# r OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Dear Blr:

thoutm janftom, atom and nimllar Othar related

departmentupon our attention, in6 an opinion of this ersin hae modred iona mbmlttedt
No. 0.2219, 4aeo the %herifthave the right

r 0~ aonrmi~i01~3r~* court Fe an4 to fire jail guarde an4 onnectedwith the operationof

he gherffi or Co&esioner8' Oburt o dire&, in detail, the dutiee of ay patrol appointedun4sr the authority OS Axtlols 6699B, oS the Rerised Civil statute6 or 1928, as emen4e4?* With refermoe to your Sir& question in our oplnion No. O-2219 approvedMay 11, 1910, we wish to aflviee that this 4epartmentdid not pesa epaaLfioal.ly on the questionof the right to hire end Sire oourthouss janitors,elevator operatorsand similar emplopeser,Honorable John R. shook, Pa@ a

Artiale 3351, **Rav3.554** Civil Statutes,provides that Ccxwalzuioners' Oouxttr ahall ***psovi45** and kee in repair oourthcusee,jalle and all neoeeearypublio & ulldi~,s~" dwme **6072, riisvik154**  omi sttdwbtt, pr0viatm that *htrifrit shall have chargO ma oontrol of the **oourt** hmmx~ OP tholr reepeotlvecounties, subjsotto euoh regulatioae ae **the** Cemi.aaioners* Court 

### my primarlbe.*
It ;;iuat be e4zitt54 that these stotut55 15avs 

### it rather uncertain .snd var;us a5 to where net5 th5 5uthOrity to maploy 

### janitora for the oourthbou5er Wa have roaohed the oxkclurioa,towsratr, that the authorityte in the &~&artonars*Court. On the whole, it Se-8 to uu thet;.thomaintsaenas 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+ iYe

hold thst‘thcl

requlremOntror th& ‘&umiht~on5rst Court to*grovidean4 keep in repair a aourthoueg* mee~B a habitable oourthoume. For one to be habitableit muat moeive a oertalnamount or janitoruexvfoe. Duty to perrorm 

### the serviceoarrles~w%.th lt the tiplie& euthorlty to employ a 

### janitor

as a neoeaaary incidentthenCei 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 generallyovbr the our opknion Pa 

### in acoord with rulini:ta of prior a athA Or this depsrrt:%ont,

viz+ Honorable 

### See 8. ALfwp,~.~ssistant, to Charltss

,T. Leelle, Jr,, Octunty Auditor, IEdinburgh, Texee, Pebrunry 12, 19335; 9oaorabks 8, E. Gray, Assistant,to Mr. Burl Brlttain,County Au&ftor, Sen Patrfoio County, Au&ust 12, 193s.

Anewsrf~ your rirst Guceetlon, thurefere,Pt 1s the oginfon or this ~crpartmmt that the bmaiasloner6t Court he& the authorityto employ and diaohaxgeaourthouae janitors,eLevatoroperators aa sislilar 5q3lopsrr~ Axtfcle 61371,

Vexmnte Rev2sad Civil Etntutorr,provises 88 ro11ows:

Whenever In any t0 **-PLOY ~148**  **for** the **an4** the aeouxity of the 

### approvnl

aE the i

ornnimtici~artt

Court, OS inXunomble John R. Eihook, Fete 3

a8see of 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, hrnvfne a impulatfou of Lore thea one hundrbd ma tortyi:,thousend (140,CCO)ishabitantsend lees than two hundred and nindty th:.usand (~QC,~oOj inhtsbitatxba,aQCOrdin;= t;, the b28t &J&W,e8in,~
~‘ede~8,. cblt6\11,
no gwa, metron iaoro than a&$& hours in oaia day, oountlasoolstnc;

undsr the provisionsor this Aot, at lenaat

one mea shall be on guard an eaoh floor of said jail where male primnere are kagt, ail at least on4 lsatron oball be on guerd on eaoh floor uhers f~ezale riemers fsre k4pt end that not lea8 then two P2) enqloyeoa shal i be on sun:

d in the laaia

oPfia4 of mid jail at one the. In case of emer~enay,those aodag under the provPsfoneof t&4 Aot shell be eubjeat to the oall of the= Bheriff.” Articla $116, Vernon*8Revised Lltatutes, provider:

*Eaah sheriff ia the ka5pr of the jail of us eourIt7, Be shit11 safely keep theeroiq all prtronert3 oowdttsd these%4by lawful authority, aubjaet to tir ordsr of the proper oourt, and Bball be xeepoad.bZefor the care keeping of such prieeners. The sheriffeiay eppolat 

### 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 ,over

the Jail..” Artiole Bll5, Veraon*e Bevteed Glvil. StWutes, provides in part as fallowsr

Mm them is 110jell. in the aountp, the eii&ifiaray

rent a euiliebL6

house a&d em$loy guards, the or,pense to be pair2 by the proper county,* The lanipq5 or tZls above Article ELWl, *upre& euthoriaeetire

eheriff%&Vi %lus

approval of ~th4 ‘k&R?&arEiazl4r4~ Court k, employ guard0 necessary for the aaf4kko4ping of th4 prisomra and Cha cacurfty of jafle.

Se think the languageOS?thie etotuto ie olear on the queiltion

that suoh ri;;ht

of au%ht.rity

to SnrplOy~ j@il ~ruards,

mctrone, jailersend other authoris& #qlegee~s neaaeaerp to thsr

aafetoeplnj~

of prisoners and 

### l (Mwlty of the Jail, ia vested in the sheriii. The only authorityWith rc ferenco to t&eir eziqloyrusat gLaaedby 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 ohargedwith looking after its financial affairs, la to approve euoh employibant. The sheriff,being ohargedwith the duty of ererolsing supervision and control over the Jail, being keeper of the jail. and the prisoners oonfined thereinwith his offioialbond coveringthe faithful performanceof suoh duties required of him by law, is prlmadly the person to determine the qualifications or those whom he desirer to plaoe in suoh positionsor employment. The eherifr 16 doubtlessin a better position then the Oommissioners*Oourt to detarmlne such question. The authority to employ gener6llyoarrfeewith it the right to discharge.

It will be noted that oompensation allowed by statute aor servloesof guarda and matrons, prior to the enaotaent0r the salary law, were allowed to the aooount 0r the sharlfr from whom these persons reoeive their pay. The enaotmentof the salary law would not In any wlae have the effeot of ehe.&ng the status of their employmentas to the employingand disohargingof such person8.

AlthoughArtlole 3902, Vernoh* s Olrll Statutes, is not applloableto the employeesnamed herein,, we quote from the case of Neeper v. Stewart, 6d 3. W. (Sdf@lZ?, writ refused, the language of whloh is applioab2e, wherein the court, oonetruing

Artlole 3908, said1
“A public polioy is therebymanifested in the ease of aounty and preoinot officersgenerally to empower suoh offioers to seleot their deputies or assistantsand to forbid the CoWasloners* Court, or any member thereof, from attemptingto inrluenoeeuoh officers in their seleotlonof assistants. The reason for thle polfoy is obvious. Officers sleetedto dischargepubZio trusts, and upon whom the rasponslbllity for the proper disoharge thereofresta, 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 departmentthat the shsrirr has the authorityto employ and disoharge jail guards and other employee6 neoeesary for the safekeepingof prisoners an% the eoourltyof the jall.8.



# IHonorable John R. Shook, Page 6

We will now 4ibouaeyour third question,relatingto the oounty trafficoffloeraor Bexar County, In thie oonneotion, we aaknowledgereceiptof your letter of June lOth, aoooi!;panfad

by a copy of 8. 8. 278 Aota 1929, 4lst Leg., Chap. 150, providingfor the ornationof a oounty polio(, foroe in ell.oountles

having a populationof 210,000 or more iuhabltnnts. ThUee particularol"floera and their duties RN speoial patrolmen for patroling the aounty highway 4utalc;e the aorporate li?nita

of the oounty aeat of euoh oountlea,can hardly be OonsiUer4da separate class distinguishable from those mentioned ln Article MQQb'. ter etatute,vizr It being provided In this lat- "The rovielogeof this Aot shall apply to all 44untiee fn t,42s itate hav%ng a populationof more than one hundred and;twenty-five thousand (125,000)~ooording to the preo4ding'Bederal C~D~U$,~ and being a latsr enaotment, euoh would supereeds8. B. 278, Aote 1929, blurt Legislature,an&~consequently, be$ng no longer In effeot, this law applying to oounti46of %10,0,. 6r mor4 inhabitante will r not be eoneideredin conneation w’th your third quaatlon. Artlole BdQQb,Seotlone 1, 2 and 3, of Vernon'e Annotated Civil Statute@,provides:

*S4otion1. The Connaissionere Cou~?t of eaoh county, mating in oonjunotion with the, sheriff, may employ not more than eight (8) regular deputies nor tire than four IS) adaittonal Urputlerr ror epeoiel emergenoyto aid said regular deputiee, to be known a0 Gounty Trmfrio Ofrioer* to enforoe the Highway Earrr of tale Stat4 regulating the us4 of the publlo Bighweye by motor and other vehiolee. Said aeputies ahall. be, whenever wotioablemotor 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 4ervice on request of the sherifrwheneve~r approved by the Oommisslonerrs Court, or by aald Court on’ its own inltlatlve whenever thalr servfoesare no longerneeded or have not been mtiefaatorg. The Commiasionere

Court ahall fix their oompeneation 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 shallHanarabLeJohu B, Shook, Page 6

not be Inoluded II-I the settlerneots

of the sheriff 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.811 h8ve mm% right and duty to arrest violatorsof ths law a8 other p%aa% oiYioer8have,
“Sea. 2. The 88larlefI of euoh d%putl%rah811 be the ssnm 86 that rixed by t&e Oeneralim in Article 9908 or the 19SS Wevie& Uivil Sta? tutes or Texas, as hsretofore%nd hereiriartsr~ 8aended, for other tl%pUty sh%rIrfs, ~Suoh

mlarf%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 Commissionara

Oourtr m8y s%t,asld%,ankuss net
to Ox000d riftdon (iat per oent 0r the motor vohi01% registrsltion

f%%s apportioned co their reepeotlve counties. In the svent tunds in= motor ~OhiOie rsgiatrati0n reO0 43x-0 inOuiri0hnt or not avalluble,then the CmmaIseioners Sourt may um other Road 8mI Brblge Funds&~
We 0811 your attentionto the following18nguage in the foregoinSstatutewh&eh states that suah oouhty tr8ftIc officers *shallbe assigned to 

### wdrk under the dlreotion 0r the sherIft.=

The above etntute cauthorixee not more than eight regular dsputie8

### nor more thq four addltlonal Qeputlee 

### for speaial smergenaies, to 

### 8I.b said regular deputiesnot exoeeding sight In number, to be knorrn %s county trarfio orrioera ‘to enforoe the highway laws or this State regulating the use or the public highwaysby motor and othervehicles.” Whetav%r be *the special %aerg%noy*or sItu8tIonsin counties intendedto be t%ken oere or by the provIsIonsor this aot, It is apparent the ~&Islatur% had two things In mind; that or enforoeaent

### or the traffic laws and the partioular duty to see that motor v%hIcl%str8veling 08x%, were not being operatedwitlrout proper lIcense6. There is no speoiflostatutorylimit as to the tIms of serviceoi these deputies. It Is in the discretionor the Conads-

# a Honorable John R. Rhook, Pago 7

sioners'Court to declarewhether said Qmergenoy" ha8 ceased end the Court on Its own Initietlve, may dismiss any or all or said deputiesrroxn servicewhen their servioes are unsatisfactory. So long es they are not dismissed 8s providedby statute, the Conmissloners~ Court has no 8uthOrity or right to regulateor~direot their dutioe whioh are to be perroraedsolely under the direotionor the eherifr. Suoh duties directly relate to the law enforoementohargs of the sheriff'sofflo%.

In answer to your third question,thbreforo,you 8r6 advised that it is the o the sheriffand not the Colwal inion Of this'dspartaent that ssioners'Gourt has the right to dfreot, in detail, the duties of the county tr8ffIe patrol appointedunder the authority of Artiol% .6699b, ~%IlXUl'S

Annotated civil St%tUtIWl 0r Texm.
Yours very truly

**ATTORWE!C** OlWERlu,

OF TIEUS

BY
t

APPBOVEDJUN 29, 1940: