Article III, Section 51-c of the Texas Constitution ("Aid or Compensation to Persons Improperly Fined or Imprisoned")
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Added November 6, 1956:
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.
Editor Comments
In 1937, a Section 51-c (which concerned assistance to the blind) was added to Article III.
In 1945, that section was repealed and its substance transferred to Article III, Section 51-a.
Recent Decisions
- Brown v. City of Houston, 660 S.W.3d 749, 755-56 (Tex. 2023) (citation omitted) ("Over a century after Texas authorized state penitentiaries . . . . That sovereign policy decision manifested itself in a constitutional amendment approved in November 1956, which authorizes the legislature to 'grant aid and compensation to any person' fined or imprisoned 'for an offense for which he or she is not guilty, under such regulations and limitations as the Legislature may deem expedient.' The amendment was a cautious, aspirational step. It did not directly promise anything to anyone, for by its terms the amendment was not self-executing.")
Historic Decisions
- State v. Clements, 319 S.W.2d 450, 452 (Tex.Civ.App.–Texarkana 1958, ref'd) ("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 the class of persons named in the amendment, the prohibition of Sec. 51, Art. III against granting funds to an individual; (3) empower enactment of such regulations and limitations the Legislature decides will promote the objective of aid and compensation to the class of persons named. . . . The right to receive aid and compensation is contingent upon action by the Legislature.")
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)