Miss EdnaCisneros

County andDistrict Attorney Willacy County Courthouse Raymondville, Texas Opinion No, C-256 Re: Whether the Commissioners’ Court of Willacy County has the authority to compensate a special proseDear MISSClsneros: cutor for services rendered.

Weacknowledge your request for an opinion on the above captioned question. Your letter indicates, that in Willacy County you perform the duties of both County andDistrict Attorney and have no assistants. Thepresent problem arises in that on the second trial of a murder case, you required legal assistance in the case because of its seriousness andthe various other duties of your office. The special prosecutor asslsted~ you in the first trial on a change of venue in the county of the special prosecutor’s resldence

. The question nowposed is whether or not the Commissioners’ Court of Willacy County maycompensate himfor his services rendered to the county.

TheCommissioners’ Court has no power to employ an outside attorney to perform the regular duties of aCounty Attorney or to pay an outside attorney a regular salar rforming such duties 0 Attorney General’s Opinions Nos. o&tf~~9&; v-1377 (1951) 0 The employment of an outside attorney to assist the County andDistrict Attorney, however, has been specifically ap; provedo Heis usually employed for specific purposes as was the special prosecutor in Willacy County, and is to be pa d I from the General Fundof the,county. 15Tex.Jur.2nd 386, Counties, §169.

In Willis v. State, 90 S.W. 1100, 49Tex.Crim. 139 (19051, the Court of Criminal Appeals approved the employment of private counsel to participate in a case in which hewas familiar with the facts e In Adamsve Seaaler 112Tex. 583, 250 S.W. 413 the contention was advanced tiat the Commissioners’ Court out authority to employ private counsel, alleging th -. .at it County or District Attorney’s duty to prosecute suits in behalf of the county. The SupremeCourt stated at page 413 as follows: (1923) waswithwas the

-1230-Miss EdnaCisneros, page 2 (c-256)

"It is madeto appear in the statement 

# of the case by the Court of Civil Appeals, and otherwise in the record, that the commissioners' court employed said attorneys to assist the county attorney in bringing andprosecuting the suits, and that the county attorney joined~ in the suits filed. Wethink there can be no doubt that the commissioners' court, under its authority to control andmanagethe finances and.business affairs of the county, has power and authority to employ attorneys to assist the regularly constituted officers of the county in the prosecution of its claims and suits. Terre11 v. Greene, 88Tex. 539, 31 S.W. 631. It would necessarily follow that it would be authorized to pax for such services out of the county funds.

. . .Since the special prosecutor in WillaCy County'~assisted you as the regular County andDistrict Attorney, oweadvise you that the Commissioners ' Court has the authority to compensate the special prosecutor for his services from the General Fund of the county. SUMMARY

TheCommissioners' Court of Willacy County has the authority to compensate a speclal'prosecutor hired to assist the County Attorney, such compensation to be paid from the General Fundof the county. Yours very truly, WAGGONER

CARR

FDW:wb APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE W.V. Geppert, Chairman Milton Richardson Paul PhyCharles Black APPROVED

FORTHEATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Stanton Stone

-1231-