AUSTIN - In an opinion request on dual office holding, Attorney General Ken Paxton has opined that the Texas Constitution does not prohibit a criminal-law magistrate appointed under Government Code chapter 54 from also serving as staff legal counsel to the judges appointing the magistrate.
The opinion request, submitted by Tarrant County Auditor S. Renee Tidwell, asked the following question: “May a magistrate appointed by a judge or a group of judges simultaneously serve as staff legal counsel for the appointing judge or judges and for the other appointed magistrates?”
Paxton issued his opinion on the question on Tuesday, finding that: “Neither the dual-officeholding prohibition in article XVI, subsection 40(a) of the Texas Constitution, nor the common-law incompatibility doctrine prohibit a criminal-law magistrate appointed under Government Code chapter 54 from also serving as staff legal counsel to the judges appointing the magistrate. Similarly, Government Code chapter 575 likely does not preclude the dual service.
“The question whether the simultaneous service violates the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys or the Code of Judicial Conduct for magistrates is a question that cannot be determined in an Attorney General opinion.”
Opinion No. KP-0441