QFFICE OF THE AVORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

- 

GROVER SELLERS 

ATTORNEY GLNERAL 

?imorublo T. f:. ;:ll&arroa . 

County Cudltor 

!lillaboro, Toxo~ 

I 

Oourt meets.. at rcguier 

tlln orders~ khiota am 

n4 then reoordad ‘la tM. 

lnutos as 8 phnanont'y~~ 

naoeraary or ikandatory for ctn or&r 

aa,by the Cqndstalonara Coat to be 

(I couaty ;ludgr aad t&o cam 1aa¶oaars 

UtttIt 'rOr 86id OWhr t0 b0~ VQl$d anif 

. 

. Artiole 834E, Verionta Aa-.otebsd' Civfl~ Stututss, 

pwIlllsut 

, 
Honorable T. K. ~llklneon - pago'2 

Art. 5 of the State Constitution; oontalns language 

elxllar to the Soregoing statute.) 

Art1014 2549, V&non*a Annotated Civil Statutes, 

read; a8 foollowe: 

Vhe.oou,rt ahall require the oounty olerk to 

keep suitable booka in whioh shall be moorded the 

prboeedings of eaoh term of the court; whioh reoord 

shall be read aad.8ign44 after eaoh term by tho oounty 

:A@ 

n e -or the member prssidlng aad.attested by the 

The olerk ahall:also.reoord all authorized 

.pbooeidlngs of the oourf between teems; land auoh 

'r800rds shall be.reaq acrd signed on the flret dey 

~of t@ next term after suoh prooeedings ooourred.* 

Artiole 224S, Vernon*n Annotated Civil'Statutes, 

i13 88 r0ii09w: 

570: 

"The county olerk shall be 4x oiiiolo dl'erk~ 

bi tha CoPnaissionere' Cd&; and he shell~attend 

upon eaoh term of sc.id~ Commirslon8,rar~Court; preserve and keep all baoka,,papsre, r40ords and et- 

.feots'belonging thereto, laerie all notloee wrltti 

and prooees neo+#eary for the proper 4r4ou~lon oi 

tpe power8 and ~dutiee‘ot'fhe Con&asioners* Court 

and perform all euoh’other duties as niaay b4 preBciribed.by law.* 

+I0 atatad In Texas Jurl4prud~n08;Vol. 'al; page 

.hhe Comzalesionerd* &urt is required to reoord 

upon aultablo books the prooeedinas of eaoh tern or 

oourti end the minutes are required to be read over 

and'signed by the OoUnty judge or-the member preeid-. 

ing and attested .by the olerk. All cruthority exeroised by tho oourt must be evidenoed in that *finer. 
: 

37 

Honorabla T. K. :Vllkineon - page 3 

It ia not neoeasary,that a single book shall oontain the reoord of the oourt's prooecdinge; various 

books may be kept in whioh prooaedlnge relating to 

partioular mattera may ba properly recorded. Each 

book kept and us.e& for this purpose is, v;ithin the 

meaning of the law, a minute book, and the entries 

therein made are minutes. 

WCo-m&3f!ion8ra~ Court8 are oourts of reoord 

and they must authentioate all offioial aota, if 

suoh authentiaation ls,required, by a seal presorlbed by atatute. 

"The requlrezuenta that every offloial aot of 

the 0omnlasion8re1 Court shall be evldenoed by an 

order entered upon the minutes of the oourt haa 

been aodlfled to the extent that where an order la 

ehod to have been actually made by the court, and 

hae been acted upon, the omfasion of the olerk to 

record the order,will not render it or the aota 

done in purauanoe therOOf void. Although an order 

of the Comr.lseloneral Court h.aa never been entered 

upon the oo~urt's minutea, It may neverthelaea be 

proved by parole evidenoe and given effect. The 

rule is neoeaaarily dlfferent where an order is 

required by the terma of a special statute to be. 

entered of reoord, or where a.general atatute de- -. 

olarea that euoh order ehall be void unless reoorded. 

It Is held that the evldsnoe to establleb B oontraot 

must be contained in the written prooeedlnge Of th8 

court. IIowcver, if the oourt fails to plaoe an Order upon the minutea at the time r.hen it is made, 

as required b!r law, the' order may be entered upon 

tha minutes et B eubsequent regular or 8PaOial 

s4ssfon.W 

Generally speakFag, the Commiesionera~ Court is a 

-.:.. oourt of general juriediotion in this etate, and as we have 

seen, is a court OS reoord. It is a oourt of tremendous importance, eince it has jurledlotion over the county affairs 
.I 

38 

Honorable T. F. ;filklnaon - pace 4 

of the oounty. The pub110 has a deep oonoern with the 

offlclal aots of suoh oourt, and its prooeedings therefore 

are of suoh importenoe as that an aoourate reoord should 

be kept for the q,eneral Information of the public aonoerned. 

?.!oreovcr, while It sometimes happens that the failure to 

make a minute of oertaln prooeedlngs is not fatal to the 

validity of the same (see Landa v. State, 131 S. Vi. (2) 

321), and thet the validity of an order properly peesed 

1s susceptible ot proof, and. the order may be proved by 

oral testimony (Bourn v. Ford, 252 S. ?i. 491). nevertheless, 

the atatutory requirement for duly recorded minutes, attested 

by the proper otiloere, la the sarer way, and matters of such 

importance should not be left to the dlffloult and sometimea 

uncertain method or proof dahors the record. We knov: or no 

statute requlrlne the County Comrcissloners to sign the orders 

of the Co.mmlssioners* Court. I!owever, aa above stated, the 

Comxlssloners~ Court shall require the county clerk to keep 

suitable book8 In whloh shall be reaorded. the proaeedings of 

each tern of the court; whioh reoord shall be read and signed 

arter each term by the oounty judge, or the member presiding 

and attested by the clerk. 

Yours very truly 

A%“l’O:J KY (; G:hWL W T ,zX,;Y 

Ardell Willieme 

Assistant 

A'Y: zd