Ponorable James A. Doherty Opinion No. M-336 

County Attorney 

San Augustine County Re: Construction of Article 

Box 622 42.12, Vernon's Code of 

San Augustine, Texas 75972 Criminal Procedure, as 

the same relates to 

qualifications and employment of adult proDear Mr. Doherty: bation officers. 

This is in response to your inquiry of December 9, 1968, 

wherein you request the opinion of this office on the following 

two questions: 

1. 

2. 

Are the qualifications [of adult probation 

officers] contained in Article 42.12, Section 

10, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, mandatory in a judicial district wherein each of 

the counties have a population less than 

fifty-thousand persons. 

Should probation officers employed in accord 

with Article 42.12 of the Texas Code of 

Criminal Procedure be employed as district 

probation officers or should there be separate 

probation departments in each of the counties 

comprising the judicial district, with their 

salaries and expenses to be paid from the 

county by which they are employed. 

In examining Section 10 of Article 42.12 of the Code of 

Criminal Procedure, we are unable to find any provision 

authorizing the appointment of probation officers for any 

area less than the judicial district served by the court 

making such appointment. It is therefore our opinion that 

the following three consequences must flow from this statute: 

(1) ~11 probation officers must be qualified by that 

portion of the first paragraph of Section 10 which states: 

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Don. James A. Doherty, Page 2 (M-336) 

"Only those persons who have successfully completed education in an accredited college or 

university and two years full time paid employment in responsible probation or correctional 

work with juveniles or adults, social welfare 

work, teaching or personnel work: or persons 

who are licensed attorneys with experience in 

criminal law: or persons who are serving in such 

capacities at the time of the passage of this 

Article and who are not otherwise disqualified 

by Section 31 of this Article, shall be eligible 

for appointments as probation officers; providing 

that additional experience in any of the above 

work categories may be substituted year for year 

for the reauired collecre education. with a maxi- 

%, 

Since the statute does not provide for county proba-, 

tion officers as such, the underlined proviso in the above 

quoted portion of the statute must be treated as inapplicable, except in those instances when a one-county judicial 

district contains less than fifty thousand population. There 

are several one-county judicial districts with a population 

of less than fifty thousand. 

(2) Probation officers must be employed as district 

officers. However, there seems to be nothing in the statute 

to prohibit a district judge (or judges) 'from assigning a 

arobation officer to work in a specific county or counties 

provided that each county in the district receives the 

services of one or more probation officers. 

(3) All expenses incliding salaries must be paid from 

the funds of the various counties in the district, proportioned to the population of such counties. There is no 

authorization for an individual county to pay the expenses 

of the probation services rendered to such county without 

regard to the other counties in the district. 

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_ . . . 

Hon. James A. Doherty, Page 3 @l-336) 

SUMMARY 

Adult probation officers are district 

officers and must be qualified as set 

forth in Article 42.12, Section 10, 

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The 

expenses of the adult probation office 

must be prorated among the various 

counties in the district according to 

population. 

Prepared by Howard M. Fender " 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Xerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Xelton, Vice Chairman 

Tom Bullington 

Robert Owen 

Ralph Rash 

Bob Lattimore 

W. V. Geppert 

STAFF LEGAL ASSISTANT 

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