OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

AUSTIN f54! 

Ron. Shelburne p.. Clover 

Oounty Attorney 

Jerrerson, Tox55 c !, 

\ 

D5ar Sir: \ Oplnlon ao. o-1262 '-.‘-.\ 

Re: Can a daput s( -ehprlrr al5 i? hold 5 

c~laalon as a$&kQa r? 

Tour letter or 

not It would be a violet1 

r0r a deputy ibherirr to 6~ 

o&sr~ion, reoelved. 

a king 

itution51 

e her or 

% QVl5lOIU3 

ire a apeala Ranger*8 

lele 16, Se&ion 40 

hold cm exerci 

rice 0r m01~ 

appllaetlon 5 

n, however, has no 

der the statutes, ocmre the deputy 5hdrr 

1 Ranger nould not violate 

seq., Revised Statutes, provide 

herFir and prescribe hle quallrioarovlde that the aheriif zmy appoint 

we&he same powers, autb and raspon- 

, Subdivision 5, provides for 

Gosmlsslon, 

the Fublia c4retj 

and provides that such Speoial Rangers shall 

at all tislee be subjsat to the orders of the Cot~&tmlon 

and the Governor for epeolal duty to the same extent ma 

the other law eniorclng orricers provided ror in said Artiole. It provide@ that the Speafal Rangers shall not be 

entitled to draw any aoqieuaation end ahall here no aath: 

orlty to enforce any law exaept those designed to ‘proteat 

life and property. 
Hon. Shelburne H. Clover, PeSe 2. 

h deputy sheriff is subject to the orders of the 

sherlrf, and is required to enforce the laws within the 

psrtlcular oounty wherein he 1s appointed. He necessarily 

owes his allegisnoe to the sherlff'of said oounty and to 

the citizens of said oounty, es a law enforclnS officer. 

A Speolal Ranger is aubjeot to the orders of the Department 

of Yubllc Safety and of the Governor. It 15 easy to contemplate that at timee there might be a conflict batueen 

these respeotlve departments of government. If the Department of rubllc Safety should oFant the Special Ranger to do 

a oertaln act in a oortsln way within the county where he 

serves as deputy sheriff, and the sherifr should desire it 

done in e different manner, the authority of the two would 

oonfllot. 

Again, if the Department of Pub110 Safety should 

desire the servioes of the Special Rcnger for some other 

part of the State an6 the sterifr needed him in the oounty 

where he served as deputy sheriff, there uculd be a oonrii0t or authority. This being true, ths two 0rriiaee are 

Incompatible, and no person should hold both'of them et 

the same time. It is very true that no one oan yaerve two 

nsstere." 

In Thomas vs. Abernathy County Line fndependeat 

School District, 290 S,?i. 152, our Supreme Court held that 

a person could not hold the office of school trustee and 

at the same time be an aldenzian in the olty, neither Or 

which plplces paid any salary, and used the foIlowing language: 

*In our opinion the offices of school trustee: 

and aldermsn are incompatible; for, under our’systern there are ln the city coun,cll or bosrd of aldermsn various directory or supe%olsory powers exertable 

in respeat to sohool property loaated within the city 

or town, end in respect to tte duties of sohool trustee performable within Its limits--e.2., there might 

vie11 arise a 00Orlict of discretion or duty in respect to health, quarantine, sanitary and fire preventlon rsjiulatlons. If the same person could be a 

school trustee and a member of the city oonncdl or 

board of aldermen et the 8ame time, school'pOIicie5 

in meny important raswots would be subjeat to 

dlreatlon of the coun'cll or aldermen instead Or 

that of the trustee&* 
Hon., Shelburnc ?T. Glover, Page 3. 

A sherlrr 15 required to execute a bond for the 

faithful performance of his offlclol duties whether same are 

performed by hln or by hle deputy. A Special 28nger ie re- 

@red under the statutes to make a bond. It might be a 

difficult task to determine whether the officer was acting 

a:: a deputy sheriff or a6 a spacisl ranger, if he was serving in both cepaoltie6. 

In State YE. AnUerson, 155 Iowa 271, 336 FL 0. 128, 

the Supreme Court of Iows held thst a parson could not aot 

as msyor and jueticc of the peace at the 68661 time, and In 

said opinion used this lsnguage: 

"It is a well settled rule of' ooumon law that 

If a pereon, while occupying one office, accepts 

another inoompatlble with the $irst, he ipso racto 

vecates the first office, and his title thereto la 

thereby terminated without any other act or proceeding... It 18 held that 1ncm.patibilit.y in office eriete where the nature and duties of the two 

OfriCeb are such as to render lt.lmproper rrcw 

consideration6 of public policy for an incumbent 

to retain both.* 

In State ex rel. Banker VB. Bobet, 218 W.W. 253, 

the Supreme Court ef Iowa held that a party could not hold 

the orfice of aoneteble an& msrshal at one end the 6ame time. 

After quoting the provision of the statute whloh provided 

ror two constable6 within certain prealncte, and provided 

ror a city msrlruhal in certain towns, the court used thla 

language:- 

*Thus there muot 

ttmre are two justice 

nnd aleo a marshal is 

duties devolving upon 

be two constables because 

court6 in each township, 

required to j~crform the 

hi& in waiti&g upon the - 

mayor. lo do othcrwlse would amount to an alteration of the general plan. men more, such procedure would aau6e the neglect of one for the service of the other. Perhaps at the 68me moment 

civil writs (in attachment, replsvin, or otherwise) or orlminal warrant6 rrom both courts would 

demand eervioe at the ldcntical time. Answer to 

this proposition doe.6 not exist in the assertion 

that under the acthoritles cited mere phy6loal 

sbsenae doe6 not cr66te the*inoompatiblllty*. 

As a matter of feet, bodily tbo appellant in this 

instance ia present within the city and township, 
Ron. Shelburne ??. clover, Page 4. 

but he cannot serve the justloe court, beaause 

he ewes olle~lanae to the mapor*e court. 

wFermisslon for him to do this means ninimization of the publia service, abrogation of the 

statutory requirements, and departure from our 

oria,inal f.overom0ntal fonn. Publia pollay, and 

not phyalcol absence, aausea the ~lncompatiblllty~*6 

vie therefore hold that a pertg aannot hold the 

office of deputy sherirf and "Spaoial Ranger*1 at the BBLDO 

ticxt. 

Yours very truly 

A’lTORT?EY GXWtiAL OF TXLG 

BY 

George W. Beraue 

Assistant 

COMMIITEE