OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
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Honorable Burnell~Waldrep
Cou@y;A,ttorney, Red River,County
Clarksville,.
,, Texas. .'
Dear SSr: Attention: Mr. B. C. Jones,
Assistant
Opinion No. O-5887
Rez‘ Validity of.an order~of
the County Commissioners'
Court changing the boundary
lines between two county
commissio.ner~sprecincts
and related matters.
Your le.tterof February i6; I$&, requesting the
opinion of this department on the questionstated therein reads,
in part, as followsi
"I wish to request an opin~ionfrom your of-
fice on the validity of the.following order adopted
by the Red River County Commissioners Court at its
regular December Term,'I%3, without any previous
notice having been given and without being petitioned
to adopt such order.' .Furthermore,Highway 37 men-
tioned in said ~.qk,y has.not been completed to Red
River, but ,the surveying has.been.,done.
""The STATE OF Tp1XA.S:
"~'CUBNTYOF RED HIVFR:
"On this the'l3th'day of December 1943,
the CornmissionerS Court cf Red River County,~Texas,
met in Regular Session with the following members
of the court present: Marion~A.,Lawson, County Judge,
H. D. Dugger, Commissioner Precinct 1; Frank Rorris,
Commissioner Precinct 2; 9. H. Sargent; Commissioner
Precinct 3; and J. J. Emry, Commissioner Precinct 4.
Among other p~rocoedingsthe following order was'adopted
by the court with all'cc~mmissionersvoting AYE:
" 'AN ORDER
"'IT IS H&REBY CIRDIGUD,ADJTJDGEDATiDDECREED BY
THE COIU4ISSICNERSCOLRT~~OFRED RIVER COUNTY, TEXAS,
Wnorable Durne~I iialcirep,
page 2
“*That the boundary 111~ between t’ied hivar County
Co &ssloacra Precinct No. 3 aad Commlsoionorfe”
Precinct No. 3 beginning at the Intersection of tha
Texas & hcif lo Hallway trucks end JJlghway37 in
the City of Clurkovllle, Texas, thenoe northerly to
Hod Hlver as the boundary has heretofore boon eetab-’
lished is abolished, ahd tho boundary ohall here- ’
after be rcestubliehed and defln?d as follows~
W*Rl~GIr;N%IFC
at the lntereeption of the Toxos
8cPacific hallwey tracks and lilghvfuy37 in the City
of Clurksvllle, Texas, thence in a northerly dlreeflon
following the osuter-line of Texes State JJighway37
to had niver. .,
“I,. s . ) s(Signsd)XlurionA. Iawoon
“County Judge.‘”
snxe orders pr:esednt tSe Deoember Tens ohang-
ing the line between two oo4mloefonor*s preofncte valid?
&lustsuoh proposed cbnge bs advertised in any way or
notice g$ven?”
In the case of Turner VU Allen, 254 5. W. 630, ii!,
ia atated, among other things,:
*By seotlon 18, art. 3 of the Constitution
of this state, tho oo~miaaionors* oourt ‘ia veeted
with authority to ahan&e and reeetabliah “from tims
to time’ county oommissionero~ precincts *for the
cdnvsnlence of the pooplc.’ It is olear from thle
provision of .the Constitution that tha county oom-
missloners~ oourt iA Tcxau la,given the purrerand
autlkrlty to ohaoge and ro-estnbllsh oounty’commlo-
sioners’ preoincto at any tirnothey niaydcom it to
be for the convenlonco of the pooplc to do so, and,
when nuoh authority and poviorso conferred is exer-
ilisadby thut court, its action 13 not void. Tha
action nay ba reviewed or corrected, when orroneously
or wrongfully ox improperly exer,o:lood, by a proper
proceeding for tnit purpose, but “ouch a&ion, though
it umounta to a Cross abuse of tbo court’s disoretion,
and ~.thou&hit, in effeot, cangtituten a logal fraud
upon persons who :nnybe affected by the court’s ac-
tion, 13 not void, nnd a-~nnotbe ‘attnclrcd o,r Smpoachod
collaterally. * :I*~”
Honorable ;JurneliWa,ldrep,:)aEc3
hleo EBB the osoes of &boss v. $oodi, 162 S. VI.3; kard VU
‘Dond,10 5. k’. (2d) 590, and Lewis,ot ul v. Harris, et al,
40 8,.w. (26) 730.
In the &ne~ of Lewis, et al v. IIarrie,et .x11,,
nupra,
it is said:
niltl
applied to different altuetiode, the
phrAl30~oo@venienoe of the people,*‘he used in,the
ConstituF%on, 5my htve different meanings, but in
our opi&mlt cannot properly be construed a3 lm-
posing upon.EI ootnais8loncrs~oourt the absolutg
duty oi re&;crangingthe boundaries or commleeionere’t
preoihote, from time to tkne, 80 as to ucoord to
each preoinot repreaeot.ationupon-and power .oi oon-
trol :0r the.coam.isgionere’oourt in .proportlon~to
their reepeotive populations, voting strengthsi and
taxable valuutlons. * *,*'I~
Artiole 2349, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes,
provideo:
*The court shell reglllre tile oounty olerlc
to keep suitable book3 in which shall be reoorded
the proceediu,'sof each term of the court; which
record shall be read and signed artar each term by
Skiaoounty 'judge,or the raamberpre3idingqand at-
tested by the clerk. The clerk ahall al30 record
-all authorized prooeedin:;:sof the oourt between
term; and such record ohnll be read and si,qnedon
the first day or the tart5next after such prooeed-
ings ocourred.‘l
It is noted that the order of the Co:nmlosioncre*
Court under consl.derationis ai@;nodby the County Judge, and ror
the purpones of. this opinion, we a33um that the same wa3 attested
by the olerk.
In view of the foreg,oi:rg
authorities, you ar3
Honorable Durncll ;tulJrop,p,,k