Hon. George, 9. Avery 

County Attorney 

Fannin,County 

Bonham; Texas 

Dear Sir: 

'Opinion RO.~ v-1059 

Re: The sala??y of the 

oourt reporter of 

the 6th Judicial 

Mstriet comprised 

of Fannln and Lamar 

Counties. 

Your request for'aa opinion reads in part as 

follovs: 

"I have received a requert for an opinian from Hri,Farris Plrtle, Auditor of FinnIn 

County, ~which request is herewith attabhed, in 

effect venting to know if the 'Court Reporter 

for the Sixth Judicial Distrlot, yhioh is oomposed of Fannin.and Lamar Cotitiea, should be 

paid under the provisions.of Article 2326h or 

Artiole 2327a-1 of Vernon's Civil Statutes of 

the,Sttite of Texas, vith reference to'arriving at the proportion of auah dalary'eaoh county should pay. Lamar County alao is in the 62nd 

Judicial Dlatriot, which la composed of Lamar, 

Hunt, Delta ati.FTanklin Counties.. 

"Therefore, I request an opinion upon the 

follovlug queation:~ 'In apportioning the salary of the officla$ shorthand Feporter for the 

C&H, of the 6th Judicial Diatriot, between' 

Lamar and Fannln Counties, should we ba governed by the,provlsions of Article 2326h, and 

let each county pay that portion of the expenses and salaries which the population of 

the county, aaoorddiug to the, last preceding 

Federal Census, bears to the total population 

of both oountiea, or, should 'era be governed 

by;? provisions bf Artiole 2327a-1, and 

only one half of Lamar County's populatiob in arriving at that County's proportionate,ah,are of aucrh salary?" 
Hon. George T. Avery, page 2 (V-1059) 

Article 232611, V.C .S., provides : 

“In eaoh Judiolal District in this State 

in which the terms of Court do not operate on 

a oontinuous term basis end La whioh there Is 

more than one County, the salaries and expenses of the official Court reporter shall 

2 ;zg,y the respeotlve aountles es’provld- 

. lEaoh of the oountles vithin such 

Diatriot shall pay that portion of the expenses and salaries of the off1oiel Court 

reporter which the population of the oounty, 

according to the last preoeding Federal Census, bears ~to the total population of the 

counties acmprlaing the Judloial District. rr 

Artiole 2327a-1, V.C.S., provides :~ 

Slhere any Judiolal DistrLot in this 

State .is composed of more than one ~county, 

and the Dlstriot Court thereof has swoessive 

terma ln,,elther of suoh oountles throughout 

the year, without more than tvo (2) .days intervening betveen any of suoh terms, the aalarg of the offlolal shorthand reporter of 

,suoh Distrlot shall ‘be paid by the several 

counties of the District, the same to be spportioned among such oountles In proportion 

to their population aocording to the latest 

United Wates deoennial oensus * provided that 

where swh oounty is in two (2 different Juaioial Districts, either one, of vhioh '3.a ooaposed of more than one county, In oaloulating 

suoh county’s proportion of liability f th 

salary of the offioial shorthand reDort?r in' 

any auoh District containing more than one 

oounty, such county’s 1)ODU‘IetiOU shall be 

aounted at one-half of its aotual pomdation 

as shown by the last Drecediw’ United States 

decennial oena us . ” (Emphasis added ) 

It ia’apparent from reading the above 8tatUteS 

that Artiole 2326h 1s appllcabl?-to aoupties Ilf Judioial 

. . Dlstrlcts vhlch do not have oontlnuous tezw or oourt, 

while Artiole 23278-l applZea to oounties in Judicial 

Districts which have continuous terms in either county. 

Since Lamar County is located in two Judioial DistrMts 

it is necessary that we determine vhether either oounty 

in the 6th Judicial District has oontlnuous terms of oourt. 
. 

.’ 

Hon. Qeorge T. Avery, page 3 (V-1059) 

..'*. 

.Prior to 1947, s’ubdivialoh. ‘6:&f Ai%lole 199, V. 

C.S., provided ln~ pert; 

yii: - Fannici ‘~ bnd Lamar’. 

. . 

,: 

‘%6gtPon 1. T&ma’ of Oo& in’ and for 

the 6th ‘Judioiil ~Diattiiat shaL1 ba hereefter 

held therein each year as fol1 ova : 

“k $he County ‘of ~‘Bannin on the9 eeoond 

Monday in January of eaoh year and may eon- ” ~’ 

tinw in session for QlWJetl weeks; 

., ,. ., 

!‘In the County of Lamar on ~t&e eleventh 

Monday. after, the se&t.@. Aonday: in January of 

esoh year and may oontinue in aessfon for ten 

weeks ; 

“In the County of Fannin on the tventyflrst.Ronday efter the ae6ond Monday in Jaquary bf ,eaoh’year and may oontinw in a,ession 

for eight weeks; 

“In the County ‘qf Lamap oh $h? Ififth Houday after the qeoond Monday in August in eaoh, 

year and may oontinue ,ln sesalop six vee.ks; 

“In the Countp of iann& ‘oh the eleventh :’ 

Honday~ after the second Monday in August of 

each year and may continue In session six weeks; 

“In the County of La’mclr on tbs aetintsenth Monday efter the seoond Mondsy in, August of 

eaah year ,and may oontinue in session until the 

aeoon$ yonday ,in Jqnuery, the following year. 

. . . 

Hove&; in House Bill 737, Aats 50th, Leg., R.S. 

1947, oh.112, p.175, effeotlve April r21, 1947, the above 

statute was amended by adding thereto the following; 

“Eaoh term of Court in each of such oountleti~.may oontinue until the date herein fixed 

for the beginning of the next suooeediag team 

therein.’ 

It la thus seen that the Le 

ed oontlkous terms of court for the t 

lti,lature authortoth Judicial Dlstriat. 
Hon. Geopge T. Avery, page 4 (V-1059) 

We are further supported In this oonolwion by 

the emergenoy clause of Howe Bill 737, vhtoh provides: 

%*a .5. The fact that the dookets in 

the above-named oounties are orowded, and 

the further faot that no relief can be had 

for this condition until oontinuow terms 

of Court are authorized, create an emetigenoy . . .n 

It la stated in Texarkana 8 Ft. 9. 

ton Qas & Fuel Co., 121 Term, 51 S.W.2d 

“In oonstruing statutes enaoted directly by the Legislature it Is the duty of the 

oourt to look to the entire a&, inoluding 

the osption, the body of the sot, and even 

the emergency clause, to determine the legislative intent. When the legislative intent is once determined it la the law.” 

You state in your letter also that the 6th Judiolal District has been operating under oontinuow terms 

of its aourts. 

Since Fannln and Lamar CountLes now have oontinuow terms of aourt, it is our opinion that in apportlonlng the salary of the official shorthand court reporter 

for the 6th Judiaial Distfiot between suah counties you 

are governed by the underlined provisions of Article 

23278-l. 

The 6th Judloial Dist’riot aomprlsed of 

Fannln and Lamar Counties has aontinuow tems 

of court. H.B: 737, dots 50th Leg., R.S.1947, 

oh.112, p.175. Texarkana & FC.S.Ry.v.Bowton 

Gas & Fuel CO., ‘121 T . 4 51 S.W.2d 284 

. Therefore th?oourt’reporter of such 

dlstriot ahould be paid aooordlng to the provisiow of Artlole 2327s-1, V.C.S. 

Yours very truly, 

J. C. DE&S, Jr. 

County Affairs Divialon 

Charles D. Hathevs 

Rxeoutlve Assistant 

Joe 8. Greenhill 

First Assistant 

BA:mw ” 

PRICE DARIRL 

Attorney General 

Bg d&S 

Assistant