March 15, 1977
The Honorable Selden N. Snedeker Opinion No. H-95.6
Criminal District Attorney
Cameron County Re: Fingerprinting of
Brownsville, Texas 78520 juveniles.
Dear Mr. Sn~edeker:
You have, requested ou,r opinion regarding whether a
law enforcement agency may fingerprint a child for identifica-
tion purposes. Section 51.15~of the Family,Code~ provides,
in pertinent part:
(a) No child may be fingerprinted
without the consent of the juvenile court
except as provided in Subsection (f) of
this section. However, if a child 15
years of age or older is referred to the
juvenile court for a felony, his finger-
prints may be taken and filed by a law-
enforcement officer investigating the.case.
Subsection (f) permits a law enforcement officer to take a
child's fingerprints "[i]f latent fingerprints are found during
the inves.tigation of an offense, and a law-enforcement
officer has reasonable cause to.believe that they~ are those
of a particular child. . . '."
Prior to its 1975 amendment, subsection (a) provided:
No child may be fingerprinted --
in the
investigation of
-- a crime except.as provided
in Subsection (f) of this section . . . .
(Emphasis added).
In our opinion, the deletion of the phrase "in the investigation
of a crime" from the 1975 amendment to section 51.15(a)
conclusively indicates that a law enforcement agency may
fingerprint a child only. in the specified circumstanc,es.
P. 3990
The Honorable Selden N. Snedeker - page 2 (H-956)
A child may be fingerprinted in only three instances:
~if the juvenile court grants its approval: if. subsection (f)
is applicable; or if the child is "15 years of age or older
[and] is referred to the juvenile court for a felony."
Thus, it is our opinion that, unless one of the statutory
exceptions is applicable, section 51.15 of the Family Code
prohibits a law enforcement agency from fingerprinting's
child.
SUMMARY
Unless one of the stated exceptions is
applicable, section 51.15 of the Family
Code prohibi~ts a law enforcement agency
from fingerprinting a child.,
Very truly yours,
Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:
KENDALL, First Assistant
C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman
Opinion Committee
jwb
P. 3991