OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL . STATE OF TEXAS 

JOHN CORNYN 

January 14,2002 

The Honorable Joe Warner Bell 

Trinity County Attorney 

P.O. Box 979 

Groveton, Texas 75845 

Opinion No. JC-0452 

Re: Whether constitutional county law judges who try 

misdemeanor criminal matters are entitled to 

participate in the management of community supervision and corrections departments under section 76.002 

of the Government Code (RQ-0433-JC) 

Dear Mr. Bell: 

You ask whether constitutional county law judges who try misdemeanor criminal matters are 

entitled to participate in the management of community supervision and corrections departments 

under section 76.002 of the Government Code.’ We conclude that they are not. 

Chapter 76 of the Government Code charges the district judges trying criminal cases in each 

judicial district to establish a community supervision and corrections department. See TEX. GOV’T 

CODE ANN. 8 76.002(a)(l) (V emon 1998). The judges must employ a department director and 

district personnel to conduct presentence investigations, to supervise and rehabilitate defendants 

placed on community supervision, to enforce conditions of cornrnunity supervision, and to staff 

community corrections facilities. See id. $9 76.002(a)(2), .004. 

You ask which judges participate in the management of these departments, particularly 

whether constitutional county law judges who try misdemeanor criminal matters do so. See Request 

Letter, supra note 1. The group of judges who participate in the management of a department is 

established by section 76.002(b) of the Government Code, which provides: 

The district judges trying criminal cases and judges of 

statutory county courts trying criminal cases that are served by a 

community supervision and corrections department are entitled to 

participate in the management of the department. 

TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. 8 76.002(b) (emphasis added). The answer to your question turns on the 

meaning of “judges of statutory county courts” in this provision. 

‘Letter from Honorable Joe Warner Bell, Trinity County Attorney, to Honorable John Comyn, Texas Attorney 

General (Sept. 6,200l) (on file with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Request Letter]. 
The Honorable Joe Warner Bell - Page 2 (JC-0452) 

Chapter 76 is located in title 2 of the Government Code. For purposes of title 2, section 

2 1.009 of the Government Code defines the term “statutory county court” as 

a county court created by the legislature under Article V, Section 1, 

of the Texas Constitution, including county courts at law, county 

criminal courts, county criminal courts of appeals, and county civil 

courts at law, but does not include statutory probate courts as defined 

by Section 3, Texas Probate Code. 

Id. 8 2 1.009(2) (Vernon Supp. 2001). “County court” is separately defined in section 2 1.009 as “the 

court created in each county by Article V, Section 15, of the Texas Constitution,” id. tj 2 1.009(l), 

and is clearly excluded from the definition of “statutory county court,” see id. 

Again, the judges entitled to participate in the management of a department under section 

76.002(b) of the Government Code include district judges trying criminal cases and judges of 

statutory county courts trying criminal cases. See id. 8 76.002(b) (Vernon 1998). The latter category 

includes judges of any “county court created by the legislature under Article V, Section 1, of the 

Texas Constitution,” id. fj 21.009(2) (V emon Supp. 2001) trying criminal cases. A judge of a 

county court established under article V, section 15 of the Texas Constitution is not a judge of a 

statutory county court, see id. 5 21.009(l), and therefore is not included in the group of judges 

entitled to participate in the management of a department under section 76.002. 
The Honorable Joe Warner Bell - Page 3 (JC-0452) 

SUMMARY 

A judge of a county court established under article V, section 

15 of the Texas Constitution is not a judge of a statutory county court 

for purposes of title 2 of the Government Code and therefore is not 

included in the group of judges entitled to participate in the 

management of a community supervision and corrections department 

under section 76.002(b) of the Government Code. 

Yo rsvery trul 

4 i 

, 

A7 

JOHN CORNYN 

Attorney General of Texas 

HOWARD G. BALDWIN, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

NANCY FULLER 

Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel 

SUSAN DENMON GUSKY 

Chair, Opinion Committee 

Mary R. Crouter 

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee