OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
/”
Eon. mti4 Cola, Pf3ge2
duly returned and filed, and whIah aasos were
pendu on the docket of said court, end WOTIC
and duties praatlaally aonpleted by the clerk
In refermoo to suah oases, prior to said pre-
oeding presidential eleotlon at whioh pore than
3,000 votea were aast, la suah olerk entitled
to reaelve only EQht Evllars as a final dls-
position r ee, or shall he be entitled to reoalve
'fenDollars aa such final dlspoaitlon Sea, bear-
in& in Mad however such aeses were not finally
4l.spose4of by tho oourt uneIl atter the elea-
t1or.l
in question.-
Artlale 1026, C. C. P. reads as Sollowrr:
"In eaoh aounty where there have been aast
at the preaeding presIdsntIa1election 3,000
votes or over, the EistWot clerk or orininal
dlstriot olerk shall reoelve the Sollming Sees:
Eight dollars for each felony ease finally dia-
posed oS without trial or dIsmIssed, or tried
by Jury whether the defendant be aoqulttsd or oon-
viated; elgbt oenta for eaah one hundred no&la
ln,eeoh transarlpt on appeal or change of venuel
eigh$roentsfor enteriq Judpent ia‘habeaa oor-
pus oases, and eight oents Sor eaoh one hundred
word8 for preparlna: transorlpt In habeas oorpus
COS88. In no event shall the Sees in habeas
aorpus oases exoead eight dollare In any one
aase. In eaoh oounty where less than 3 000 suoh
votea have been 80 cast auoh olerk oh& receive
ton dollars for each Seiony ease so disposed of,
and ten oents for each one hundred words in suoh
transcripts,and one dollar for enter- jud0mnt
In eaob habeas oospus. The district clerk OS any
oounty shall maelve fifty oents for reuording
eaah aooount or the shorili."
Art1010 1027, C. C. T. reads as Solltnv8r
"In all caoes where a defendant is IndIated
for a felony but umlor the ladlotnent he my be
oonriatad of a xnlsdermanoror a felony, and the
Eon. Eavld Cole, Wge 3
punlshnentwhlah may be aer;essedIs a Sine,
jail eentenoe or both suah Sine and imprison-
ment in jail, the State shall pay no Sees to
any offlaer, exoept where the defendant is
Indiotea ror the orreuse 0s murder, until
the case has been finally disposed of In the
trial oourt. Provided the provisions or this
Artlalo shall not be eonstrued as nffeatlng
In any way the provisions of Artlole 1019,
Code of CrImlnal Proaodure, as mended by .
Chepter a5, Gmeral Laws, F%gular Session,
Forty-secondLegislature;~rottldedthis shall
trtal reee to county
not apply to srrtralning
Attorneys and/or CrImIaal Distriot Attorneys."
pfequote from Texes Yurisprudenae,Vol. 34, page
508, a.3r0iiOw8:
"Statutes presorlblng SeeS,Sor pub110
oSSloors are strlotly oonstrued; and henoe
a right to fees nap not rest In implication.
mere this right is left to construotlon,the
language 0s the law nust be construed in razor
0s the govennaent~ mbere a statute Is oapa-
ble of two constructions,one of which would
give an orrIaer ompennation for his oervlaoa
In addition to his salary and the other not,
the latter ootistruatlon should be adopted. It
Is no ooacesn 0s on offloer that the Legisla-
ture nay have been toward other ofSlcer8 mre
llhasal than toward bin f.nthe ratter oS oom-
pensatlon for servioeeI nor does this faot jus-
ti.Sythe oourts In uphold@ Ns alaIm for ocm-
peusatlon for servioes as against a fair and
reasonable Interpretationof the statutes. In
a?plyIng See statutes and asaertainiugthe in-
tent.or the Legislature and the nea~n%ngof the sta-
tute, the usual methods and rules of Intexpre-
tatlon are applicable,* (Also see the oases of
'3uCall.a
08. City 0s Roakdale, 246 SW 654; sinr0rd
VS. 3ohIuson, 244 SW 8073 v3bstlandCounty WI.
Tfazel,288 .SW518; Padden vs; Hardy, 50 SW 9333.)
Eon, David Cole, Peig84
Vnder the above quoted statutes,the dlatrfot
olerk Is 8ntItlad to no See 8soept where the defendant
Is indloted for the offonse oS murder, until the base
ha8 been finally dlapoaed oS In the trial court. It fa
Immat8rlal as to when the Indlotnentwas returned in the
oaae filed. The alerk is not 8Mtled to hia $88 Until
therm is a rai diapcwitlon 0s the aaae In the trial
court.
In view oS the Sorsgolng authorltlus,you are
r8apeOtSully advised that It is -the opinion or this
department that the dlstriot olerk In Stephens County
Is entitled to Sippt ZiGlam for eaah felony aaae on
whlah Indiatnsntawere 4uly returned and filed when such
cases am finally dlapoaed oS in the trial oourt, regard-
leas oS whether the lndlotmehhswere returned and filed
befare or after the last preaedlug presIdentleS election.
Trusting that the Sorogoing enswera your ln-
wry, we re8mn
Ycurs very truly
AT'i'CRXE??G5?~XALCF~XAS