Bon. James E. Barlow

Criminal District Attorney Bexar County San Antonio, Texas
Dear sir: Opinion NO. ~1-68

ore: Conetltutlonallt of Article 2351 Y

/2c Taxes Revletd Civil 3tatutcs You have requested an opinion on the conrtitutlonallty’ of the provision in Article 2351 1/2c, lkxaa Revised Civil Statutes, which states that If, upm a change of boundaries of Justice Precincts, only one previously elected or SQQOinttd Justice o? Peace or Constable rtaldta rlthln a precinct as so chirngtd, he shall contlnoe In office a8 Justice or Constable OSthat prtOlnct for the remainder of the ter@ to which he was elected or appointed. The full text c# thi ptPtlWnt portion of Article 23% 1/2c, enacted ‘in 1965, reads aa follows : ” (c) Whenboiandariee of Justice of the Pcaci Pi-cclnctrr art changed, so that 

### txlatlng preclnpta 

### art altered; 

### newprecincts art formed, or Somer~preClnCt8 art abOll8htfJ, IT OmOnt pr~viouslp elected or appolnttd Justlct'of the Ptact oc Conrtablt 

### rtsides within a precinct 

### as so changed, he shall con**tlnut ’** **ln** office aa Justice or Constable of that prtcinct for the **rtmalndtr** oi the CeiYnto which he wall elected or appointed. If more than one Justice or Constable reeldta therein the off&e #hall becomt vacant and the vacancy rhall be filled l s.5.n other

You have further inquired:
" **Doer** a’move in the precinct liner conatltute **a change** in’the jyeclnct caurln@ the office involve8 to be vaaated?

In If a change lh bdufidary lines cf itseW creates 

### ‘s..vtcancy, the office ,,bg

aboltehing tha,

### ‘.trfatlng~~.precSnct$’ t;hda:.Artiolc 235$s~lec oollldts with Section 28, of Arti$clt~~V6t the Tcxar COnSbltutlOn, which QFoVidtS ,111 fOllO~13:

- 312-Hon. James E. Barlow, page 2 (M-68 )

“Vacanclta In the offlct of Judgtb of tht **Suplitm?** Court, the Court bf Criminal Appeals, the Court of ~Clvll Appeals and Dletrlct Courta shall be r111td by the Qov&nor”uhtll the **next** succeeding gentSa election; and vacancies in tht,office of County Judge and .luaticta at the mace shall be filled by the Commisbiontre Court until ,tht next gtmral 8uch **oiilcts."** election **for** “.

‘Artlale ‘V, Stt.itiqn 18 alro provides, In “Ba&horganlmb c’ounty~in tee ‘State nowpart., aa followr :

or hereaf **ttr** 

### time,for the rxlatlng, bhall be divided from time to oohvbnltna~ bf ttie 3Mbplt Into prtcinc,tr,not ltaa ‘than iom’and @ore then e&#&t. The priaent county courfr #hall mtkt thi firat.dlvlrlon. Subrequtiit dlvlribnr rhall br made’,by the Commlanlonera Court, QlioVLdedfor bg 

### ttiia,CaH~tttUtlOn. In rrch’rti6h prtclnat: thire ‘Mall **be** electrd at’ trah blennlal electi&; one Jurfiot bf the:Ptace and on@Conntablc, eaoh of whoa rhrll hold hlr office for two y&&r! ,and until his oucatmor #hall have be&nelect&d and quallilcd~ - provided that In ang’praclnct In which there aey .bei ,clfJ of tlOht ,thourmd or more lnhrbitmtr, them~rhall ’ be elected two Jwbloer of thti **Peace. ”**  Artlola ‘2351, V.,O.S., red8 ln,pprt: ”,&ch Cdmmlrrionerr court #hall: l.,Lay off, thair,n((lprotlvicowitler fnto h?lnctr,, not leer than iour,.~raad not ,rOre man ?, ei&h , for the eleatlon. of Jurtioer of the Prrcq and Conitrblea, fix tnr timer and p.laorr
,‘bf .;,@olding

Jurtiora Courts, l nU,lhall rrtibllgh,p~roor in muoh~preoinatr where eleotlonr’ alull **,b8**hrldl.

...”
,‘
, : , Article 2355 V.C.8: provi6er:
" me Court rhall have **po*rr** to illi vrcrnalta in the ofilcea of: Coylt, Attorney, Count9 LaJudge;, ‘County Clerk, Sheriff, County *,
l mwo r,

Cbunty Srirveyor, County ,í ~ : Hide Ineptcto*,. **Arbenror** of’ We8 j Collector ‘of Taxeg.,, Jurtlcaa 

### of the **Peace** 

### Conrtabler,, uN:Cixmty’SuplrW¶- 'tendent of Public Inrbuotion. Such vacancier &hall be illlad by **a**majoritr”votb ,of thi memberl,df rrld" **Chart,** prerent and vottiS, and the, pt'rton ‘cnpn r&l1 hold ofilat until the nrxt ,Stneral election. 8;’Hon. Jamta E. Berlow, page 3 (M- 68)

In State ex rel. Dowltn v. Rigaby, 43 S.W. 271 (Texaa Civil AQptalaT897 I I th Court construed-Section 28 of Article Vo?*t~~~n~~l~u~lon~end Article 2351; to mean. In tiftct, that the txclualvt power to crta,tt,-ilier or abblleh Justice Precincts has been vested ln~the Commlaelonera Cqurt by'the Constitution. The only llmitatlon upon this power la that there must be as manyaa four and not more than tight precincts.
**The**fact altuetion upon which your requtrt is baaed la a ~prooatd 158P tranaftr of two voting prtclnctu (Precincts 142 and fromJustice Precinct No. 2 In Rex&rCounty to,Juatict Preclnkt No. L. You state iurther that none of the o??lcera Involved live ,ln the voting precincts to be trendierred, an0 tech ‘would still live in %he area where he waa elected after the change. fn your brief you l xQrtoeI the view that t+e provlaloti of AiWclt 2351 i/2 under aonaide~atlon is invalid btaauat 6f the holding of the Court of Civil Appeala In Brown v. Mteka, 96 S.W. 2d 839 ( Texas,Civil ApQtale 1936, error diem. 1. In that case, the Commissionem Court of Bexar County had entered an order, shortly before the dtadllht ?or filing In the Qr$nary elections to be held in 1936, rearranging’ the Justice Precincts of Etxar County’atld providing that the changes were to become 

### t??tctlvt

on January 1, 1937. The order provided, however, that at the tltctiona to **be** held in 1936 the o??lcere for the Justice Precincts wire to **be** voted on by the re@ldentaI;fa~ht precincts aa they would exist after January 1, 1937. election contest bttwteh oandld.atte for nomlnat+on to the o~?iiae~o? Cbnatable~ for one of the precincts, the CouCt held tha’t the ~atttmpttd nomlnatlo~~ by votta,,o? the new precinct was Invalid because the precinat had no+ than come Into txlattnct. Aa to whtthcr tht~,winning candldatt couJd c-lalm nomlnetlon to the offlatf~r the precinct at It axleted at the time a? the primary ~tltctlon, the court held that’ht could not do so because he had not run for that offlae slid also btcauat the office would no longer be in exlrtenca when the new term began. **The**court atetkq’thrt the result of the Commlaaiontra Court’8 order wee that ‘when the new precincts come into txlattnct, all precinct o??iaea will be vacant and the C~a&lOntr0 Court will be charged with’thr duty of filling the QMClnCt offlcts by appointment. ‘! Thla statement br the Court of~Clvl1 Appt~la has led 

### ant to conclude that an ‘automatic vacan0y” oacurb at any time ‘.,~’ bound&files o? Justice Precincts hrt altered, whether the Commissioners Court intended to abolish the Qreclnct’and to create a new preclnot. Ut do not believe that the cotta SUppOrt

- 314-. .

Hon. James E. Barlow, 

### page4 (M-68 1

this bonclualon, and 

### wtera convinced that a vacancy la not automatic under there i?Iraumatanct8, partlcularlg 

### wherethera la ho txprtaelon on the part of the COmmlaaioner~ Court's order Of an Intent on the part of thtX?omBl8alontr8 Court to aboliah an axlatlng precinct and to create a new **one.** It la Interesting to n&t tht ln the the Commi88lontra Court exprtarly abollsht cane, eupra, not No.5 In one order, and at the a&me t&e tatabllahed by another 

### order a newprecinct 5, conkporedof the territory embraced In the , aboliished precinct 5 and a part of ’tbt prevlou8ly belonging to precinct No.1. At the ramt'tlme the Cemmlralontrs Court appointed Mglrby to fill the vbcrncy In the otflct of the juatloe of the peace of prtclnct No.5, which offlct we8 vacant at the time such preainct war abbllrhed. The elected Juatlct of the Peaat.ot precinct No.1 ~88 attempting to oubt the appointed Justice o? the Peace, of prealnet 5, which r??ort failed, but nowhere In the'oplnlon 18 it even ru@emted that the mere territorial ah8nse of Preclnat No.1 h8d the l ffeot of ebollrhiag Precinct No.1.

lht office of Jurtlce’o? the **Peace**la a conrtltutlonal o?f%oe, and the otflct~would pre8umptlvtly remain In txlettnot unlerr the order of.tht Commirrlon8rr Court l bolirher txi8ting prealnctaand are&em new preolnotr. To 

### theoxtmt t 

### t 9 V-790 art 

### in coni19491, V-1032 (1950 WW-536 thep are to 

### th8t extent overruled. lict 

### rltn~tiha.8 opinion,

Bven thoyh under the frctr'rubmltted by'pW'Peque#t no automatlc~ vrornaP in the ottiae would ooeur theme

### Qortfonr of &Male a351 l/k, which ottem@ to oontroi tha 

### rwaerrion bf’oftlctr whtrt ntu

### pmcinotr am ar88ted, uxirtin(l precinct8 are rbollrhetl or wheW8 vac8nc CommlrrionerrCourt8 are unebn8 i%uW(wl. t 

### 18 l xprr881 .areatBdby the kia balmee of ActLo 2351 l/20 ir aulrplurage boorue MM

### l vdr ret forth would occur rt&wdltsa of the shtute.

,’

. .1

.

Hon. James E. Barlow, page 5 (M- 68)

SUMMARY Under the facta submitted; a proposed transfer of voting precincts 142 and 

### 158from Justice Precinct No.2 to Juetlct Precinct No.1 of Btxar County, which doen not affect the residence of tny of the prtatnt office holdtra, will not create 

### a vacancy In any of the office8 of the two prt- ‘clnet8, hue the provltlons of Article 

### 23511/2c, Vernon*6 Cioll Statutes, for continuation In the office of fht incumbents after a change in boundarie~a of Justice Pcecincta is unconrtitutlonal a8 an aMmnpt on tht’pafit of tht’&Sfelature, to tOnbrO1 thtt which has been vetted txcluaivcly with the Comm%aslontraCourter. :.lb the extent of their confl%et with this **o** inion, 

### 0pZniona 7 **Attorney0** Omtrtl~!b ,anb C-112 

### 1949 ,V-1032(1950), W-536 (19581 are **ovtrrultcl.**

Prepared by Houghton Brownltt, Jr. Amiltant Attorney Qtntrcrl

**APPROVBD:** OPINION COMMITTEE Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman W.V. bepptrt, Co-Ch&rman W.O. dhultr Ktrns Taylor #e&l Willisms **John Reeves**  8TAPPMCALASSI&TAWT A.S. Carubbi, Jr.