T~~EA~ORNEYGEN#~RAL
OF TEXAS
AURRN. TRxae 78711
February 12, 1974
The Honorable Franklin L. Smith Opinion No. H- 225
County Attorney
Nueces County Re: Removal of Judge of
County Courthouse the Domestic Relations
Corpus. Christi, Texas 78401 Court of Nueces County,
Texas
Dear bfr. Smith: .’ .,;
~XOUhave asked us .two,quertions concerning the offices of Judge of
the Domestic Relations Co&of-Nuecea County as created by Article
2338-10,. V..T.:C.S.. Your ,queatipns are: ;
‘;
“1. Is the officeof Judge of the Domestic Relations
Court-of Nueces~ County a state or district office, or :
is it a county office?.
“2. Is Section 14 of Article 2338-10 providing for
the removal of the Judge of the Court of Domestic
Relations of Nueces .County in the.same manner and
for the same causes,.as a~county Judge may be
removed under the laws of this State constitutional?”
Section 3 of Article 2338-10,. V. T.,C. S., grants to the Nueces County
Court of Domestic Relations “jurisdiction concurrent with the District
Courts of Nueces County”, of .a11 cases generally involving domestic relations.
Section 14 of the Act provides:, ,, :
“The Judge of the Court of DomesticRelations
of Nueces County may be removed from office in the
same,manner and for the same causes as a.County Judge
may be removed under the laws of this State.”
p. 1048
The Honorable Franklin L. Smith, page 2 (H-225)
Article 5, $24, of the Texas Constitution provides as follows:
“County Judges , county attorneys, clerks of the
District and County Courts, justices of the peace,
constables, and other county officers, may be removed
by the Judges of the District Courts for incompetency,
official misconduct, habitual drunkenness, or other
causes defined by Law, upon the cause therefor being
set forth in writing and the finding of its truth by a jury.”
Another.means of removal is provided by the section of the Consti-
tution establishing the State Judicial Qualifications Commission. Texas
Constitution, Article 5, 5 l-a.
Although, as you point out in your. opinion request, the office of
Judge of the Domestic Relations Court of Nueces County is in many
respects similar to the office of District Judge, we believe that the primary
authority in this inquiry is the opinion of the Supreme Court of Texas in
Jordan v. Crudgington. 231 S. W. 2d 641 (Tex. 1950). In that case the
Supreme Court was. considering the constitutionality of Article 2338-3,
V. T. C.S. (see also Acts 1949, 5lst Leg., ch. 426, p. 792), establishing
the Court of Domestic Relations in and for Potter County, Texas, which
statute is similar to Article 2338-10. However, the article establishing
the Domestic ,Relations Court of Potter County, Texas, provided a somewhat
elaborate and innovative procedure for removing said judge and in holding
this provision unconstitutional, the Supreme Court stated:
“Another provision is for the removal of the judge
and clerk of this court by the Juvenile Board. That
provision is violative of Article V, Section 24, of the
Constitution, which provides that county officers may
be removed by district judges upon findings by juries.
The judge and clerk of the court created by this Act
are county officers, and. therefore, can be removed
only in the manner prescribed by this section of the
Constitution. . . . ‘I (231 S. W. 2d at 646).
p. lb49
The Honorable Franklin L. Smith, page 3 (H-225)
At another point in its opinion, the court again stated that “[t]he
judge of the court created by this Act is a county officer” and therefore
required that said judge reside in the county where the court has juris-
diction. (231 S. W. 2d at 646).
Our determination that the conclusion of the court in Jordan v.
Crudgington, supra, is applicable in this case is reinforcedby the require-
ment that the judge’s salary be paid from the county treasury. Vernon’s
Texas Civil Statutes, Article 2338-10, 5 2.
Therefore, the answer to your first question is that, for purposes
of removal from office, the judge of the Court of Domestic Relations
for Nueces County is a county officer, and the answer to your second
question is that the provision established for the removal of that judge
in the same manner and for, the same causes as a county judge is consti-
tutional.
SUMMARY
For the purpose of removal from office, the
judge of the Court of Domestic Relations of Nueces
County is a county officer and the provision providing
for his removal in the same manner and for the same
causes as a County Judge is constitutional.
DAVID M. KENDALL. Chairman
Opinion Committee
p. 1050