OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
AUSTIN f54!

Ron. Shelburnep..

Clover Oounty Attorney Jerrerson,

Tox55 c !, \ D5ar Sir: \ Oplnlonao. o-1262 '-.‘-.\ Re: Can a daput

s( i? -ehprlrr

al5 hold 5 c~laalon as a$&kQa r?
Tour letter or not It would be a violet1 r0r 

### a deputy 

### ibherirrto 6~ o&sr~ion, reoelved. aking itution51 e her or

QVl5lOIU3 % ire a apeala Ranger*8

lele 16, Se&ion 40 hold cm exerci rice 0r m01~
appllaetlon5 n, however,has no der the statutes,ocmre **the** deputy 5hdrr 1 Ranger nould not violate

seq., Revised **Statutes,** provide herFir and prescribehle quallrioarovlde that the aheriifzmy **appoint** we&he same powers, autb and raspon-

, Subdivision5, provides for Gosmlsslon, the Fublia 

### c4retj

and providesthat such Speoial Rangers shall at all tislee

be subjsat to the orders of the Cot~&tmlon and the Governor for epeolalduty to the same extent ma the other law eniorclngorricersprovidedror in said Artiole. It provide@ that the Speafal Rangers shall not be entitledto draw any aoqieuaation end ahall here no aath: orlty to enforce any law exaept those designed 

### to ‘proteat life and property.Hon. ShelburneH. Clover, PeSe 2.

h deputy sheriff is **subject** to the orders of the sherlrf,and is required to enforce the laws within the psrtlcularoountywherein he 1s appointed. He necessarily owes his allegisnoeto the sherlff'ofsaid oounty and to the citizens of said oounty,es a law enforclnSofficer. **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 conflictbatueen these respeotlvedepartmentsof government. If the Department of rubllc Safety should oFant the Special Ranger to do a oertaln act in a oortslnway within the countywhere he serves as deputy sheriff,and the sherifr should desire it done in e differentmanner, the authorityof the two would oonfllot.Again, if the Departmentof Pub110 Safety should desire the servioes of the SpecialRcnger 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. AbernathyCounty Line fndependeat School District, 290 S,?i. 152, our SupremeCourt 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 foIlowinglanguage:
*In our opinion the offices of school trustee: and aldermsnare incompatible; for, under our’systern there are ln the city coun,cll or bosrd of aldermsn various directoryor supe%olsory powers exertable in respeat to sohool property loaatedwithin 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 discretionor duty in respect to health, quarantine,sanitaryand 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 importantraswots would be subjeat to dlreatlonof the coun'cll or aldermen instead Or that of the trustee&*Hon., Shelburnc ?T.

Glover, Page 3.

A sherlrr **15** required to executea bond for the faithfulperformanceof his offlcloldutieswhether 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 difficulttask to determinewhether the officerwas 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 jueticcof 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 occupyingone 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 aoneteblean& msrshal at one end the 6ame time. After quoting the provisionof the statutewhloh 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 devolvingupon be two constablesbecause court6 in each township, required to j~crform the hi& in waiti&g upon the - mayor. lo do othcrwlsewould amount to an alteration of the general plan. men more, such procedurewould aau6e the neglect of one for the service of the other. Perhaps at the 68me moment civil writs (in attachment,replsvin,or otherwise) or orlminalwarrant6 rrom both courts would demand eervioe at the ldcnticaltime. Answer to this proposition

doe.6 not exist in the assertion that under the acthoritlescited 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~lanaeto the mapor*e court. wFermisslon

for him to do this means ninimization of the publia service,abrogationof the statutoryrequirements, and departure from our oria,inal

f.overom0ntal

fonn. Publia pollay,and not phyalcolabsence, aausea the ~lncompatiblllty~*6 vie thereforehold that a pertg aannot hold the office of deputy sherirfand "SpaoialRanger*1 at the BBLDO ticxt.
Yours very truly
A’lTORT?EY GXWtiAL OF TXLG

BY George W. Beraue

Assistant

**COMMIITEE**