Davis v. State

Citations

• 35 Tex. 118

Syllabus

<p>1. Section 16 of the Bill of Rights provides that no citizen shall be deprived of life, liberty, property or privileges, or in any manner disfranchised, except by due course of law. The Constitution (Article 5, Section 18,) subjects sheriffs to removal by the district judges, for cause to be spread upon the minutes of the court. Held, that there is no repugnancy between these two provisions, inasmuch as the latter prescribes the due course of law required by the former.</p> <p>2. A sheriff is not entitled to a trial by jury upon a proceeding by the district judge for his removal from office, under Section 18, Article, 5 of the Constitution; and a rule entered against a sheriff, requiring him. to show cause why he should not be removed, answers all purposes, of a warrant or citation, as he is supposed to be always in court, and. to be apprised of its orders.</p> <p>3. On the removal of a sheriff by a district judge, the cause of removal is required to be made matter of record, in order that it may be known, and that, if erroneous, it may be, revised and corrected on appeal.</p> <p>4. The cause- shown by record for the removal of a sheriff was his non-' compliance with the verbal command of the district judge, pronounced in open court, to convey prisoners to the jail of an adjacent county for confinement. Held, that the verbal order was not a lawful authority to the sheriff for the conveyance and commitment of the prisoners to the jail of another county; and therefore it was error to remove him from his office because of his non-compliance with the order.</p> <p>5. While [fully recognizing the authority conferred on district judges by the Constitution, to remove sheriffs for cause, this court regards it as an extraordinary power, out of the usual course of the law, and not to be exercised except in cases of great necessity, and even then with great caution and in strict conformity with the authority given.</p>