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OFFICE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF TKXAS .
AUBnN
Xonorable ‘Geor&eH. Sheppard
Comptroller OS Sublia Aooounts
Austin, ltixas . ‘ .
Dear Sir: . Oplnlon Ilo. O-7029 . ..
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of Insanity ‘is
udged lnsana. ’ _
of insanity have -
uclblo cascsO :
e.r-oowtiea on a foe
i.Siccase is IKW pre8ccnted~
to th&o “I’~
‘~~
as .follows: k defendant 3.0indioted.
. Upon trial.of the onso, a ~100 of
is iiwoka,dAndydefendant was adjudged
5~4 thrg63 os'mraor genQin(;~a&.n~t
the ik.ne. defeudmt was oubuequently die-
missed, can this dopertme?ct‘kzeuo vrnrraht in.
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pamenL t6 the~county’ofSlcials olaioing Sees
under this ~oaae, both for exminir~ trial and
Diatriot Court,Seeo? Xould it make any differ-
enoe whether the felony oharEa vias~orie
of nur-
der or any other felony ouoh as rape? Or w0ul.p;
‘itnake any difforenco whethar the oone 80s
dlsAaeed or lert Dendiug? ‘Gould the question -. ‘.
OS 1Mtation run a&ainst the See accounts Ln
the iaurdercase?
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WI oonneotion’with the last quastion, I refbr
you to.Artloles 1020, 1027, 1034 and 1035, %. c. P.,* ;: .
,T&isdeepertie& reoelv~d in answer to our re$ueot S&addi-
tlorialinr”orr-3atlon
the SollovAh~ lettor fro31Jud,seDrian zontague,
0313 Judlcinl District, .Del Uo, T&as:
*This will ack!&.rrledge
the letter addressad to me,
_.undei’date OS Jahuary:30; 1346, relative to a ragusst
for-an ‘Opinionconcoldng the pnymefitof fees in Case.
$1350 etyled The State of Texas ‘veraus Terry Handle, s .:
$9af;y.p0$dLag in the District Court OS K&!&lo Oo~ty, ..
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muon;’J* ~B.’ma0tolph, Jud& of theill2ttsDistrict’
OS Tex88, having;advised us of his dLgmliSlcation in
the .trLslof ‘the above cause, ,I woe.thereupm deeiguated
by the Judga of the sixth AMniatratlve Distriot to
praalde in the .trial‘of the.above oausa, and did dc so.
0ti ihdic*ent was returned.& this oausc dur& the
.mnth OS October; 1945, charging,the defendant, Terry
Daahdle,
with the oSSense of .murder with .mllca. On
Jtiusry 3,.1946 I called this oase Sor trial, havin& .
previously gone to Junotlon for the purpose of dravfitig
a special verlre for said triaf,~and, when called, the
dafendant, through hfs attorney, filed ah affidavit .
elleging the limanity of- the defandcnt, Terry Handle,
ut .the tlme.oSthe alleged oomgl.sslonof the offense \
and ~YW* , that is, on +mwwr 3* 1966.
LIn confor&ty with the provisibns jS law a jury
was thcreu>on izgmeled for the trial OS th* laaucs
nede by fiaidarfi.aevlt,and upon the conclusion of the
int-rodnotio0OS ,the t0stizony the i?hor~eof tie Court
was oubzlttcd to the jury, which oohsisted of special
‘ issuea, the first of vJhi0h reqtiisatctd
t&lr ans%r as
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to whetbsr or not the derenaant was sazieor insane cm
the date of the alleged oocmisslon of the orream,
_.__ and the secokd isaue was .
to-wit, SeDteaber 11. l.Fk5:
whethei.or-not thedefendant was sate or iusauc~ et
this tick3(Jenuary 3, 1944). To eaoh issue t&e answer
of the jury wee that the defendant was insane. There-
UpOnth0 jUd@Ient Or the COUXt, WhichWJSenter&, ~38.
one rinQfng the deffA1daAtinsane at the tI$leOf the
all.cgeUoo~ssion'of,tf~~.offuroe and et the dite 0r
his trial..
.
Vhe qase was by no mane disatissodand. by the sare
token, it certsiri was not left pendin& but has been
fln6lJ.y6dJudiorted for, undidsrthe decisiom of this
state; the defemmt oculd aever be tried ra! tiis
arlninal offense charged by the lndlctzeent. Under the
statute alluded to, the only possible p,rocaed& whi.i'dh
hereafter can be-had in this cam would be uother%rial,
66su%il;gthe proger predlcato 'is laid at that tLze, to
deter&no the tmity of the defeadnnt ot such~tize.6 _ i, ..
Chai;ter2 or Title 15, Vornori?ohnnotated co& 0rlorinin& .’
lmcedure,~ (hrticle8 1018 throu& 1036) prmidas ror oosta wkioh
WI paid by the State. Art; 1027;.Vi A. 0, c. F., provides:
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*In all uases where a' defendaht is tidictod.roe,
a realmy btituddaz the lndiofment he EXW be .coG
Viated bf a 8tiuCcncl~nor
ok'felony, ahd the'purish-
xmnt which may be asf3es6edis a rine, jail sen-
tence or both such.fine and inp?iaoxgeat in Jail,
the Stat0 shall-pay ho reoa or my officer, ek- ..
cept where'the defcmdcnt is ~indioted for &iu?dor,
until t,hecaee has been finelly disposed.of In
tha trla?.court;S1 (emphasis oars)
So&ion 3 0r Art. 932a, Y. A. 0. d. P., providesr
%hen thq defendant so cozmlttod to a hospital-;,
-for the iti6anObocoms sane, 'the supcrlctende,nt0r
tha~hospital:shaallclve written hoticc of tb.at faitt:
to thi Judca of the Court~from which the o%kr of
coasiituentissued. Upon receipt of such notice,
the Judge shall re@re the sheriff to britlsthe
dcfendantfros~ the hospital and place him in the
. Proper custody until the heazih~.rzaybe had before
a jury in such Court to~~d.ct,eminedefendar;ttu .
sanity, cud if he bo rounds Dane, & s%+ll .Se
$isehcr~od, unles~she Bed boon p~~vioasl~ found
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d. _ .
aon. Geo..H, ShepDard, pace 4 . .
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tb'be'sane at the tine at which he is alleged to
hara oomdttea the ~offense charzea, in whiC& event,
unless'previously aocuitted, ha nhall be tried for
the orfense oharzed." (enphaois ours)
We held in i)pinion
lie,o-3691:
** * *krtbZ the indictuent has been returned, and
where inoanity is interpose1 as a defense, the dafen-
dant or accused posy be tried on,that issue alone in
the District Court before the main ohar&e: If the
jury rinds the befondant insane, or to have been
iasime at the tirimthe aot'is alie@.3dto have be6n ~'“''
oo&uitted, they shall so state in their verdict, or
if the jury rinds that thedefcndant \rasinsane at
the t&e the aot Is alleged to have boen ootitted
but sane at tho trial, he shall be ifmediately dis-
khbr&aa. sf %he jury rind5 that the aerenamt~~naa. _
in0an0 at the ti&3 the act is alleSed,tO have,been
eonuitted and insane.at the ticm of the trial, or ._..
-ssne~ at the tine the-act is.alleged to hsvo been
oomuitted and insane at the tin!eof &he trial,,ths '_. - _z
oourt shall thereupon tike and have entered on the 1 .
ninutes 0r the court,sn order ootitting the defen- :
dant tothe'ouatody of the sheriff, to be kept sub-
jest to tha .furtheror&er 0r the county jtiase-Or'the
County, end the proceedings shall forthwith be.certi-.
ma to'the county juaae who shall at onoc tako'the
-neoessarystep~sto have the aerenaant oozivaitted to' . .
and oonfined in the State XosDital for the insane
until he beoonas'.sane. On the other hand, nhsn the
aer6ESe on the'trial of the w3in charge is the
insanity of the ,defendant the jury shall bo instructed,
: if they atquit h?inon that ground, to stat.0thut fact"
with their verdict, and if ,they furthar rind the defen-
dant to have been insane at the tize the act is alleged . .
to have been conuitted, but 8ane at the time of the .
trial, he shall be ixmdiately discharged, Hovsevur, If
the Jury finds that the ~defend&it iGs insane .at the tine
the act is alle&ed to have been corYJittedand insane
at the.tiizeof trial, or 5~3115 at the ti-?e the aat is
allcOed to have been co@.tted and insane at the tke
of the trial, the court shall thereupon nake and have
entered on the ninutcs of the coilrton order oo&ittlnd
the acranaant to the custody Of the sheriff, to bo kept
subject to further order of t!la cwmty jtid(;o of the
cou!lty, end the. procoe~dinga shnll fo?thvlth be ccrtificd
to tim oounty JuQe who shall~ st once tekc the neoceaary
Steps to hdic the dCf&IEnt ---ittod
00&r to nrid canfined in
a Stete iioq&tal for t.ho inaanc until he bccor:cssane.
(2% 932a, v. k, C. c. P.)"
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i ’ son. GCO. ii. Sheppard,pago 5
Thereforei uhero.thi.def&dant ii~ charGad with a felony
cad, upm trial, the plea of insanity is.invoked and the
defend-t 18 adjudged ilrsa~&e,it is our opinion that the
*ease has been ii.ua~ disposed of in the trial courtfil
rithti the neanirigor tit. 1027, qpa.
On the baoi.sof the facts relative to the clain aubnlttetl,
there 9188.8final adjudioation of the %nStant case. l'heraforo,
it la gur opinion that you 9-e authorized to issu8 warrant8 in _
pepymt of See? in the present olalm.
Art4 lo@, V. A. c. $..F., prOVide8;
'The ~OiiQt~o~er upon .the receipt of such OlaFfl,
and said certified copy of the niriutes of ml4 Court, ,I,~
shall Closely and carefully emuine the mm, and if.
he deems the aam to be ,corruct, he ahall drav his
warroot on the Stata Tressurer for the amount fouiid
by hln-to be due, end.in favor of the officer entitled '
to the 88zae. ff the appropriation for paying suoh ac- ,.
counts is exhausted, the Ccmptroller shall file tho
sgtm'aWay,.iP found to'be correot,.and issue a csrtifi-
oate in $..he.nane 0l:tbc officer entitled to the 881~3,~ '1
atatine hereinthe saount of the olaln an& the charao-
ter of the services perforsd. Al.1 suoh cl&is or
eooounts not sexitto or ~lacod on rile in ti3.g office
of the Ooa~trolltsrwithin tvmlve '(12) months Iro2at%
date the saze becomes due and paysble 8hoU be forolar
barred.w ( efap
hr-SiS .OUTE
It io OUI!opikon that said statute a&lies to Pe& &'a
~nurderaase a8 well es other foldnios.
Xe trust that&e have satisfactorily-answcrad your in-
qdry. .. :.
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Your8 very truly;'~
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.c. &k?J+
BY. &
it.C. Jr.h
DDVIS, *
Assistant
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By' I
eze
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