Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1094 Page: 3 of 4
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Hon. Geo. W. Cox, M.D., page 3 (V-1094)
"We further observe that in accord-
ance with settled rules of interpretation
of statutes, even when the language used
is susceptible of two meanings, the courts
are to give it that meaning which will con-
form to the scope of the act and carry out
the purpose of the statute. Mr. Black, in
his Hornbook on Interpretation of Laws, p.
56, lays down the rule that, where the lan-
guage used is ambiguous, or admits of more
than one meaning, it is to be taken in such
a sense as will conform to the scope of the
act and carry out the purpose of the stat-
ute."
House Bill 217, Acts 50th Leg. 1947, ch.369,
p.745, amended Articles 968, 969, 970, 971, and 1053,
Vernon's Code of Criminal Procedure, and Section 1 of
House Bill 613 Acts 46th Leg. 1939, ch. 1, p. 343.
All of these statutes deal with inquests.
The emergency clause of House Bill 217, supra,
provides in part:
"The fact that Justices of the Peace
and physicians and chemists are now under-
paid for their services in connection with
the holding of inquests and the performing
of autopsies on dead bodies; the fact that
public health officers and registrars of
vital statistics information now have no
means of ascertaining the cause of death,
in certain cases, as required by the Sani-
tary Code of Texas; and the further fact
that, as a safeguard in the detection and
prevention of crime, dead bodies should not
be cremated until the cause of death is de-
termined;...
We believe that the Legislature, in passing
House Bill 217, was considering only those instances in
which inquests were authorized to be held. To hold that
such a certificate is required in all cases would be re-
quiring the Justice of Peace to issue a certificate as
to facts of which he could have no direct knowledge in
the absence of an investigation. The statutes do not
authorize investigations by the Justice of the Peace ex-
cept in connection with inquest proceedings.
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1094, text, August 22, 1950; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth265912/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.