Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ‘TEXAS AUSTIN Iioaorable E. 8. lomlaan couu*y Alditor wrm0n c0~nw Beaumont, Texas nalnot uaplayao (aoting in auring right of way for one ), is the Comuk~aionera' Court ploy outa2do legal help to es- p OP District AttOl'My on behalf of either the abare muted Praainat empl~yes or the Comniasloners~ court and pay suoh is0 from 306~8on% Brlc4;sPreainat ikmde? *I$ youp aximwr is that suah fee aim not be pi& from iioad and Bridge hrnde, then 3:ii@k if it my be gaiu fa~omany other county Fund? Eouereble E. 8, Fo-, Pa&e 3 does not have th4mpower to deprive the county attorney of his rightrul authority in this re- gard. The employment of oouueol fa restricted to opeofal u(raeawhere the services of at at- torney ere required- nor has the oourt power to make an order whfah will warrant the pay- ment of aounty monapto nn attorney for aerv- 108s neither raquired nor poriorao4.* (~hii8 WI* Seugler, 250 SOW. W31.Olbron ~a. Psvia 236 S.W. 202) Temll ~8. Groaao, 31 Y.W. 631.) s?y18;;. Atanooaa Oounty, (Cit. App.) 32 . . Dhder-the holdinga oi the ebom manMonad easoa, ft ia apparent that the oommirdoqere~ oourt haa tho.~owar end luth o r to ityeiikjt&x ~ttornnye ia tho pr~reoutfon of ita olnlau and mite aridpep for nukh servleer out Qt .the .a-. oral fund 0rth8 aouaty whwx thooouxity,~aa luhole, f* ,; intometed aud aitaokd In eueh proooe~ec In the oaae oi City mtioaa1 Bank of hurrtin ta. Pneldio County, 26 S.bb.775, it wan held that the oamnia- 81onera* oourt wan authorized to employ oouneel to repre- moat the oommil@iomra~~oourt in a suit W&i&i wee bra t l&aatthe county dm and the oommlsalauezsk,.enjo%i alhged U&gal eotion of the oomM8rfonsr8~ oourt in ru- ls01JpBthe aounty seat of Presidia County from Fort J&via to iaria. The oourt held that while the atit wau nosisal- ly egefnat the deier&nts 88 indirldualc, it we8 desS.gu&l to control the perromencs of their oiflolal oeta, au% theretofore ~88 e nettee of 00n06m to the uounty. In this oonneotion the oourt maid: ~iile it-0 nominally a suit agaeinet thau as indivi%ufde, its %eaign a&a effect weo to obstruat ax% control the performance of their oftiaiel aote, end we are not %l..eposed to hold in nuoh CIoam Oh&t they mist do noth- I.= towards %eten%ing certain cults, or nuet em>loy oounsel et their own expense. They ha% pO:iorto employ aounnel, an% to defray the ree- amable expenaea thereof out of the oounty itm%S." The wurt elw held that the right to employ COUIIBQ~m03 not Gqendent upon whether ths order or tba 00LJPisal015~r8* cart wtiob was unaer attack 108 valid or UlV8U.d. cm thlo point thfsoourt aaldr FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEkT GENE3.L