GA-0814: Honorable Scott Brumley, Potter County Attorney, whether revenue from the sale of prepaid phone cards in a county jail commissary should be credited to the sheriff or to the general fund of the county.

Summary Revenue from the sale of prepaid phone cards in the county jail commissary should be credited to the sheriff for the use of county jail inmates rather than to the general fund of the county.

GA-0816: Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Committee on Education Texas State Senate, Authority of the Dallas County Commissioners Court to retain independent legal counsel in particular circumstances.

Summary Although the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney has broad authority over most criminal matters and a duty to represent the state in those matters in Dallas County, he does not have a duty to represent Dallas County in all civil matters. However, the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney does have the power to select counsel and to determine the terms and duration of the engagement where the representation will include filing or defending a suit by or against the County.

While the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney is not barred from exercising this or any other power on account of his status as a state prosecutor under the statutory provision defining and constraining that office, he is subject to ethical rules governing conflicts of interest that could preclude him from selecting counsel. Whether such a conflict exists is a matter for the Criminal District Attorney and the County Commissioners to determine in the first instance and, barring agreement, as an ancillary matter for the civil court.

GA-0853: Honorable D. Matt Bingham, Smith County Criminal District Attorney, whether volunteer assistant fire marshals may be designated as "reserve deputies".

Summary The Legislature did not grant county commissioners courts and county fire marshals authority to commission or appoint a volunteer assistant fire marshal as a reserve law enforcement officer.  The Legislature did not include the term "volunteer assistant fire marshal" in the statutory definition of a "reserve law enforcement officer."  Accordingly, a person appointed to serve as a volunteer assistant fire marshal is not, as an authomatic consequence of the appointment, a reserve law enforcement officer.