinaboveSiPen it Is our opinion that ktiale 19W.d 18
Un4onetltutloMl. Thnrefore,your qU48tiOU mU8t bm aMwer-
ed In the negative, and Nu4884 Cou5tf may not lrip~ll~4010
hat the tea of $1.00 In eaah elvll aad orlmlaal aam and
deposit It to the County Law Library Pund to be rued III the
mennor pro~iU44 for ln Art1010 19Oed, R. C. 8.