Ken Paxton

A district attorney pro tem appointed prior to September 1, 2019, shall be compensated according to a fee schedule stating reasonable fixed rates or minimum and maximum hourly rates, and awards outside of those parameters is invalid.  An attorney assisting in a case prior to the district attorney’s recusal serves in the capacity of a special prosecutor, rather than an attorney pro tem.

Subsection 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code prohibits a bail bond surety from soliciting business in a police station, jail, prison, detention facility, or other place of detainment for persons in the custody of law enforcement.  Based on the description provided, a court would likely conclude that a signboard installed inside a jail facility by a third party providing information about available bail bond services does not amount to a solicitation and is therefore not prohibited under subsection 1704.304(c).

A court likely may, without a hearing, order a defendant’s rearrest to secure the defendant’s presence at a bond-revocation hearing, based on an officer’s sworn affidavit showing probable cause that the defendant has violated bond conditions.

Chapter 76 of the Property Code requires the county treasurer to sell abandoned property subject to its provisions at a public sale conducted in the county’s jurisdiction.  If the county treasurer determines the highest bid from the public sale is insufficient, then the property may be sold through a public or private sale, including an online auction.

The sheriff’s “exclusive control” of commissary funds under subsection 351.0415(b)(1) of the Local Government Code and his or her authority under subsection 351.0415(c) to “use commissary proceeds only” for statutory purposes gives the Hunt County sheriff the authority to initially determine whether an expenditure is authorized, subject to administrative review by the Commission on Jail Standards and judicial review under an abuse of discretion standard. 

Government Code subsection 661.063(b) provides that vacation leave pay for an employee who separates from state employment while holding a position that does not accrue vacation time is computed using the "employee's final rate of compensation in the last position held that accrues vacation." In the hypothetical scenario you describe, the administrative position is the last position held that accrues vacation, so the compensation used for the calculation for payment of vacation leave is only the compensation paid for the administrative position.

Courts following U.S. Supreme Court precedent would conclude that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Eighth Amendment protection against excessive fines.

Courts recognize article I, section 13 of the Texas Constitution as a constitutional protection against excessive fines. A court would not enforce an unconstitutionally excessive fine. Depending on the statute, a Texas court would be obligated to follow Texas law that requires it to separate the unconstitutional fine and uphold the portion of the statute that is constitutional, if possible.

The practice of medicine includes the provision of anesthesia by a licensed physician.  However, pursuant to subsection 301.002(2)(G) of the Occupations Code, when a certified registered nurse anesthetist administers anesthesia pursuant to a physician’s delegation, such act falls within the scope of professional nursing.

Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which prohibits dual office holding in certain circumstances, does not prevent the City of Ranger chief of police from simultaneously serving as city manager.

A criminal district attorney is not subject to rules adopted by the county purchasing agent pursuant to subchapter B of chapter 262 of the Local Government Code; however, the entity is subject to rules implemented by the agent pursuant to the County Purchasing Act.