Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-8 Page: 1 of 5
This text is part of the collection entitled: Texas Attorney General Opinions and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF TEXAS
JOHN CORNYN
February 26, 1999
The Honorable Ken Oden Opinion No. JC-0008
Travis County Attorney
P.O. Box 1748 Re: Whether section 15(g) of the Bail Bond Act,
Austin, Texas 78767 TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 2372p-3 (Vernon
Supp. 1999), prohibits an attorney from advertising
in the Bail Bond section of the telephone book
yellow pages (RQ-1219)
Dear Mr. Oden:
On behalf of your office and the Travis County Bail Bond Board, you ask whether section
15(g) of the Bail Bond Act, TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 2372p-3 (Vernon Supp. 1999) (the
"Act"), which prohibits persons who are not licensed under the Act from advertising as bondsmen,
bars an attorney from advertising in the Bail Bond section of the telephone book yellow pages. We
address only strictures of the Act. We do not address any other statutory provisions or rules that may
govern attorney advertising, such as the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. As
explained below, attorneys acting pursuant to section 3(e) of the Act, which excepts attorneys from
the Act's licensing requirements and permits them to execute bail bonds in certain limited
circumstances, do not act as bondsmen within the meaning of the Act. An attorney who merely
advertises services he or she is authorized to provide under section 3(e) does not advertise as a
bondsman contrary to section 15(g). For this reason, section 15(g) does not preclude an attorney
from advertising in the Bail Bond section of the telephone book yellow pages as a matter of law.
Some advertisements may run afoul section 15(g) as a matter of fact. The determination whether
a particular advertisement violates section 15(g), however, involves fact questions and is beyond the
scope of an attorney general opinion.
In counties subject to the Act, no person may act as a bondsman except a person who is
licensed under the Act or, significantly, a person who is licensed to practice law in Texas who
satisfies the requirements of section 3(e) of the Act. See id. 3(a). Section 3(e) provides a very
limited exception for attorneys who are not licensed under the Act to execute bail bonds for their
clients:
Persons licensed to practice law in this state may execute bail bonds or
act as suretiesfor persons they actually represent in criminal cases without
being licensed under this Act, but they are prohibited from engaging in thepractices made the basis for revocation of license under this Act and if found
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-8, text, February 26, 1999; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274317/m1/1/?q=%221999%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.