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 qualificationsand employment of adult proDearMr. Doherty: bation officers.

This is in response to your inquiry of December 9, 1968, wherein you request the opinion of this officeon 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-thousandpersons.

Shouldprobation officers employed in accord with Article 42.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure be employed as district probation officers or should therebe separate probation departments in each of the counties comprising the judicial district,with their salariesand expenses to be paid from the county by **which** they are employed.

In examining Section 10 of Article 42.12of 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 servedby the court making such appointment. It is therefore our opinion that the following three consequencesmust flow from this statute:
(1)~11 probation officers must be qualifiedby that portion of the first paragraph of Section 10which states:

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"Only those persons who have successfullycompleted education in an accredited college or university and two years full time paid employment in responsible probation or correctional work with juveniles or adults, socialwelfare work, teaching or personnelwork: or persons who are licensed attorneyswith 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 otherwisedisqualified by Section 31 of this Article, shallbe eligible for appointments as probation officers;providing that additional experience in any of the above work categoriesmay be substitutedyear for year for the reauired collecre education.with a maxi- %,

Since the statute does not provide for county proba-, tion officers as such, the underlinedproviso in the above quoted portion of the statutemust be treated as inapplicable, except in those instanceswhen a one-county judicial district contains less than fifty thousandpopulation. There
are several one-county judicialdistrictswith a population of less than fifty thousand.
(2)Probation officersmust be employedas district officers. However, there seems to be nothing in the statute to prohibit a district judge (orjudges) 'fromassigning a arobation officer to work in a specific countyor counties provided that each county in the district receives the services of one or more probation officers.
(3)All expenses incliding salariesmust 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 countywithout 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 inArticle 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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