Oi SUCh depUti8S, asslrtants 8nd olerks arid fix tha OOmpansatiOn to b8 p8lQ them vlthln the llmitatlons harelu prerorlY=ed and deter- mine the number to ba sppolnt8d aa in the dls- oretlon of said oourt mep be proper; provldod that In no oaae rhall the Commisrloners~ court Or 8nr membar ther8Of 8ttempt to influence th8 appointment of any person 88 deputy, assirt8at olerk in any office. Upon entry of ruoh Order the OffiCera a99lJiIIg for #Uoh 8a8iat8Ut8, deputies or clerks eh811 be authorized to sp-

point them; provided that said conrp8nsatlon shall not exceed the maximum amount hereinafter set out. . . .R

Artlola V. A. C. 9. I8 aa follwr,: "Sheriff8 8h811 have tha paver, by writing, ior their rea- to 8ppOiILt one or more dOpUti88 p,aotive oountles, to oontlnue In 0frlc0 during the pleaaurs of the sheriff, vho shall h8t8 pwer and authority to pei'fWm 811 the 8CtS aud duties 0," their prlMlpa1s; and every person 80 appoin- tea shall, before he entera upon the fJutlea of his offloe, take an3 aubsorl?e to the official oath, vhich shall be lndoraed on his appointment, to- gether vlth the oertlffcate of the officer edmin- istering the same; and suoh appointment and~ oath a:?311 be recor3,ed in the offlaecsf the County Clerk and deposited in s8ic' offlca. The number of depu- ties appointed by the sheriff of any one county shall be limited to not exceeding three in the Sustioe pseairict in which Ls located the county 3Lte of such county, and one In each Justlce gre- clnct, and a list of these appointments shell bc posted up in a conspicuous plaoe in the Clerk18 3Ffice. An indictment for a felony of any deputy zhorlff appolntod shall operate a revocation of hia cppointment aa such deputy sherifP. Provided further, that lf in the oplnlon of thn Commis3ion- ersl Court fees oi the sherlfffis of'f10b are not sufficient to justify the payment of salaries of such deputies, the Conmissionerst Court shall have the pw~r to pcy the same out sf the General F.lr-d cp said cwnty."

. I

Eon. Leslie D. Willlams,

Reusrdlng the a ointment of depkty shrrlfra, mole 3902 and Art1010 836 9 murt bo oons1dor.d end oon- rtrued together. It haa been rapeat. held by thir offloe that Artlole 3902 supersedes Artlole 6 8z 9 insofar ea there 18 a oonfliot between auoh statutea. (300 our @I&a ~0. 042, s 00py of vhloh I8 8n0losed.) In the ease of Tl~mmel v.

Shelton et al, 85 3, Y. 319, oonrtruillg Artiole 18% Revimd clvll Statutes, a atetuto similar to Artlolr 6&6g, the Court said, “The statute:: does say thnt the sherifr rhall not appoint exoeeding three d,sputles in the justior~s prmirmt in vhloh Is looated. the oounty site. Thla statute, ve think, 1s dlreatory, . . ."

In the 0850 of fleeper v. Btnart, 66 9. W. (2d) 812,

lt 1s mid:

“Artlole 3902, R. 3. 1925, provldea for the appointment of tdsputlos or easistants’ ior oar- taln oounty ofricers. The llrt of suoh offloors to vhloh that artiole 28 rpplioabls ie aa rollova; County judge, sherli?, oounty olerk, aounty attor- nsy, dlstriot attorney, distrlot olerk, tax ool- leotor, tax assessor, justlam of the peooe, and o onstable. In that artlole Is found the follwing language : ‘Provided that in no oesb shall seld oommlssloner~s oourt or eny member thereor attampt to Influence the eppolntrooat of any person 8s depu-1 ty or assistant la any offloe.@ A pub110 polloy 1s thereby manifested in oaae o? oounty and preclnot officers generally to muparer such officers to seleot their deputies or assistants and to So?bld the oommlssloner’s oourt, any member thereof, from ottcmptlng to inflwnue suoh ofPlOer3 In their selection oi assistants. The re8son for thl8 pol- icy is obvious. Offloors aleoted to discharge pub110 trusts, cod upon vhcm the x%sponsibllltg for the proper dlsaharge thereof rests, should be f-e to aeleot persona of their wn ohoice to as- sist them in Its dlSObPrge. . . .”

me oese of Tax-rant County et al II. Smith et al, al 3. v. (rd) 537, among other things, holds, . l . The COmTiB- sioners 1 Court can limit the number and salary of sheriff dep’u- tizs, but they have no paver over the mm% 0: the individuals to be app0i5tea, and are especla lly prohibIted Srm atteWti% any suc;i lastnamad influenoe. . a”

Hon. Lerlie D. Yllllams,

In view of the foregoing authorities you are res- peotfully advised that it 18 the oplnlon of this department that in no oaae may the Coaunlrslonorst Court any member thereoi attempt to lnfluenae the qppolntment of any porron aa deputy sheriff.

Yours very truly ATTORREYOElWtlAL W l!XXAB Arde12 Ullllama Aarirtrnt