State v. Clements

• Decision Date: 09 December 1958
• Docket Number: No. 7102,7102
• Parties: The STATE of Texas, Appellant, v. H. A. CLEMENTS, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 450

319 S.W.2d 450

The STATE of Texas, Appellant, v. H. A. CLEMENTS, Appellee.

No. 7102.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, Texarkana.

Dec. 9, 1958.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 30, 1958.

Will Wilson, Atty. Gen., C. K. Richards, and Asst. Attys. Gen., Riley Eugene Fletcher, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellant.

Johnnie B. Rogers, E. Tonnett Byrd, Austin, Fred Erisman, Longview, for appellee.

CHADICK, Chief Justice.

The appellee as plaintiff in the trial court obtained a judgment against the State of Texas as defendant. The judgment of the trial court is reversed and judgment is rendered dismissing the action.

Appellee, H. A. Clements, filed a petition for false arrest in the District Court of Gregg County, Texas, alleging his prior conviction for violating a penal law of the grade of felony, the violation of which he was not guilty, and pleading verbatim his full pardon granted by the Governor of Texas; alleging further that under the judgment of conviction he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and served two years in the State Penitentiary before pardon. Appellee then alleged various elements of damages directly and proximately resulting from his wrongful arrest, indictment, conviction, sentence and imprisonment in the penitentiary aggregating $149,500.

The State of Texas, appellant here, answered and among its several defenses was a plea in abatement and special exceptions. The State's plea in abatement alleged in substance: (1) That Sec. 51-c, Art. III, Constitution of Texas, Vernon's Ann.St., was not self-executing and that the Legislature had failed to prescribe by valid enactment any regulations or limitations under which aid or compensation might be granted; (2) that until the Legislature had prescribed the regulations and limitations under which such aid and compensation could be applied for and granted, no cause of action existed in favor of appellee; and (3) the resolution of the Legislature authorizing Clements to bring suit is not such a law or statute as would constitute an admission of liability on the part of the State or create a cause of action therefor in favor of the appellee.

Appellee in his brief states his position in this language:

'This suit was simply a cause of action based upon false imprisonment, and suits for damages caused by false imprisonment are as old and as well established as our common law. The most significant thing appellee contends (is that all) the Constitutional Amendment did was remove the immunity in this type of case which heretofore protected the State from suits for damages caused by its agents while performing a governmental function. Once the immunity is removed and permission to sue the State is obtained the well established and time honored common law rules of false imprisonment control in all respects. * * *'

In 1956 the Constitution of Texas was amended by adding Section 51-c to Article III, reading as follows:

'The Legislature may grant aid and compensation to any person who has heretofore paid a fine or served a sentence in prison, or who may hereafter pay a fine or serve a sentence in prison, under the laws of this State for an offense for which he or she is not guilty, under such regulations and limitations as the Legislature may deem expedient.'

The 55th Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 113 (Acts 55th Leg. 1957, R.S. p. 1621), granting appellee Clements the right to bring a suit against the State of Texas for such compensation as he might be entitled to by reason of his conviction and serving time in the penitentiary. The resolution does not purport to make an admission of liability nor to find upon any fact necessary to a recovery in court.

Resolution of the questions presented by this appeal requires a declaration by the court of the objective and means of its attainment as expressed in the amendment. In making this declaration, the court must be guided by accepted rules of construction. To this end words are given their natural, obvious and ordinary meanings as they are understood by citizens who adopted the amendment. Cramer v. Sheppard, 140 Tex. 271, 167 S.W.2d 147; Markowsky v. Newman, 134 Tex. 440, 136 S.W.2d 808. And the amendment is construed with reference to the remainder of the Constitution of which it is a part. Purcell v. Lindsey, Tex., 314 S.W.2d 283; Collingsworth County v. Allred, 120 Tex. 473, 40 S.W.2d 13. Construction is made in a manner that will carry out the broad general principles of government stated in the Constitution with a view of giving every provision effect. Ex parte Sanders, 147 Tex. 248, 215 S.W.2d 325; Duncan v. Gabler, 147 Tex. 229, 215 S.W.2d 155. See 16 C.J.S. Constitutional Law Secs. 19-23, pp. 81-97.

The word 'may' ¹ when first used in the amendment is permissive in meaning and as commonly understood conveys the sense of enablement. As the word is used in the final clause in connection with 'deem', it expresses permission characterized by freedom to exercise independent judgment. 'Deem' as used in the amendment simply means 'decide.' The final clause meaning that the power and rights granted are to be the subject of legislative action.

The expressed objectives of the amendment are to: (1) Make innocent persons fined or imprisoned for violating the law of Texas a subject of aid and compensation; (2) remove, as to...