Jefferson County, Texas v. Jefferson County Constables Association

Summary

This is a dissenting opinion in the Texas Supreme Court concerning whether deputy constables qualify as “police officers” under the Texas Collective Bargaining Act. Justice Boyd, joined by Justice Johnson, concluded that the Act authorizes collective bargaining only for firefighters and police officers and does not extend that authority to deputy constables. The dissent relied on statutory distinctions between constables, sheriffs, and police officers.

Holdings

1. In Justice Boyd's dissenting view, deputy constables are not police officers within the meaning of the Collective Bargaining Act because the statute grants collective-bargaining authority only to fire fighters and police officers and Texas statutes consistently distinguish deputy constables from police officers.

Questions Presented

1. Whether deputy constables are police officers under the Texas Collective Bargaining Act and therefore have authority to engage in collective bargaining.
2. Whether Texas statutory usage distinguishes deputy constables from police officers for purposes of interpreting the Collective Bargaining Act.

Disposition

other