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                   OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY    GENERAL   OF TEXAS
                                    AUSTIN
    GE-C. MANN
    Anomlmv
         Gil”m*L

           X’onorablaGeorga E. Sheppard
           ColriptroLler
                       of Yublic Aocounts

           Dear Clrt
                                                         .




     Honorable George k   'heppard, Page 2


               '*(a) The informtim    desired is wh~thrr
          or hot it in mcGatory thet thie dupwtmmt
          oenoel   1iOGncG   to sell L6fur.dXotor Fuel whioh
          has l>Cc!l !:GEUMI to c pcroon who ha8 been e,iven
,.        e suopcndedmntebcc under the pmmlty proVl-
          aiou 3ct out.in %hlou 27(k) sria %kotion 27(L)
          of tho Act rdfurroc?tc above.
                “(b)  Kould thla dopartrzentbs authorized
          to i5611e lio~nsctto Q person who tes bc:eccoh-
          vloted of 6 falony undr?rthe sbOV~6Aot during
          the the the scuta;oo'issuspended? At the eli
          pir&ticn of tbe susvended sontonoe, then would
          this bepertrrentbe authorized to lrsue lloense
          to suoh PttlOxkO
               *(o) Koulcla psreoo who hsa been gi'venR
          suspended nentenoo forfeit the right to fS1o a
         ,refunG alsim for a per106 of 0:ke(1) yenr from
          the dete of sdoh oonviatlon?~
              'M~thou~hthz obore statute has not been before
     the courts of this -"t&t8or before this department rcr
                 + we believe a review of the dooIsiana 0r
     aonslaeratio-
     the oourts of thin and other state8 end OS opinions of,
     this departxontupon aiailar statutes, elthougtinot coh-
     trollit& will be helpful in arriving at the intmtion
     of the Legislature in the enaotvmnt of the instant statute.
                your gueatfou resolve6 itself to a oonatruotlon~
     of the words nfclony cooVv!yttlon*    a8 used in the quoted
     portlx of Csotlon 13(d) or".iutlols7065b, Vem on's Texas
     Clvll :%stuteo; thst is to say, do.suoh terma meen a mere
     fiadlng of the fact of ol,uiLC,    either byverdiot of jury
     or by a plea of guilty, but upon whioh flnel judscnt or
     sentence bus beon euspcr:dact,   u?gar the oontrollin&Cus-
                        CUW 02? e.othey man muh findfn~ or ed-
     pO!ldWl .Tk3~tt?I3,Qe
     ~u6icstionor @lilt, follo:;~~B up by the nppropriate aontenoe
     of the lsw. Th6 w<>rd"conviotlonWhas been used in vrrious
     legislativeennotrrc-nts,    to m&n both at these phasun, ttm
     firs-tte:::r:! Iho ~~oplar ixcinin;: 6scrtbed thereto 0uZ thf;.
     h~;L~r  b6IhC th6 t6oliuios.I  6W?@5  111which the fiord is en-
     Nwd.                               +<
                Th$n io Illu:4ratud I&>ha folloui;lgquotetion
                                                                        .
Xanorable Ceorgo B:~hepparb, Page )


_             Vbo tc;;rr:
                       aonwiatian 1PrIntlmtely bound
         up with   the   crl:iml   luw,   and   It hen   been   cl%id
         thet iu critinal prooedure the war@ i~.of agtiv-
         ocal mcml~.~, hsvlng both a populnr, and 6 teoh-
         nice1 lkqal ei~liiiic6ti.Oil,
                                    the oonstruotion not
         el\ragshelcs wlforn, but hpendirrg upon en in-
         torprcbotlonor the partloular I&w or utstute
         under oansiderntion; , . . . It may, however,
         for th0 purpose of classlflootlonbe said to
         hsvs three montngo: (1) bnerali (2) ordinary;
         end (3) Cechnicel.
              "33 its genorel or ooxprehendve, alao ro-
         ferred to OS its pop+&sr, 881166,the tern Ces
         been ilerinea as the overthrow or e dsfclndant
         by the eotebll0hmentof his guilt, according
         to sow of the known legal mocbs; a verdict, or
         flm.?ill~,Of guilty; . . . ;
            qlAaorclinarllyemployed in la&   phraeeologg,
       or in ito ordinary legal aenfm, the ten *eon-
     . vlotionf is used to desii',nete
                                     that particuler
     .,:!s+5gq
             of a oriklnal pro~eou$lon, *:on a plea ot
    _' @lty la entered in open court, or e vsrdlot la
       returned by 8 Jury, . . .
     .
             -wXn'a atrlot legal sense, or v&on uesd in
         its zor6 reotrlcte% anS teohnlaal sl6@~lcatlon,
         the word hna been Cefined so denoting the final
         judaent of the court end as'ln?portin& tbc final
         connummtlon of the prosecution, rron tbo ootc-
         plaint to the jud@zent of the court of scintenoej
         sonfd&ms fnolud2ng, and acPr.etLmesnot inoluding,
         the sentence; end in thi:;sense It is mid to
         aoncern the statesof'Snfeay resultlne frorzthm
         flncl judgmnt of cnndwmtloa for ortie. . . SW
            Yhere c cuspenCed~sont%ncehas been mrantsd weither
the verdict of cmv:ctlon nor the judf.??ent     entered t,barcon
shall bccom firxl... . .R      fi.rtiale T@,' Code of Cri5Lnal Pro-
OBdUrC, 1525. "i'3c:or   t&e tex.xBox-C,U.i‘:IL~tut#c
                                                    rc.:Ytipc to
t&2                        it has ken held that in a CDBB whore
    StZ3pC3SidFZG C4~Ilt~:lC>e,
one receives ouch nnnt~~sco~ths    judment 10 not final end oen-
not be ep~!ealoCl-x-cm."~t:nt2~V. mm,        281 r. :i. 1072. If
by the worth "felony ccnviction~~    as used fn the quoted artlohn
     Eonorat3.eGeorge H. rheppsrd,Pa@      4




               Cnder atetutsa prhcreaclviotloo is made the ground
     ot come dlsabillty or spaoi~l peacrlty,itbs been gonerolly
     buld that the term ~*oonviotlGn'l mm% a fins1 edjud~ontion
     by judgment of the court retrim then a mt'r~vcrCiat of guilty.
     16 C. 5. X266-67; i%3b@s v. :"ebian,85 H. 7. 672, 18 L. R. k.
     (u.x.) 634.
                This idbptibn of'the strlot teahniaal moaning bf
     the terR “oonviatlon” rather then the .~opulerE~38tlilIf.& whe,n
     such oonvlctlbn io follon#d, unc‘;crpcrtlmnt statutes, by
     certein civil  penalties and aonmquenoee, Is illustratkd
     by the stetsmmt of the aourt in tb% CHSB, eupra, thetr

                 ". . . where disabilities,disqu%lificetions,
            and forr%"eitures  are to rollow upon e cagviotlon,
            in the oy% of tho law it is thEt ccnvfcblon which
            in %vLdenaed by sentenoo and 'judgz.ent.;   %Mt thnt,
            whheresentanoe ia auopended,am? oo'tm dlreot
            oonsequttnoes  ot fi.m end Imprisonmmt mm suupernd-
            rd or postponca tfmporerilyor indetlnitely,8uT
            f&b, the indirect conoqucinoes%ro likewise post-
            ponod."                                               ',<
                                                                  ?.
                                                                   ,'.:
..               Tids rule %ppc%re to hsv6 bcsn epproved by the:
     fer~rTexne deoisions avelleble upon this question. The Su-
      rem Court of Tezas in zhe early cene oi G%llaeher V. -tote,
     PO Tcx. ct. APT).469, upon annctrtin~:oanntitutionaland
     statutory   provi~jion~ dingu%lifyfng sernons-    frownvoting is
     Taxes Q&O hive bc+cn'*oomiotedof any felony," held that
     the word macxivictedw has a 4~fin13e si~~nlrfcntlon      in few
     nnd deans t,hr:t  B ~udtg%xlt  of'rlnal t?c?lCh~iatiOn haa been
     pronounced   tr:jalnst the  acaused.
     HOnorsble George IL phsppsrd,Pege 5


      thc ouspennionWOB void and th0 vot%r WCB not qtmimd,     -
      no4 heviag been pnr<oncd. yhile not dimotly 30 bald, r.e
      t.blnZit ifie-feir irir^erar;cs
                                   fro;rr
                                        thfa mlinr. that had th0
      auepenfdon ofsentence boec effected under &.velid suspended
..    ssnteaoa law, the votsr vzouldnot htpro been diaqualifled es
     'heving been "oonvoiotodof any felony" within the monin,g
      of the Constltutiouand stntutaa.
               The courts have given a like oomt,ruotionto the
     word,waonviated'5s mod-.in tha statuts (ainoe mended) dia-
                                   rson t&o hod lean aonvlatod
     or 8 foiony.        . “trite,100 3.7. 771; L;5?iQO33 0. Ytate,
     165 6.x. 208; sminnds v. ntate, 175 C.VI.1064.
                   fn sppsrent oohflict with the above suthoritlea
     am      aerteln deoisione of the Texas Court of Crlmlnel Appeals,
      holdlng that uader the S,uspmded Sentonce Lsw providing for
      au3gUmded atmtenoe in c03e the aoousod harrncv0r befor been
      aonvlctod of e telony, uhiherc    the eocuscd hi-id  been aonvioted
      or a ra0ny     aud ~03 oilIlbctrtyunder 8 suspended ssntenoe,
      subziasion of a quontion of 3U33aAde&       sentence   to the Jury
     War3'Fcrpropor  , sic00 e Jue~icene or guilty     in a felony oas%
     .accanpnniadby e MU3:cnsim of SGntaCCe is 8 cocviotionOf
      reiony.     Callow3y v. CtatG, 240 F. '7.ClSk;IS.11v. Ztate,
      243 E. Yi. 982. But vm think them deolsiona can be distin-
      @shod frozethose disaussed sbovo, under the pertiauler
      1sngna~G of the suspended soutenoe statute, as ditraurssed
      in tha opinion of 31d.i;6   Lattinoro in iW.1 v. State, sup-e.
     Uoreover, unlike the other utatutea adverted to sb~ve, this
      oorlntruotion   ~3s reesonablc and necaesary to rcn!er the
      SlSpXhXl     SetitenoeLsw ‘xorkablaen8 tdfcotive; beoauee if e
      rhi      fUdPJW?tZt
                        Or thG OOWt wes r,acessargto oonatltute a          .
      vOonviotion"within the n;eaningof the Zuapended Scnteuce
      bi, than lSUfD65SiV0appliOdiOIl3       fOl'3U33Qnd0d senterae
     .-notid   bG ponsibl0 nlt,hoU<hthe defendtinthad bmp. mng       timoe
      aortvictcsd  of guilt but &ven tbe.ben0flt of e suopsnaion
      or sc.nteuce   in prior a33as.
             Answa’rin~your oeoor,dque&ion~‘and‘baaingour
allswe~upwn the prinOip~e#     bsroiriabove    dlsousaed, pw ed-
vise that ywu would ‘be aul;horlzed    to iesue a liaonae for
~tbepurpono OS sellirrgrelund motor fuel.,to a deelcr
whono aentcnce of felony oanvfction bee boon nuspsndsd
uncor the !Xspendod :kntanoo i.tiw,    during who Cloneof Eil&
euny*aeion, provided t.het,dor.inEsuch period tts dhelor
in  not   convicted of my other felony. Zf, on the ot!ter
hand, sef& deelar ie oonvictod of enwther felony during
tho pexIwd wf suspension aC eantenoo for hie first felony
0rfOmi0,    fine1 judgment Is, under cert+in ntetutory pro-
cuedin~e,,pronounsed uoon the .origj..neJ      canvi.ction,an%
thenceforthE J--Y& ju;i~~~~lt    of cc~viction     wovld erlst
wt1lctl  would 4WJCo:sLiLiCUll.y
                              forf’ultt.kolioeiluela question.
This re.t3ultn  fros t#bc.provislone of Article 379, Code of
Crir:inid iYooedtm3, rcoCi~g; as f 011~~3:
          “‘JPCQthe fi!sll.
                          oo;i-~iction
                                     of ttc Ccfond-
     ant of my other falony pcr.dingLho sua~~cnoion
     of sen~tcnco,tkc c:>urt,~~nCiu:?cuci:suspcn5lOn
     shell CUUE~ e cr-,&txi
                          to 1~3~s for tke arrrst 0r
.



                                                                            .
    Honorable   Cieorga   Ii. Gheppord, Fage 8


                   5%~ cmsv~erto yaw t!airdqueetion la Koverned by
    the ikcislv~!~     naci Opitifoii8
                                    herckobovc diacustied,under
    which we held thet n suspended sentmae on.81.Selonycon-
    vlction on verdict or pXae.OS gu,il.ty,    i8 not a ‘Telony oonvla-
    tioo” wJ.tblnthe r::ennla~g   OS reul;ion.U(A) of ktlole 70&b,
    v~raot5~6Tmas Civil ftntutea. Aa in the cum of the Sor-
    felturc     0S tf.0refund clwiler~s1icwm0, the denial of the
    rlE;fit of ecy person to S1l.aa claim md obtuin a tax refund
    ror a ~~rforl of cm yeor frca the bite of a felony convlo-’
    tLan dwondu, under such statute, upon a fluul cc.miction
    and not n a(360where centencc of awmlctlon 1.3ouopondcd.
    Ye aaoordlrqly aanaor your third question in ttm nogativa.
                                tozefplng   fully   anawera your inquiry,
                                       h




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