Article V, Section 23 of the Texas Constitution ("Sheriffs")

As amended November 2, 1993:

There shall be elected by the qualified voters of each county a Sheriff, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, whose duties, qualifications, perquisites, and fees of office, shall be prescribed by the Legislature, and vacancies in whose office shall be filled by the Commissioners Court until the next general election.

Editor Comments

Note that Article XVI, Section 61 requires that all sheriffs be compensated on a salary basis rather than a fee basis.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

• Poe v. State, 10 S.W. 737, 740 (Tex. 1889) ("The objection urged to the constitutionality of the act of the legislature conferring upon district judges power to suspend the sheriff temporarily, during the pendency of the removal proceedings, is not well taken. In is unquestionably true that the constitution does not allow the legislature to confer upon district judges authority to appoint a sheriff to fill a vacancy. . . . The public interests, as well as those of the office-holder, are to be regarded. The law does not compel the district judges to suspend the officer, but entrusts them with the discretion to do it, as it in like manner trusts to their discretion in many other matters equally important.")

Library Resources

• Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)

• The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

• The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

Online Resources

• Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)

• Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)

• Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)