Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1970 )

T~IEA~~'~S‘OR-GENERAL
OF TEXAS
Honorable Franklin L. Smith ,*1&n No. N&t:
County Attorney
Nueces County Cotithause Re: Explratioir'oi'
term of
Corpus Chrieti, Texas,78$01 present Judge of County
,, 'i Court at LawNo. 2 of
" ftue'ces"C!ount~
and whether
.~., suah'offlw should'appear
on the General~~Electlon
Dear Mr. Smith: ballot of 1970.
You have requested fan opinion of this office as to the
explratldn 'da%+?
of :th+.currenkt&m of the Jtidge,ofCounty Court
at Law No. 2 of Rueces,Cou#ty and whither such office should I.,.
appear on.the,kneral Electltin~b&llcit of 1970. "
The'&ovlsioks g&ernlng the ,electlon& the Judge 'of
the County Court.at Law No. 2.of Ruecee County are set out in
Section 6 of A+lcle~l970~3~Ai Vertion'sCivil Statutes, and
read, in part, ae'follows: "
~.
:..
1, ~.
'The Judge of,'%be~County Court'at tiw :-' ,'
'>No.II'cii%u&es~.&ntij ~&all held-,hib~offlce for
i t&?m ,qf'four,y~iirs;janbLiitntll,'hlbbuacessor
,~
:: shall,,have'~'been 'duly,,elect%d atid qualifled:'~~"'As
.,i&n as..pra~tlcable,'~fte~,~thc~~effectlve date"of, : '.
I'~ the ~coaiml~~lc~~~rs'c@urt~
,th$.s',Act, of Rueces~~ounty i.1,.
:.
,,still~,appoitita~suit&?0#'person~to be':Jiudge:,of the
County Xourt at%aw::~NOt:II,,. *ho'~shilltake %fflce
oti:July.:l,1967.&&shall ~~lQ'~offlcbutitll~ I" ,,
lkcetibik31, $968 and‘uhtl$ hia succeseor'has .I.
beetidilyelected and quallfled,;~'Bl~~ suc&ssor
shall be elected in the general electlon'to,be
held In 19b8, for the term .of,fouryears, and a
me election shall b h ld every four years
thereafter." (Emphask~dded.) ,,
Sectidn 65,of~@tiile' XVI of the Constittitionof ~Texas
governs the terms.,ofoffices for the offices~lTsted therein,and
reads, In part, &s ,follows:
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. .
Hon. Franklin L. Smith, page 2 (M-566) i
"The following officers elected at the
Qeneral Election In November, 1954, and there-
after, shall serve for the full-terms provided
In this Constitution:
tt
II** - (d) Judges of County Court at Law
. . .
Sectl.~,.30of Article V of the,Constitution of Texas
fixes the length of the full term of offlce'for the judge of the
County Court:ah+av at four years In the following language:
"&& The,Jidges of all Ckrts of
county-wide .,jurlsdlctlon
heretofore or here-
by &he Legislature of thls State,
after ,.created,
. . . .st@l.be.elected for a term of four years,
and shall serve until their successors have
qualified."
Upon the authorltj'df the foregoing cotis$ltutlonal
provlslons,khe oflflce.ofCounty Cotit at:Law Is ~toibe filled
for a term of four years at the General Election inNovember ~of
the years 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966 ~1970, 1974,'etc. Attorney
General's Opinions WW-1292 (19625, C-147 (1963) land C-235 (1964).
Since the term ,of office of the'judge of the County
Court at Law Is fixed by the Constltutlon,,so much,of the above
quoted and underlined provision in Section 6 of Article 1970-339A
calling for election to the flrst.full term In November, 1968,
was therefore uncopstitutlonal. :The lnvalldlty'fn fhls.sectlon
at the time of the,.1968,~QeneralR1e'dt.lon,~,~however,.:dld
not ln-
validate other.provlslons,cf the'act,,~.andtherefore the'elec,tion
for the office of Judge,of the.County 'Court~at Law No. 2 of'Nueces
Countvheld In November.~.l968,"wasfor the.unexvlred term of two
years-ending o&December~.3i,~i970.:~Eades vi Drake, 160 Tex. 381,
332 S.Wi2d 55 ~(,l96O);.Sterrett~v.Morgan, 294 S .r.2d 201 (C.A.
1956, no writ3 . Accord3ngly, th fflce oftJudge of the County
Court at Law No.,~2of:,NuecesCoti&; Is iubject to being flllid
at the General Election In November',1970, for a term'of.four
years beginning January 1, 1971.
SR'MMARY _, .'
Section 65 of Article XVI of the'Constltut&n
of Texas f,lxesthe dates for elections for full
terms of udges of County 'Courts a,$.
Law as the
i
ware 195 , 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, and every
four years thereafter; the provision In Article
-2706-
Hon. Franklin L. Smith, page 3 (M-566)
1870-339A fixing the full term of four years to
run from the General Election of 1968 was un-
constitutional, being In violation of Article
V, Section 30 and Article XVI, Section 65,
Constitution of Texas.
Prepared by William J. Craig
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMImEE
Kerns Taylor, Chairman
Alfred Walker, Co-Chairman
Al10 Crow
Joe K. Longley
Sam L. Jones
James M. Mabry
.MJZADEF. GRIFFIN
Staff Legal Assistant
NOLA WHITE
First Assistant
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