OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

--i-- 

Hon. &&III R. Shook 

Criatltial Metriot Attorney 

Ban Antonio, Texao 

Dear Sir1 Attention of Er 

Be are in req 

ion of this department 

stated. 

Your letter 

the Camisfor a alari116, but are, naverthelesr, omhe request made U.S. 

e ruled, and oorreotly 80, we 

at a speoial county judge, 

by the parties or appointed by 

the Ootsrnor upon the tllequallfioation OS 

the regular oounty judge in elther~& 01vil 

suit or a probate base, ie entltled.to 1/36S 

of the annual salary of the oounty judge for 

saoh day that he senss; You further ruled 
Hon. John R. Shook, Page 2 

that suoh payment was to be made out of the 

regular officer*s salary fund. 

"We ask you tha following questions: 

"1. Is the regular judge*8 alary tv be 

reduoed by the emouut that is paid to the 

spsolal judge? 

-2. pould the same hold true It the 

regular aounty judge ia not disqualliied, 

but tails to act by reason 0f illness, other 

inability or by taking a short vaoatloh, and 

a epeoial judge ia eleoted by the praotioing 

lawyers to serve aa provided Bar by Artiale 

1934 of the 1923 Revised Civil Statutea? 

‘3. In determining the emount of a-pen-- 

sation to be paid to the special county judge, 

should the additional compensation rhich the 

regular oouuty judge receives ae a member of 

the uvenile board ba included in the aalaulation d* 

In your letter you refer to our opinions Roe. 

Q-722 and O-1234. The tlrst opinion mentioned~uas written 

by Hon. Edgar Gale, Aaairtant Attorney General, and dtreoted to Ron. Fred C. Porter, County Atto.:nep, Yaufman, Texas 

and holds that a epeclal county judge whether serving in a 

general capacity or in a probate oapaaity, only should be 

compensated on the following basis: 

The annual mlary of the judge of the county tour 

divided by three hundred and sixty-dive and the quotient 

multiplied by the number of days aotually served by such 

special judge, and that this compensation should be paid 

rrom the Officers' Salary Fund or the oouaty. 

Opinion No. O-1234 wes written by Ron. WB. J. 

Fanning, Aseletaat Attorney General, directed to Hon. 

imight Whitwell, Aaeietant County Attorney, Colllnr County, 

and holda directly in accord I*ith opinion X0. O-722. 
Eon. John R. Shook, Fage 3 

hrticle 1933, Vernon's Civil Statutes, reads as 

follows: 

Whenever the county judge or the special 

judge shall be disqualified from trying 'a case, 

#he parties or their counselrmy agree upon an 

attorney for the trial thereof; and, if they 

shell fail to agree upon an attorney at or before 

the time it Is called for trial, or if the trial 

of the ease is pending and the county judge should 

become unable to aot, or Is absent, and a speolal 

judge is seleated who is disqualified to proceed 

with the trial, and the partfes then fail to select or agree upon a special judge who is quallffed, the county judge or special judge presidIng s&all certify the fact to the Governor Wasdlai%ly, whereupon the Covernor shell appoint a 

speci& judge, qualified to try same. Such appointment may be made by telegram or otherwise. 

The special judge shall proceed to the trial or 

disposltlon of Euch case. iiny speolal, judge 

agreed upon or appointed to try cases shall receive the srme pay for his services as is provided by law for county judges." 

Articlea554, 555, and 556, Code oi Criainal Procedure provide thst when the judge of the county court or 

county court at law is disqualified in any criminal cape. 

pending in the court of which he Is a judge, that the parties my, by consent, agree upon a special judge to try 

such case and it the parties fail to agree upon a speofal 

judge tc try such case on or helore the third day of the 

Berm at which such case may be called for trial, the judge 

presiding shall forthwith certify that faot to the Governor 

who shall appoint scme practioing attorney to try the case. 

'!'hssa statutes turthar provide that the attorney agreed 

upon or app'oiutea shall, before he enters upon his duties 

as special judge, take the oath of office required by the 

Constitution and that the clerk of the oourt shall knter 

in the minutes, as a part ot the proceeding in such oause, 

a record ahowing thatthe judge of the oourt was disqu~lified to try the cause, that the special judge (naming him) 

was by consent of the parties agreed upon and was appointed 

by the Governor to try the oause, and that the oath oi 

office prescribed by law had been duly admlhlstered to suoh 
5G5 

Hon. John R. Shook, Page 4 

apooial judge. 

Artlols 557, Code of Criminal Prooedure, reads 

as follows: 

*A speoial judge seleoted or appointed 

in aooordance with the meoeding artiolea 

shall receive the same oompenantion as provided by law ror regular judges in similar oaaea.* 

Rexar County had a population of two hundred 

and ninety-two thousand five hundred end thirty-three 

(292,533) Inhabitants aooordlng to the last Federal Cenaua, 

and paragraph (4) at SeVtlon 19 a? Artiole SOlee, Vernon’8 

Civil Gtatutea, epeolfidslly designates the amount of salaries to .be paid oounty offioiala In. oountiea having a 

population In excess or One Hundred and Ninety Thousand 

fnhabitants. Therefore, Bexar County would oome within the 

provlafone OS paragraph (d) of Seotdon 19 of Artfole 3$12e, 

wherein the salaries of the oounty orfiolala o? such oounties are definitely provided. Section 15 OS Artlole 5142b, 

Vernon’s Civil Statutes provides addf tional compensation 

for oounty judges of oounties having the population deafgnetad in Artlole 3912s a8 members of the oounty Juvenile 

Board in such counties. 

Sections 1, 2 and 15 of Artlole 5142b, Vernon’8 

Civil Statutea, read as follower 

wSectlon 1. That the provisions of this 

Aot ahall apply to and arfeot auoh counties 

only ln the State of Texea as have, aooording 

to the last preceding Federal Cenaua, a population of not more than three hundred abd twenty 

thousand (320,000) Inhabitants, and not leaa 

than two hundred and twenty thouaaud (220,000) 

Inhabitants, aooording to the last preoeding 

or any future Federal Ceneue. 

nSsotion 2. The Juvenile Roard of suoh 

oountiea ahall be aompoaed of the Judgea of the 

several Diatriot and Criminal Diatriot Courts 

thereof, together gith the County Judge there&. 

“Section 15. The members oompoaing said 

Juvenile Roar6 in auoh oountles, on eooount 
. ’ 

. 

Hon. John R. Shook, Page 5 

of the additional duties hareby imposed on 

them, ara each hereby allowed an addltlonal 

oompenaation ot Seventy-five ($75.00) Dollafa 

per month to be paid by the Commlaaioneral 

Court In such oountlea, and the same to be 

in addition to all other oompensation now 

allowed by law to auoh oiilcera.” 

In the oaae of Bolland vs. Rarrla County, 102 

SW Znd, 196, a deolalon ot the Coamiaaion o? Appeals ot 

the State ot Texas adopted by the Supreme Court, it we8 

held that a speoie! judge o? a orimlnal dlatriot oourt 

0r Harris county, aotlng in the abaenoe o? the regular 

judge was entitled to oompenrsatlon on a basis o? salary, 

parable to the regular diatrlot judges o? that oounty, 

inoduding salary payable to the regular dlatriot judges 

as member8 of the Juvenile Board, notwithstanding the 

apeoial judge pe~?ornts no duties as a member o? the Juvenile Board, and that the cimount alloued regular judgea ior aervi088 performed as members o? the board, waa allowed aa part 

a? their annual aalery end not merely as additional oompenaatioa. 

In view of the ioragoing authorities, we answer 

your quf9atlona as followsI 

1. The regular udge’a ealary is not to be reduoed by the amount that i 8 paid to the special judge. 

The regular judge ia entitled to his iull canpeneation 

aa allowed by law, although it is necessary rot a apeoial 

judge to aot ln certain inatanoea. 

2. The same enawer applies to your aeoond quesaa It 18 immaterial whether the judge was disqualltfed 

or failed to aot by reason o? illness or some other inabillty or by taking a short vaoation. It munt be assumed that 

the regular judge will talthtully perfonu his duties and 

aot in all oases exoept where he la dlaqualltied or is unable to aot by reason o? some legal excuse. 

3. In deterraining the amount o? oompenaatlon to 

be paid to the apeoiel oounty judge, the additional oanpenaation whioh the regular ‘rounty judge moeives as a member 
’ . 

Hon. John R, Shook, Page 6 

of tbe Juvenile Court should be included in the gploulatlon in arriving at the amount whloh the specie) aounty 

judge is entitled to. 

Trusting thnt the foregoing fully inawera your 

inquiry, we remin 

Vary trulf yours 

ATTO?NEY (3Es?IERAL OF ‘IEXAC 

BY &zidh&m* 

Rsaeli Wllllama 

Aa6iataat 

AWlAW 

APPROVED 

OPINION 

c 

COMMI’TTIC 

4ik%s,