,:ff()&-nev Ge+--- - I:: 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Hon. Fred V. blsrldlth 

County Attorney 

!wzn” c$lnt Y 

, ~OXziS 

Drar Fir: Opinion 100. O-4372 

Ro, “:?mtfiia th ?harIt f of 

Bxmlen Cotiaty oWl eppoint 

‘-a deputy aherWr Mthout 

I. 

,’ M5tponaeti0a b.eLng paid to 

zQuoh,deputy,and related 

msttera. 

Your letter ot naeet’~dste, raqueatinq the opinion 

oi~thls department mV.oertala queetium? atatad therein, Is, 

In part, 8s roliowai 

“Csn the ?keilff ai ration @Otinty appoint e 

deputy shevlrt without aampeneetion beide. peld to 

suoh dbputy? ‘Y, 

,.3.stinah.Cdtity he* a.populetIon of 38,308 

$k$gto tha 1?&0~Fadsral Centaur. dy authority 

12a, 9~0. 13, tha CQN~BSIQ~~~E Court iixed 

the bsluzies of oounty Qffioers, ino1ud.l~ 9herFtt. 

Our Oamalsaionare Court hse suthorizad and fixed selaria8 iQr’~twQ~daputIaa In tha C’harIrf*s ottloa, end 

thoaa appointments have been msda. One daputy rhsrirr 

rbeldbp lag the City of Tarrell, in Juetlaa Praoinat 

NQ.>~;3 ti,ICauWan CcGnty. 

WlaJustIoe precinct No. 3 la lool*tad Terre11 

Aviation, Ltd., en sirport situetwd upon lend beloag1% to Ksulmu!n County end being oparnted by l&j. T. ??. 

Long snd assooiatae In limited pertnerehip, v&loh Is a 

school for the fllr,ht training of Rrltlsh oadsts, e.nd 

knoun (IS Brltieh Flight Training Sohool Co. 1. T.hls 

sohool Is the reoirient Or many gretultlee from botk 

the City of Terre11 end County of Kaufman. es well es 

frm the Zafenso Plant Corporation. Forr,erlp, sure 

.imerIoen cndeta alone Hlth the British were trained 

there, but now only Rritiah. The predeoeseor in the 

‘-herifr*a offloe, fa: li:le with request fran the 

aahool’a offlclals, appointed two or three deputy 
Hon. Fred V. Mtridlth, page 2 

sharlfra, among tha employeea of the school; these 

OQ~XI~S~~Q~K were merely honorary, and married no 

compen8atloa, a8 the raohool wanted to hare swt 

officers on the premises who %ould he authorized 

to aot in oaae of hreaohts of the ptaea, aiaoe the 

eohool la looattd out at the edge of the olty. 

- "Terre11 Atiat1on, Ltd., through Ita paramnel 

managar, haa now raquesttd our Yherlff to appoint 

a deputy there, and rtqueating that the -ergtent of 

tha Guard at the aehool be ao appointed. Our ?htrIff 

attbndad the aohoal of Instruction for newly eltoted 

"htriffs at Damp Yabry. and has some sort oi recolleotloa that et this sohool he was edvlstd that he could 

appoint no deputy sheriff Who we3 QOt paid ocmpenaetion oi at least fbO.00 per ronth. He atema to reoolltct 

that there waa either a deofsion on this point, or an 

tttorney general's opinion to this errtot, and hssitatea to give t raply to Terre11 Avlatlon, Ltd., oonceming their request until L.t ia oorrtotly advised. If 

there be tush, I would appreaiatt aitation or oopy of 

oplnlon. 

*I note from the provlfilons of Art. 6869, that a 

fheritf may appoint dtputIat* . . . not txoetdlng three 

In the Juatlot preolnot In which la looatad the oounty 

site oi auah oounty, and one in each Juatioa prtaInot....* 

The City of Tame11 Is lotattd, ad well aa Terre11 Avltv 

tloa, Ltd., In Juatlce preoinot Ho. 3, and the .Sharlfi 

already haa oae duly oonatituted deputy, drawing monthly 

ooapanabtion by salary, residing In this preolnot. I find 

no apeolal aot of the Legislature wlth raapeat to deputlaa 

ror the 3herIff In oountlea of a population Or 38,308,e8 

la KatimrP County. 

*xi the Sheriff of x8urman Gounty appointed, with 

tha aanotlon and approval of the ComnissIonara Court, a. 

deputy ahtrlff to sot only on tha prtmLees of Terre11 

Aviation, Ltd., tiithout oompeneetlon from the ttld Kaufman 

County, and without feea Or offlot, would auah appointee 

ba tuthorized to aarry a pistol and be a duly conatltuttd 

poaoe or ricer, r):sd hi:6 sots as auoh on said prtmlsea ba 

legally performed? 
Hon. Fred V. Merldltb, page 3 

“(2) Is them suoh a thing as an ‘honorary’ 

deguty ~shirlf?*a oamnlsslon? , . . .* 

Article 3902, Vel7aon'S Annotetbd Civil Ctatutea, 

provides, in part! 

w?ammver any distriot, oounty, -or precinot 

of rloer Jhail r6quire the sarvioerr of deputies, 

assistants or clerks in the ~pclrrormanoe or hia 

duties, ha shall agply to the aounty aomm.%saionera’ oaurt or hl8 oaty for authorl~ty to appoint 

suah deputlee, eumintsnts or olarks, stating by 

sworn applioetion the number needed, the posit ian 

to be filled and the amount to be paid. . . .* 

In oonneotlon with ths foregdng statute, your attention ia dlreetcd to Artiole 6869, Vernon’s Annotated Civil 

Xatutes, tiich provides in part as follows: 

T ?herirrs shell have the povmr, by writing, 

to appoint one or nors daputiea ror their respeotire counties. . . . . the number-or deputier aprainted by the sherltr or any one oounty shall be 

llaited to not exaaedlng three of the Justice 

eeoinots in whioh in looated the oouoty site of 

sooh ocunty, and one in each Justfoe ?raalnet, and 

a list of these appointments shall be postad up 

in a aonspiououa plses in ths clerk’s ofrice.....* 

This Dapartment has ruled prior to and einoa the. 

enaotment of tha qrasant oftloersl salary bill, under whioh 

Ksufmsn County la now runatloning thst Artiole 6869 has been 

auperasded by Art. 3902 in so far as said statutes are Zn 

c0nriict. This departm@nt held in Opinion No. C-12 that 

Art. 6869 has been superseded by Art. 3902 in so rar as said 

SthtUteS SrS in COnfliOt. 30 quote rran Opinion So. C-12, 

in part, as follows: 

“Thla depsrtesnt ie not In possession of any 

deiinltu dsclsi~on affeatlng the queatl.)n at hand, 

and therefore must arrive at the oonaluslcju that 

Art. 6869. . . . ::ihioh applies t ths sheriffs 

under the fee law haa been super 8 eded . . . . by 

Art. 3902 . . . . and by the oriieersq salary law 

0r the 7tat.e or Texas. 
Hon. Fred v. i,:erldlth, ;?sze 1, 

. It rests %rlt;ln the discretion of 

Cotxt:;, 

as to ths number or deputies which the 

shollld employ. e 

It is stated In the case of Tarraat County vs. hith, 

81 $. “‘. (261, 537: 

“The Coremissioners' Court 0811 limit the number 

and salary of deputy aherifis but they have no ?ower 

over the nanins of the individuals to be appointed, 

and are espooially :rohiblted from attempting tiny 

such last nemed influenoe. Fx. I. ;:rt. 3902.” 

In Gpl3loo No. 3-925, zendercd by this, deoartmem, it 

IS stated: 

“In the case o,i ‘Trammel vs. Yheltos, 45 -. . ?i9, 

the relevant provisiona of Art. 6869 substantially the 

sa!:e as enacted In 1989 ~ which grants authority to the 

Zheriif to egpolnt deputirs ~ni limit their number nas 

held to bo directory. “ueh authority as was by thla 

Artlole and creviouslp at common law p.fven Co :;he 

?herlrf was SJ general law supermade& end invested in 

the Commissioners1 Court under the provision6 or rirtiala 3902, eupra. Suoh e oon8truetion as would harmonize 

the two srtlolas, 6869 end 3902, supre, should ba dven 

-with the later article oontrolling. rhlle said :rtlele 

d6i169 seek8 to llmlt the diaoretion to be exeroised by 

the Sherirr, we osnnot say thst suoh Artiofe would, as 

a matter of law, restrict the power of the Comxlsoionera’ 

Court under Artiola 3902, a a amended, should the Sects 

warrant the neoessitp for the appointment by the SheriTZ 

or more deputies then would he permitted under the provisions or Artlole 6869.” 

It WBB held in cur Opinion So. ~-1~96 that 9 aherlrr 

hea authority, ;ulth the approval d the oonmissioners court. to 

appoifit a deputy to servb without any compensation. ‘?crerore, in 

anewer to your rirst questicz. you are respeotiullg advised that 

it Ia our opinion that the lheriii of’ ?mdman County can oscolnt 

a deputy sherLrr i3lth the approval or the onmmiasioncrs’ -curt, to 

serve without any compensation. 
Hon. Fred V. Fdderidlth, page 5 

In connection 31th the foregoing ntrtement, we 

dlreot your ettentlon to our Opinion No. C-4420, wherein 

la statedl .~ 

*In the went a Commleaiomers’ Court authorizes 

the cherirr to appoint additional deputies to aerte 

without pay, the order authorizing euoh appointment 

should atate that the deputies to be appointed are 

to be allowed no salary, else they mlsht be eble to 

reooter for the mrrloes on 8 quantufn merit basis. 

Eerrlr County vs. Nerllle (Civil Appeels) 84 3. '7. 

(26) 834." 

it 

In answer to your ssoond question, you ere advised 

that, it is the opinion of this department that II deputy sheriff 

appointed to serve without oompansatlon could legally oarry a 

pistol when eotuslly engaged in the disoherge of hia orrieial 

duty. (Tee *irticlea 485 and 484, Vernon’@ Annotated Penal Code). 

The provlslons omtalhed in Article 484, 'Ternon's iihnoteted 

Fenal Code, regardlog ocmpensetlon of ,!40.00, or more, per month, 

is applicable to deputy oonstebles and speolal polioemen end hee 

no applio~tion to e deputy sherirr. 

It is our further opinion thet a deputy sheriff who 

la eppoizted in oonformlty with the foregoing stcatutes and who 

IS serving without oompenssitlon would have the aem authority 

to aot in dlsoherging his offiolcl duties as any other deputy 

sherif i appointed. 

Your third question is, “Ia there euoh a thing as 

en *honorary* deputy sharirr’s oommisaion:‘* 

In emwer to this pus&ion, you are adviaod that we 

hate been unable to- find any statuto or oase Tertaining to 

t&10 c;uestion. Wo know of no law authorizing the iasuanoe of 

an *honorargw doputg rherirr’s ~omnission. 

Yours very truly,