Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1976 )

THE ATNDRNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS May12, 1976 The Honorable E. L. Short Opinion No. H- 821 Chainsan Cossnitteeon Intergovernxental Per Location of offices Affairs of justices of ,ths peace. Xouse Office Building P. 0. Box 2910 Austin, Texas 70767 Dear RepresentativeShort: At the direction of the House IntergovernmentalAffairs Cosunitteeyou ask: If a justice precinct has a population of more than 75,000, is the 'comissioners court prohibited by [article2379, V.T.C.S.] from transferringthe justice court frch the county courthouse to .anotherbuilding, such as the county jail or a separate county office building? Article 2379, V.T.C.S., providesr When the justice precinct where the courthouse of any county is located contains more than seventy-five thousand inhabitants,the commis- sioners court of said oounty shall provide and furnish a suitable place in such courthouse for such justice to hold court. The statute provides that the county "shall" provide and furnish qualifying justices of the peace with a place to hold court in the courthouse. The.word,*shalla ordinarily implies a mandatory requirement. Attorney Gemma Opinion H-326 (1974). The term 'kourthouseWhas been defined as follows: p. 3466 The Honorable E. L. Short - page 2 (H-821) The courthousemeans the building at the county seat in which the courts are held, the records kept, and the officers of the county maintain their offices and perform their functions. Harris 5 Elder, 49 S.W.Zd 973 (Tex. Civ. App. -- -80 1932, writ dism'd). Accordingly,pursuant to the clear term of article 2379, when a justice precinct in which the county courthouse is located contains more than 75,000 inhabitants,the county is required to provide and furnish a suitable place in the courthouse for the justice of the peace to hold aourt. Whether a particularplace is suitable for the holding of court and whether a particular building or group of buildings is the courthouse involve questions of fact which canuot be resolved in the opinion process. Attorney General Opinions H-56 (19731,M-307 (19681,M-195 (19681,M-187 (1968),C-697 (1966))WW-277 (1957) and O-2911 (1940). SUMMARY When a justice precinct in which the county courthouseis located contains more than 75,000 inhabitants,the commissionerscourt is required to provide the justice of the peace with a suitableplace to hold court in the courthouse. Very truly yours, rney General of Texas Opinion Committee W p. 3467