OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Dear Blr:
thoutm janftom,
atom and nimllar
Othar related
in6 an opinion of this
departmentupon ersin hae modred
our attention, iona mbmlttedt
No. 0.2219, 4aeo the
%herift have the right
r 0~ aonrmi~i01~3r~* court
Fe an4 to fire jail guarde an4
onnected with the operation of
he gherffi or Co&esioner8' Oburt
o dire&, in detail, the dutiee of
ay patrol appointedun4sr the au-
thority OS Axtlols 6699B, oS the Rerised Civil
statute6 or 1928, as emen4e4?*
With refermoe to your Sir& question in our opln-
ion No. O-2219 approved May 11, 1910, we wish to aflviee that
this 4epartment did not pesa epaaLfioal.lyon the question of
the right to hire end Sire oourthouss janitors,elevator
operatorsand similar emplopeser
r
,HonorableJohn R. shook, Pa@ a
Artiale 3351, Rav3.554 Civil Statutes, provides
that Ccxwalzuioners'Oouxttrahall *psovi45 and kee in re-
pair oourthcusee,jalle and all neoeeeary publio &ulldi~,s~"
dwme 6072, riisvik154 omi sttdwbtt, pr0viatm
that *htrifrit chargO ma oontrol of the oourt-
shall have
hmmx~ OP tholr reepeotlve counties, subjsot to euoh regu-
latioae ae the Cemi.aaioners*Court my primarlbe.*
It ;;iuat be e4zitt54 that these stotut55 15avs it
rather uncertain .sndvar;us a5 to where net5 th5 5uthOrity
to maploy janitorafor the oourthbou5er Wa have roaohed the
oxkclurioa,towsratr,that the authority te in the &~&a-
rtonars* Court. On the whole, it Se-8 to uu thet;.thomain-
tsaenas OS jenicor aorvlaris more in 11~5 with tM oharaoter
or buelnese oxxlinarily &ven to the Ocxiadseion5rr~ 0’3urt
rather than t3 the sh@fS. The latter 0rri05r is 1115iniy
a conocrvatorof thep#cs, and we balleve that Article
6872 wita i35wt large&y b0 21305 the sh5rifr in ohargo 0r
the oourt?iouoe for the",+purgoee OS maintaininggeaoe en4
a eoorum+ iYehold thst‘thcl requlremOntror th& ‘&umiht~on5rst
Court to*grovide an4 keep in repair a aourthoueg*mee~B a
habitable oourthoume. For one to be habitable it muat
moeive a oertaln amount or janitor uexvfoe. Duty to per-
rorm the serviceoarrles~w%.th lt the tiplie& euthorlty to
employ a janitoras a neoeaaary incident thenCei he
Pl mea county 9, lzlals, Lob fs,B. (M!a)
801).County, 115 9. W. 4791 Commissionerr'
County v. Qtkllaco, 15 8. BY, (241 S&
we beLleve that the ruaat;lon OS egplo ng janitors
and like eqloyees has been ars t3slmF
esion5rr'
Courte most generally ovbr the our opknion Pa
in acoord with rulini:taof prior a athA Or this
depsrrt:%ont,viz+ Honorable See 8. ALfwp,~.~ssistant, to
Charltss ,T.Leelle, Jr,, OctuntyAuditor, IEdinburgh, Texee,
Pebrunry 12, 19335;9oaorabks 8, E. Gray, Assistant, to
Mr. Burl Brlttain, County Au&ftor, Sen Patrfoio County,
Au&ust 12, 193s.
your rirst Guceetlon,
Anewsrf~ thurefere, Pt 1s
the oginfon or this ~crpartmmt that the bmaiasloner6t
Court he& the authority to employ and diaohaxge aourthouae
janitors, eLevator operators aa sislilar5q3lopsrr~
Axtfcle 61371,Vexmnte Rev2sad Civil Etntutorr,pro-
vises 88 ro11ows:
Whenever In any
t0 -PLOY ~148 for the
an4 the aeouxity of
the approvnlaE the iornnimtici~artt
Court, OS in
Xunomble John R. Eihook,Fete 3
a8seeof emergemy, with the approval of the County
J&&e, employ cuoh number of gufirdrds as my be
b4aeoeary~ and.&3 acaount therefor,duly iteziired
and sworn W, shall bo allowed by raid Court, and
paid out of the County Treeeury. fiovided further,
that in all oountise in this ;Jtate,hrnvfnea imp-
ulatfou of Lore thea one hundrbd ma tortyi:,thou-
send (140,CCO)ishabitantsend lees than two hundred
and nindty th:.usand (~QC,~oOj inhtsbitatxba, aQ-
COrdin;= t;, the b28t &J&W,e8in,~ ~‘ede~8,. cblt6\11,
no gwa, metron
iaorothan a&$& hours in oaiaday,
oountlas oolstnc;
undsr the provisions or this
Aot, at lenaatone mea shall be on guard an eaoh
floor of said jail where male primnere are
kagt, ail at least on4 lsatronoball be on guerd
on eaoh floor uhers f~ezale riemers fsrek4pt
end that not lea8 then two P2) enqloyeoa shali
be on sun:d in the laaiaoPfia4 of mid jail at
one the. In case of emer~enay, those aodag
under the provPsfone of t&4 Aot shell be eubjeat
to the oall of the=Bheriff.”
Articla $116, Vernon*8 Revised Lltatutes,provider:
*Eaah sheriff ia the
of the jail of
ka5pr
us eourIt7, Be shit11safely keep
theeroiq all
prtronert3 oowdttsd these%4 by lawful authority,
aubjaet to tir ordsr of the proper oourt, and
Bball be xeepoad.bZe for the care keeping of
such prieeners. The sheriff eiayeppolat a
jailer to barks charge of ths jail, a&d supply
the wanta of those therein eonfined~ but in all
oas44 the eherift rhall 4xwoiee a ruperviaion
and control ,overthe Jail..”
Artiole Bll5, Veraon*e Bevteed Glvil.StWutes, pro-
vides in part as fallowsr
Mm them is 110jell.in the aountp,
the eii&ifi arayrent a euiliebL6house a&d em$loy
guards, the or,pense to be pair2 by the proper county,*
The lanipq5 or tZlsabove Article ELWl, *upre& eu-
thoriaee tireeheriff %&Vi %lusapproval of ~th4 ‘k&R?&arEiazl4r4~
Court k, employ guard0 necessary for the aaf4kko4ping of th4
prisomra and Cha cacurfty of jafle.
Se think the language OS?thie etotuto ie olear on
the queiltionthat suoh ri;;htof au%ht.rityto SnrplOy~ j@il
~ruards,mctrone, jailers end other authoris& #qlegee~s
neaaeaerp to thsraafetoeplnj~of prisoners and l(Mwlty of the
Jail, ia vested in the sheriii. The only authority With rc
ferenco to t&eir eziqloyrusat
gLaaed by etatute ix,-%34 007a-
Konorablo John R. Shook, Page 4
m.lselonerel Court is that suoh oourt, holding the purse strings
of the county and oharged with looking after its financial
affairs, la to approve euoh employibant.The sheriff, being
oharged with the duty of ererolsing supervision and control
over the Jail, being keeper of the jail.and the prisoners
oonfined therein with his offioial bond covering the faithful
performanceof suoh duties required of him by law, is prl-
madly the person to determine the qualificationsor those
whom he desirer to plaoe in suoh positions or employment.
The eherifr 16 doubtless in a better position then the Oom-
missioners* Oourt to detarmlne such question. The authority
to employ gener6llyoarrfee with it the right to discharge.
It will be noted that oompensationallowed by
statute aor servloes of guarda and matrons, prior to the
enaotaent 0r the salary law, were allowed to the aooount 0r
the sharlfr from whom these persons reoeive their pay. The
enaotment of the salary law would not In any wlae have the
effeot of ehe.&ng the status of their employmentas to the
employing and disohargingof such person8.
Although Artlole 3902, Vernoh*s Olrll Statutes, is
not applloable to the employees named herein,,we quote from
the case of Neeper v. Stewart, 6d 3. W. (Sdf @lZ?,writ re-
fused, the language of whloh is applioab2e,wherein the court,
oonetruingArtlole 3908, said1
“A public polioy is thereby manifested in
the ease of aounty and preoinot officers generally
to empower suoh offioers to seleot their deputies
or assistants and to forbid the CoWasloners*
Court, or any member thereof, from attempting to
inrluenoeeuoh officers in their seleotlon of
assistants. The reason for thle polfoy is obvious.
Officers sleeted to discharge pubZio trusts, and
upon whom the rasponslbllityfor the proper dis-
oharge thereof resta, should be free to seleot
persons of their own eholce to assist them In its
discharge."
In answer to your second queetlonk it in the opinion
or this department that the shsrirr has the authority to em-
ploy and disoharge jail guards and other employee6 neoeesary
for the safekeepingof prisoners an% the eoourlty of the
jall.8.
I
Honorable John R. Shook, Page 6
We will now 4ibouae your third question, relating to
the oounty traffic offloera or Bexar County, In thie oonneo-
tion, we aaknowledge receipt of your letter of June lOth,
aoooi!;panfad
by a copy of 8. 8. 278 Aota 1929, 4lst Leg.,
Chap. 150, providing for the ornation of a oounty polio(,foroe
in ell.oountleshaving a population of 210,000 or more iuhabl-
tnnts. ThUee particularol"floeraand their duties RN speoial
patrolmen for patroling the aounty highway 4utalc;ethe aor-
porate li?nitaof the oounty aeat of euoh oountlea,can hard-
ly be OonsiUer4da separate class distinguishablefrom those
mentioned ln Article MQQb'. It being provided In this lat-
ter etatute,vizr "The rovieloge of this Aot shall apply
to all 44untiee fn t,42sitate hav%ng a populationof more
than one hundred and;twenty-fivethousand (125,000)~ooord-
ing to the preo4ding'BederalC~D~U$,~ and being a latsr en-
aotment, euoh would supereeds8. B. 278, Aote 1929, blurt
Legislature,an&~ consequently,be$ng no longer In effeot, this
law applying to oounti46 of %10,0,. 6r mor4 inhabitantewill
not be eoneideredin conneationw’th
r your third quaatlon.
Artlole BdQQb, Seotlone 1, 2 and 3, of Vernon'e
Annotated Civil Statute@, provides:
*S4otion 1. The Connaissionere Cou~?tof eaoh
county, mating in oonjunotion with the,sheriff,
may employ not more than eight (8) regular depu-
ties nor tire than four IS) adaittonal Urputlerr
ror epeoiel emergenoyto aid said regular depu-
tiee, to be known a0 Gounty Trmfrio Ofrioer* to
enforoe the Highway Earrrof tale Stat4 regulating
the us4 of the publlo Bighweye by motor and other
vehiolee. Said aeputies ahall.be, whenever wo-
tioable motor oyole ridrrs and ehall be assi&eQ
to work under the bireotion of the aherfff. They
ehall give bond and take the oath of OffUs a8
other deputies* They my be dimuiswd from 4er-
vice on request of the sherifr wheneve~r approved
by the Oommisslonerrs Court, or by aald Court on’
its own inltlatlvewhenever thalr servfoes are
no longer needed or have not been mtiefaatorg.
The CommiasionereCourt ahall fix their oompenea-
tion prior td their sel.eotion, and may pruvlde at
the expense of the county neoesaary equ%pxWIt
for said offiaere. The pay of said deputies shall
HanarabLe Johu B, Shook, Page 6
not be Inoluded II-I the settlerneots of the sher-
iff in a000unting for the fees or 0rri00. s8i4
deputI%s shall 8t all times oooperatewith th%
POliOO dOp8hLWlt Or O8Ojl Oity Or tOWIl within
the Oounty in the enroro%m%nt0r TmrrI0 Laws
therein 8nd in all other parts or the aounty,
The said deputlee rh.811h8ve mm% right and
duty to arrest violators of ths law a8 other
p%aa% oiYioer8 have,
“Sea. 2. The 88larlefI of euoh d%putl%r ah811
be the ssnm 86 that rixed by t&e Oeneral im
in Article 9908 or the 19SS Wevie& Uivil Sta?
tutes or Texas, as hsretofore %nd hereiriartsr~
8aended, for other tl%pUtysh%rIrfs, ~Suohmlarf%s
shall be paid monthly by the aounty out of th%
Road and Bridge Pund.
“800. 3. TOI’the puTpOs%IiOf this A%t, thb
CommissionaraOourtr m8y s%t,asld%,ankuss net
to Ox000d riftdon (iat per oent 0r the motor vohi-
01% registrsltion f%%s apportioned co their ree-
peotlve counties. In the svent tunds in= motor
~OhiOie rsgiatrati0nreO0 43x-0 inOuiri0hnt or
not avalluble,then the CmmaIseionersSourt may
um other Road 8mI Brblge Funds&~
We 0811 your attention to the following18nguage
in the foregoinS statute wh&eh states that suah oouhty
tr8ftIc officers *shall be assigned to wdrk under the dlreo-
tion 0r the sherIft.=
The above etntute cauthorixeenot more than eight
regular dsputie8 nor more thq four addltlonalQeputlee for
speaial smergenaies,to 8I.bsaid regular deputies not
exoeeding sight In number, to be knorrn%s county trarfio
orrioera ‘to enforoe the highway laws or this State regulat-
ing the use or the public highways by motor and other vehi-
cles.” Whetav%r be *the special %aerg%noy*or sItu8tIonsin
counties intended to be t%ken oere or by the provIsIonsor
this aot, It is apparent the ~&Islatur% had two things In
mind; that or enforoeaentor the traffic laws and the par-
tioular duty to see that motor v%hIcl%s tr8veling 08x%,
were not being operated witlroutproper lIcense6. There is
no speoiflo statutory limit as to the tIms of service oi
these deputies. It Is in the discretionor the Conads-
Honorable John R. Rhook, Pago 7
sioners' Court to declare whether said Qmergenoy" ha8
ceased end the Court on Its own Initietlve,may dismiss
any or all or said deputies rroxnservice when their ser-
vioes are unsatisfactory. So long es they are not dis-
missed 8s provided by statute, the Conmissloners~Court has
no 8uthOrity or right to regulateor~direot their dutioe
whioh are to be perroraed solely under the direotionor
the eherifr. Suoh duties directly relate to the law en-
foroement ohargs of the sheriff's offlo%.
In answer to your third question, thbreforo,you
8r6 advised
that it is the o inion Of this'dspartaentthat
the sheriff and not the Colwalssioners'Gourt has the right
to dfreot, in detail, the duties of the county tr8ffIe
patrol appointed under the authority of Artiol% .6699b,
~%IlXUl'SAnnotated civil St%tUtIWl 0r Texm.
Yours very truly
ATTORWE!C OlWERlu,
OF TIEUS
BY
t
APPBOVEDJUN 29, 1940:
a