### 740

**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN**  **OCMWCwUm A---** 

Honorable Fred **Nor316** OountJ Auditor Polk County Livingston, Texar Dear Sir:

your letter OS **of** thie department questionsare ar folkeep order an8 quiet of the oourt can be ve the authority to g the quiet of the
unty Judge have ruthorlty to reay beoauae membere of the aaid ot present at the time oourtwar eal& County Judge asouming that was ordered to oonvenewas a

*Does the County Judge have mthorlty to dompel the attendmoe of the county aommleeloneraat CommleelonerrCourt meetinga? If so, by what prooesa?n Art1ole.a

2342, 2343, 2384 and 2361,Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statuteo,read 88 followe!Honorable **Fred NorrIo,**  **pago 2** 

**‘ Art.**  **2342.** The several oommi8eloner8,tofather with the oounty **Judge,** shall oompose the Commle8loner8 Court,N and the oounty Judge,when wesent, ah811be the prerldlng offioer of Paid oourt.*

**“ Art.**  **2343.** Any threemembers of the 8ald court, inoludlngthe oounty JUag8, 8hall oon8tltut8a quorum for the tranraotlon of any bu8ine88, exoept that OS levying a county tax.*

**“ Art.**  **2354. Ro**  **aounty tax**  8hallbe lerled eioept at a regular term of the oourt, andwhen all member8 of 8alQ oourt are prerent.' 

### "Art.2361. Eaoh oomml8slonerroourt rhallr
II)l * '13. Punl8h oontempt8by fine not to exoeed twenty-fivedollars or br lmprlsotuoent not TaoexOe8d twenty-fourhour8, and In o88e of fine, the party may be held In ourtodyuntil the **fine** 18 pal&.II*

* *** While the oomml88loner8~Oourt i8 a oon8tltutloMl oourt of general Jurlrdiottonwhen rating within the sphere of the power8 and dutler oonferredupon Itby law, and 18 8mpowered to punl8h for oontempt (Art. 2351, R.C.S., 19251 Gainer v. Newbrough, 12 

### T.C.A.466, 34 S.W. 1048; 9 Tex. Jur. 608) the power rerldes In the oourt and not in the mm.

Thl8 d8oartmentha8 repertedlyheld that under Seotlon 18 of Artloli 6 

### ef the Texai Conrtltutionand Articl88 2342 an& 2343 of the Rerired Clrll Statutes, 1926, the oounty Judge Ismerely a oompanentpart of the oommlseionerr'court, enjoya equal rotlng prlrlleger and togetherwith any two oommissioner8 oonetltute8a quorum. He 18 dlrtlngulrhed from other m8mber8 of the oourt while in 8e88lon only in thath8 18 ltepre8ldlng offloer. Oplnlon SOS. O-1716; O-2145; **0-2415A; O-2726.** 

### 742

**Honor&b18 Fred**  **lf0rri8,** page 3

You are aooordlnglyadvIsed In anlwer **to** your flr8t quertlon that the oounty oommIr8Ionerrand the oounty **JuQge** oonetitute the oounty oommlsslonerr'oourt and the **power** to punish for contempt reeldee in ruohppIlE4and not In It8 preeldlng officer. The oounty Judge,aoting alone ha8 **no** outhorlty to flne a member for dlrturblng the quiet of the oourt.

We pale to **your seoond**  question oonoernlng the authority **of** the county Judge to rece8e from day to **day** when member8 of the oourt are not present at the time and plaoe releoted for meeting.

In LabodIeY. Dean, 47 Tex. 90, and LIparl v. State, 19 Tex. Ct. App. 431, the oourthaQ oooarlon to dI8tIngulrh b8tWeOnterma and 8088lOn8 of the OOlnmie8lOnOr8' OOUrt. Th8 E ozrthe ~ommleslonerr' OoUrt are fIXedby law; It81pIl-

+it are matterm for the dl8oretIon and artenlnatlon of the Court. There may be a w without therebeing a m Llparl *. State, 8upra.

Th88e rule8 **are** oalled to your rttrntlon to emphaeits that the seas1no of the oommlaeloner8~ oourt &re matter8 left by law to'the dieoretlon of the C@irt 8.M not It8 pr88lding officer, the oounty JUd88. fn thI8 rerpeot hls authority 18 only aomaensuratewith other oounty oommf88lOn8r8.

Of oourri the oourt

### murtbe orgnnlzed

### l ooordlng to law (Warehanv. ~lohnrdr, 46 Tex. 441) and a quorum **muet** be pre8ent to tranraotbulrlnere.

**A8** rtated in Dalton v. Allen, 110 Tax. 68, 210 8. w. 439r"The statutrrmerely requlre that th8 oounty Judgeprerldewhen preeent, and authorixe the tranrrotlon 0r thr oounty'8bu8lnera, **8ave** when otherwI8e exprermlyprovided, by three members of the oourt.* Therefore, In answer to your reoond querSlon,you are 8dvl8ed that If a quorum (two oounty oomalesloner8and the OOUnty Judge or three oommlroloner8 Inhlr 

### l b88nO8) Isprelent, the county Judgrmay not reoe8e meeting8 of the OoUrt from dry to day because of the ab8enoe of other oounty oommis6Ionerr. If 8 quorum is not present, no notion at all oan be taken -- thr oommIe8lonerr' oourt is not in re88lon.

### 743

Honorable Fred Norris, page 4

**Your** final question conoerne the authority of the oounty Judge to compel attenflanoe of conmleslonereat meeting8 of the cburt.

The rule Is reourrent that the oounty Judge,whlle the preelding officer, is only a member of the commlr8loner8 court. He has been glven no authority on his own motlon to compel sttendanoe. Whether or not he may, ae any c,ther oltizen, obtain a writ of mandamu8 to oompel attendanoe,will depend upon faots of eaoh partloular oaee. As to the80we cannot Ipeoulate. See OplnlonNo. O-2726.

Your Attention 18 **dirOCt8&,** howrver, to Artlole 397 **of** the Penal code maklng It 8 ml8deme&nor for any member of the oommleslonerrlo,?urt **to** fall or refuse to attend any meeting of the oourt et which the burine88 or quertlon of levyIng a **OoUnty** tax **fbr** any purpocle18 to be aoted on, an& 818~ to Artlole 425 **of** the Penal Codemlklng It a ml8demeanor In oertain lnrtanceefor any member of the oomml8rlonerr~court to~fall or refn8e to rote upon the releatlonof a oounty deporitory. These artloer read ae follow8:

*Art. 397. should ang member of the oomml8eloner8 oourt of any aountywllfully fall or refure to attend any regularmeeting or term of raid aourt at whloh the bueinesa or question of levying a county tax for any purpose le to be acted on, he 8hallbe fined not leea than two hundred nor more than fir8 hundred &olla,r8.*

‘Art. 425. Any msmber of the oommleolonerr oourtwho shall fall or rrfusr to rote at any February term thereof next following eaoh general eleotlon for L complianoewith the requlrementeof the law proVl&lng for the seleutlon of a bank or banker a8 the depo8ltory of the fund8 of ruoh oounty ehall be fined not less than onehundred nor more than fire hundred dollarr orbe lmprieoned ln Jail not less than one nor more than alx monthr, or both. Such failure or refural 11 ground for removal from offlo8." Very truly your8 APFROVEYFEB Z'i,

2.94)~

ATTCRNEYGENERAL 0.F TEXAS JDS:Jr ATTORNEY OESERAL OF TEXAS

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