. .

March 23, 1973

Honorable Earle Caddel District Attorney Uvalde. Medina. Zavala andReal Counties Uvalde County Courthouse Uvalde, Texas 78801 Opinion No. H-20 Re: Whether aperson is qualified to serve as a deputy sheriff when prior to his appointment as such he has been convicted of a felony placed onprobation andtheprobationary term has not expired? Dear Mr. Caddcl: The facts submitted inyour request for our opinion are thatthe Sheriff of Zavala County has appointed as deputy sheriff an individual who was convicted of a felony three years ago. and is new onprobation. The Zavala County Commissioners Court.has refused to recognise the appointment andyou have asked whether the person is qualified. Prior to the codification ofthe Texas Statutes of 1925, Article 7125 ofVernon’s Texas Civil Statutes of 1914provided that “No person shall be appointed a deputy sheriff who stands~convicted for a felony”
. Article 7125 appears as Article 6869 inthe 1925 codification of the statutes except thatthe reference to persons convicted for a felony has been omitted. The present statute provides:

“An indictment for a felony of any deputy sheriff appointed shall operate a revocation of his appointment as such deputy sheriff
. . . .I’ Section 2ofArticle 16of the Constitution of Texas provides:

“Laws shall be made to exclude from office, serving onjuries, and from the right of suffrage, those tiho may have been or shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes
. . .”

p. 94Honorable Earle Caddel, page 2 (H-20)

A deputy sheriff occupies a public office. Irwin v. State, 177S.W. 2d 970, .(Tex. Crim. 1944). The term “other high crimes’* includes any offense of the same degree or grade as those specifically enumerated, namely felonies. Attorney General Opinion No. O-2698 (1940). Article 1.05 of the Texas Election Code provides inpart:

“No person shall be eligible to be a candidate for, or to be elected or appointed to, any public office fn’this state unless he is a citieen of the United States eligible to hold such office under the Constitution andlaws of this State, and is under none of the disabilities for voting which are stated inArticle VI. Section 1of the Constitution of Texas on the date ofhis appointment or of the election at which he is elected
. . .‘I .The disabilities stated inArticle 6, Section 1are persons under 21 years of age, idiots andlunatics, paupers supported by any county, and
“all persons convicted of any felony, subject to such exemptions as the Legislature may mkke”
. The same language is carried forward into Article 5.01 of the Texas Election Code. It is our opinion, therefore, that aperson who stands convicted of afelony, whether or not sentence is probated, suffers from a disability which disqualifies him from voting. Therefore, under Article 1.05 of the Election Code he is not eligible to be appointed to anypublic office, including the office of deputy sheriff. The.ans,wer toyour question, therefore, is thatthe person described is not at the present time, qualified to serve as deputy sheriff. We do notpass onwhatmay be his rights at some future time.

p. 95.- -

I

Honorable Earle Caddel. page 3(H-20)

SUMMARY An individual whowas convicted of a felony three years ago, and is nowonprobation, is not qualified to be appointed as a deputy sheriff. Very truly yours, * 

# u Attorney General of Texas APPROVED:

DAVID M; KENDALL, Chairman Opinion Committee

p, 

### 96