’ 606
OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Ron. I. Pmd4oki
bounty Auditor
c4l+euton coculty
Ga1reaton, Terar
Dear sir:
for opinion, whioh
pour opinion on
latinp,to the filling ot
h more than 58,000 powa-
r 20,000 population, saeb
aeloot irem the Ust of
unty au ahown by the tax lists
4 for th4'burrent y44r.'
0 in the Tax Asaeasor’u oifioe should
led as ‘tax lists’?
tha poll-tax lirt be regarded a8 rtax
he purview OS oaid rtatute?'
*IL would the oubon 4opier of reoeiptr lerued for
atttamabilellaenseo be regarded as tax llataTa
i
i *o era....
,.i
7
Ron. I, Pr4drokl, 9464 2
- &tie18 2133 at seq., V. A. C. 9. of T4144, sets
forth the gualitioatiotm ot Jurors generally throughout the
Stats or Texas. Tha statutes Just mentloged 8r4 general
laws, and rt the tin4 of the enaoabnt of the original Jury
wheel aot or 1907 w4r4 in Ofre0t and bud so been ror naaf
years.
The original jury wheel aot Oi 1907 did not 0pemt.e
to ohango the then-existing Statute8 SO far ao sanm applied
to the ala88 of oountira to whioh tha ury wheel aot related1
nor was tha liieo tor it to make unava ilab14 for Jury lerrio4 in
those oountlra aomfng under the jury wheel sot, miy man heirlng
qualitioationa ~praacrlbed in said statutes ilrat above men-
tioned.
Prior to the enaotmant of said jtiy wheel lm
all jurors in the State wore oomt~nly selected by fur7 oom-
mlaalonera, and this selection involved in it the blbdmnt or
disoretion. The OfrOot or the jury wheel law was to rwm~0,
in the aountles afrbm3d br aald law, the alenent or diaore-
tlon involved in the sbleotlon ot Jurors by jury .commiaalonera,’
and to subatltute for this elemant ot dlaorition the sbouring
of Jury panels by mPaohanioa1~~8118~
Art1014 209k 0r Vernori*a Revised civil Statutes
provides&
*aatwb4n the Iiret and fiiteenth days of August or.
eaoh year, in eaoh oounty having a population of at leaat
tirty-eight thouaacd or hering therein a oltg oontaining
a population of at least twenty thousand, am shown by the
preoeding Federal Census, tha Tar Collsotor or one oi hls
daputlea, together ulth the Tax Assessor or on4 of h.ia
deputies, togathur with the Sheriff or on6 of hi8 deputie@,
and thb County Clerk or one of hlo deputies, .aad the Dla-
triot Clerk or on4 of his deputlem, shall m8rtt at tho
oourt house of tholr Qountp and seAoat irom:the liat'ot
qualifi4d jurors ot auoh oountg am shown br~the tax lists
in the Tar A8aomor+a 0rrf00 ror thb ourrent ye*r, til7-
3ur o r Sor a lsrtios in the Dlatrlot sub County Courts ti
suoh oounty for the ensting gear in the aanmr hereinafter
prorldbdr* (r;iPpharle ouro)
ROn. 1. FTbdOOki, Dag9 3
ml010 a095 or v. A. a. 9. 0s TOXU is 44 r0l3m4:
"Said oitio4rs shall write the n41rma o? all men who
are &noun to be Quali?ied lurora under the law. reaidlnq
inhlbir ronD6Otive oounti44, on soprate oardo o? unl?om~~
aias and color. writing al80 on Bald oardr. whenerar ~048i-
bla, the post 6??ioa uidreas o? eaoh juror-se 4414oteil,
exoept that in oanntiea of ono hundred tifty thoauand popu-
lation, or over, aa sham by tie preoedlng Pedbral 04nm4,
the oomni4rlo~mr~4 oourt &all provide a sum n4004aary,
not oxoeading three hundred (#SOO.OO) dollars in my 0114
fear. ror the rtarmuit of anoh trolat and other 4x~a44ea a8
iiay 64 neaess&y; who shall u&r the dirsotion kd supor-
ViSiOB of the dirtriat-, typo the nanem and addrosaea
o? said qualified rotera upon %he onrda as herein desoribed.
Be oards containlna eafd name4 shall be d4DOSit4d in a
oiroular hollow *h&l, to bo poridod for S&I purpose by
the Convaiasloner*aCourt a? the aounty. Said wheel shall
be made o? Iron or steel and stall be 40 conatruoted aa
to ?rrely revolve on its axle: . . .* (~phaels ours)
The Jury wheel law, as first onaoted, did not oontain
the refersnor to the *list o? qualified furors of suoh oounty
as shown by the tax lists in the Tax Assessor*a otflo4a, whloh
now appeara in 8aid Artiole 2094. The ofiioera dealgatad in
the aot were le?t to asoertaln the namaa o? the qualliled
jurors in their aounty through their own personal knowledga o?
said persona. The names plaoed in the jury wheel were limlted
by the extent of information as to who were qualified jurors
In the oounty,posaeeeed by the orfloers named.
In 1911 the Legislature amendedthis Jury wheel law
by ohanging the time ot ?llllng the Jury wheel and by inaertlng
a olause requiring said of?losr4 to look to *the tax llata in
the Tax Aaseamrls o??ioeW in making leleotlons o? the names to
be plaaed in the jury tieol. The amendment left in full effeat
that part or the aot requiring said o?iioers *to plaoo in the
jury wheel the names o? all men reafdlng In the oounw who 41-e
known to them to be quall?led jurors under the law.*
609
Ron. I. FTodoeki, pago 4
Arti 813s lt lOQ., of the Rotlsad Statute8
or lms, thin8 the ptdiriO~ti028 or juror8 gonerally bbrolgh-
oat th0 State, aad the t*a utfoler 0r the J0.r~rh0O1. 14~ j-t
quoted, all being gaaeral laW8, most ba no o0n8tr~0d togother
.%8 tit give a rO08OnablO OffOOt t0 ai Of thbn if 8UOh 001&8tXWO-
tica be QO8aible.
tin8tXtiag thoeo hw8 in aaoordaase with the above
rrferred tc rule or Oon8t~OtiOIl w8 do not believe that it
was th4 i&tent, -080 or effooi Or the jury whorl law to
render atrvailablo to? jtWy 8OlriOO in th080 OOUEltiO8wbioh
Oam WdO? 8Ush hf, w Mal 11 OUOhOOWktiO8 who had the
qUdiiiOltiOlt8 of a jtlrorprescribed in said Artlolsf&?D,
Ot IOQ. In oonrtrulng that portlan of Art&ala ;K)94 (a8
mended) uhioh prOWidOl thlt tha acUne3used fcr filling the
jury wheel arm obtained *ffom the Wx 11Ut8 in tho ht A880880?‘8
ofiioo ror the ourrent year, * togsthor with that protiaion ti
Artlolo 8095 (as amended), whleh pmtidea that the drrignated
orrioers *8hall writs the aames or all men who am knom to be
qualified jurors under the law, * on cards whloh shall be plaoed
in the whesl,. wa ara inarltablg lad to the oonalu8lon that it
was ths purpose and lntsat or the Legislature fn eaaoting the
jury wh& law to (a) praearrs tha arallability as jurors or
all men In the oounty qualified ror jar;r80l’ViOO under the
Fenoral law: fb) to abolish, in oountlss oolningunder the pro-
ririone si the Jury whssl law, the olsment cf dlsorstion in-
volved in the selsotion, br jury oommissioners or tho individual
jurors to make up Jury panol8, and to utiliae instead the saloo-
tlon or jury panel8 by meohanioal mans1 and (0) to aaaotioa by
law the use of the tax list* In ths tax amm38or*s 0rri06 ror
the ourrent roar 83 w aid to ths designated ot’?ioars in their
perrc-manrr or their duty to bee that the d&aee or all thorns
know to be qualified jurors under ths law fiad their way into
the jury wheel. SO think the law OOIIt~~lS~W that ths doalg-
nated orriosrr should be dilige"t 12 their effort8 t4 oolleot
and plaoe In the fury rheol tha namn of all mai la the oounty
having the qoallrioationr or jurors a8 psrorfbed by the 8ta-
We8 Or TMCa8. And alway the oontmllla& objeot to bo et-
rooted Is tha plaoing in the jury rhea1 of all tha qualiflsd
fU?0Z8 il the OOWlty.
610
Hon. I. Prodaoki, pq$o 5
The dO8i@uIted OrriOW8 have a0 awar to dirorimi-
nata agaia8t any qwiiri04 juror kaaua to ti am whore JIM48
4pDaar oa tha tax liStI (300 misooa 74 State, 104 aTim. Rap.
40222Xnott v. state, 140 Grim. Rap. 4481 Atwaad v. 3tat0,
94 Ori& Rap. 8448 yabquas 7, State, 74 Grir. Rap. 371 &%I&.&
v. St&O, 44 Orim. ROD. 335)
The designated orrioora do not tar0 the powwto
leave out of the jtuy ahaol the nlasr or qualirlad jurors
who are ontitled to exemption iromfrrf rartioa, M nroh
exemption ir not a dl4qu4llrloation rcr jury 8orvioo but
18 a prltilaga whioh say OT my not be ol.aimad by tha
pemon afreoted thereby at hi4 option. (Yee Randolph T.
State, 117 Orb. rupra)
Rap. 80; ard Atwood T. ':;tata,
In tha 04~4 Or XoEIaal v. :3tata, 101 him. Rep.
114, our Court ot Criminal Appeals said8
*It re comprahand the lan+aga of Arti~ola5151,
supra, in its rafareaoa to the filling or the jury
wheel *rrom the liab or qualified jurors af auoh oounty
a4 shown by the tax list8 in tha Tax .maa8aor*8 0rri04
ror the oturaht ytiar,'thl8 maeha that a OOuDlata list
of suoh Darl)onsmust be had and usad.* (sph48i8 ours)
lmun what we have aaid above you will uudarstand
that our amwer to your qnaation Ro. 1 ia that thr list in
the Tax Asaasaor';lottioa,whioh should properly be alasalriad
aa a tax list within ths uaanin5 of tnu jury whebl law, 18
the rendition llati but this llat is to be used in aid Or the
designated orrioarr In a diligent effort oa their part to
sea that the name8 of all qualitled jurors In the oouaty
rihd their way into the jury wheel. In rurtharanoa of thl8
arrort, it is DaraLi88ibl8ror 3ald orfioare to rarer to and
ahaok the all tax list ror the ourrent year against tho
raudltlon P ist) but it wauld be error ror the offiorro to
use said poll tax list as the exolueira 8du?OO from whloh
the maad to be pla8e4 in the jury wheel would bo obtained.
z.8 the OasO Or Bri8eOu 7. st4tu, SOpI%, WhiOh
war a death penalty oa80, and in mhloh (I motion for rohaariw
wab o~arruhd, our Court or Criminal Apws aald I
,.
611
Iloa,I. Predeokl, paga 6
9t (the jury who.].) M* rerllled . , . on the
rilling the rhea1 haa bean approved by the oommlsrionera
court on the 9th day of July, 1925, . . . The oomplaint
t&t nsma# la addition to there on tho tax lists warm
plaaed In the uhaal raa~~~swlthout sumit. Artiale 2095,
R.C.3. (1925) expressly dlreots the offloerr riiliAg
tho ahsol to plaoe therein ‘the name8 or all men who
are Lnom to be qtlaiiried juror 8. * l
In the oase or Knott T. Sate, supra, in an opinion
having to do with proper prooedure under the jury wheel lrr,
the oourt said!
*Th6y (the orrisers designated by statute) used
the tax roll 0r the tax aas*asor*8 orit r0r the year
1922. . . They mpplemsntad the tax rollr from the tax
assessor*8 oifioa with the poll tax rolls for tho aama
year, oheoklng rrom on0 to the other in an erfort eo
leave the mpr or no ‘one out or the whrela who might be
known to be a quallrisd juror. Some n-es not upon tha
tax rolls rram ths tax assessor*s ofrlos wars also plaosd
in the jury wheel ii it wa8 knom to the orrioers that
they were qualified jurors. . . We oonoludr it ahowr
a substantial aomplianos wlth Aztlola5151, SlS2 and 5153,
R. c. 3,”
In the above oaso notion for rshbsrlng wa8 orerrulad
by the oour t.
In answer to your seoond question, we advise that the
poll tax list is not to be regarded aa *tax list* wlthin the
meaning of the jury whoa1 law, but wa further ray that raiarsnoo
to the poll tax list may be had bl the derlgnatsd offioer8 aa
an aid to thus in the prrmniMOe Of their duty to 888 that the
names 0r all the qualiflsa jurors in the oounty r%nd their way
into the wheel, In this OOAAOOtiOA ws oall your attention to
612
Ron. I. FmdookI, ~8 ‘I
tb dealsion to the oam or Atwood v. State 94 calm. Rag.
249, wherein our Court of UrIminal A;pealr in rwerslng a
orisinal oontiotion had this to say:
“There la no dispute of the faet that the who.1
was filled from the poll tax list only. , . W think
thhs aotlon or the authorities erroneous and or auoh
?natsrialIty aa to require a ravsraal of thia judgnwnt.*
Tha ,-in maso whlob militates agalnrt the usa
0r the poll tax lI*t ror tha &Wpores or tha jury who.1 law,
I8 that the poll tax llet rrom 313 very nature or it aould
not and would not oontain a aomplefxlist of all thoeo men
IA t.he aounty qualiried ror jury aerrioe. 1% ham found no
deoiaion ln direot point tit& the quo&Ion, but the 8ame
rearonlng or ths oourb whlsh oonrtrai;ledl than to hold it
error to use the poll tar list would obta:n tith equel or
,@eator toroe to the oarbon oopler or reaelpta ror autoso-
bile liacmmsa. You are t!?arerore advised ttat carbon
oopier(:or reoeipto issued for automobIle lioense8 do not
00118 within the Aaanlng 0r *tar lIsta= as that term is us8a
in the jury wheel law,
Your3 very truly
CIB:AMM -/