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 lawjudges who try misdemeanor criminal matters are entitled to participate in the management ofcommunity supervision and corrections departments under section 76.002 ofthe Government Code (RQ-0433-JC) Dear Mr. Bell: You askwhether constitutional county lawjudges who trymisdemeanor criminal matters are entitled to participate in the management of community supervision and corrections departments under section 76.002 ofthe Government Code.’ We conclude that they are not. Chapter 76 ofthe Government Code charges the district judges trying criminal cases in each judicial district to establish acommunity supervision and corrections department. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. 8 76.002(a)(l) (Vemon 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 lawjudges who try misdemeanor criminal matters do so. See Request Letter, supra note 1. The group ofjudges who participate in the management of a department is established by section 76.002(b) ofthe 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 ofthe department. TEX. GOV’T CODEANN. 876.002(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, toHonorable 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 21.009 ofthe Government Code defines the term “statutory county court” as

acounty 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 atlaw, but does not include statutory probate courts asdefined by Section 3, Texas Probate Code. Id. 821.009(2) (Vernon Supp. 2001). “County court” is separately defined in section 21.009 as“the court created in each county by Article V, Section 15, ofthe Texas Constitution,” id. tj21.009(l), and is clearly excluded from the definition of “statutory county court,” see id. Again, thejudges entitled to participate in the management of adepartment 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. 876.002(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. fj21.009(2) (Vemon Supp. 2001) trying criminal cases. Ajudge of a county court established under article V, section 15 of the Texas Constitution is not ajudge of a statutory county court, see id. 5 21.009(l), and therefore is not included in the group ofjudges entitled to participate in the management of a department under section 76.002.The Honorable Joe Warner Bell - Page 3 (JC-0452)

SUMMARY Ajudge of acounty court established under article V, section 15ofthe Texas Constitution isnot ajudge ofastatutory county court for purposes oftitle 2 ofthe Government Code and therefore is not included in the group of judges entitled to participate in the management ofacommunity supervision and corrections department under section 76.002(b) ofthe Government Code. Yo rsvery trul 

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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