The Attorney General of Texas
June 1, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. Opinion No. H- 1169
Criminal District Attorney
Galveston County Re: Composition of the Galveston
405 Galveston County Courthouse County Juvenile Board.
Galveston, Texas 77550
Dear Mr. Hury:
In light of the recently enacted Family District Court Act, V.T.C.S.
article 1926a, you ask which judges are members of the Galveston County
Juvenile Board.
The Family District Court Act contains two provisions for the
establishment of County Juvenile Boards. Section 1.07(s) applies YeI xcept as
otherwise provided in this section.” Section 1.07(e) applies if there is “any
juvenile board existing on the effective date of the Act . . . .” We believe the
answer to your question is the same whether section 1.07(a) or 1.07(e) applies.
Section 1.07(a) provides that
the county’s juvenile board is [to be1 composed of the
county judge, the family district court judge or judges,
the district judge or judges whose jurisdiction includes
the county, and the judges of all other courts in the
county having jurisdiction over juvenile matters.
This provision requires the Board to be composed of the County Judge,
the Family District Court Judge, and the four District Judges in Galveston
County. Also, the judges of County Court No. 1, County Court No. 2 and the
Probate and County Court would be members of the Board because they
possess juvenile jurisdiction. Attorney General Opinion H-1134 (1978).
The same result obtains under section 1.07(e). Prior to the effective
date of the Family District Court Act, the Galveston County Juvenile Board
was composed of the County Judge, the judge of County Court No. 1, the
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Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. - Page 2 (H-1169)
judge of the Probate and County Court, the judge of the Court of Domestic
Relations and the judges of the several District Courts. V.T.C.S art. 2338-16, S 8a.
The recently created County Court No. 2 would be added to this Board pursuant to
article 1970-342b, section 15, V.T.C.S.
Section 1.07(e) provides that
[tl his Act does not affect the composition or organization of
any juvenile board existing on the effective date of the Act,
except that the judges of the courts of domestic relations
and of the juvenile courts are replaced by the family district
court judges.
(Emphasis added). This provision might be read to mean that the judges of the
family distrmt courts replace not only the judges of the courts of domestic
relations, but also the judges of all the courts of juvenile jurisdiction. The
reference to “juvenile courts,” however, in section 1.07(e) apparently refers to the
Juvenile Court and Juvenile Court No. 2 of Dallas County and the Juvenile Court
and Juvenile Court Nos. 2 and 3 of Harris County. These courts, like all the courts
of domestic relations, are replaced by family district courts. V.T.C.S. art. 1926a,
§§ 2.05, 2.06, 2.14 - 2.16. Section 1.07(e), therefore, does not substitute family
district court judges for any judge on the juvenile board except that judge whose
court is abolished and replaced by a family district court.
SUMMARY
The Galveston County Juvenile Board is composed of the
County Judge, the judge of the Family District Court, the
judge of County Court No. 1, the judge of County Court No.
2, the judge of the Probate and County Court, and the judges
of the several district courts in the county.
,Very truly yours,
APPROVED:
DAMD M. KENDALL, First Assistant
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Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. - Page 3 (H-1169)
C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman
Opinion Committee
jsn
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Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion