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The Constable’s Job
“What exactly does a Constable do?” is a question I am asked at least four times a day!
- Constables are sworn Texas Peace Officers with full law enforcement and arrest powers, and are the one Law Enforcement Officer in Texas with the widest range of lawful authority, both in geography and in law. Constables are NOT just “Process Servers”! They have the FULL right, duty, and authority to enforce all criminal and civil laws or ordinances that are county or State-based, and they can do this anywhere in the State of Texas!
Many Texans are not exactly clear on what all a Texas Constable does in their job. Most people believe these important Officers just “serve papers,” meaning the simple delivery and service of Civil Court process. Others further understand that a Constable is a sworn law enforcement officer, but are unclear as to exactly how far and to what level a Constable’s powers and enforcement authority extend.
All laws are separated into different Codes enacted by legislatures in States (including Texas) and Constables (as well as most all “sworn” Texas law enforcement officers) are responsible for enforcing these Codes. Consequently, the width and breadth of enforcement duties of a Constable is quite large, and many Constables should, and often do, give a little more emphasis to their particular enforcement of certain Codes over others. A Constable, just like any other “sworn peace officer,” can make an arrest for violation of ANY element of the Texas Penal Code, and also for ANY violation of any Texas Code which has criminal responsibility attached as a result of its violation. Examples of this are: The “specialized enforcement” of the Texas Family Code with emphasis on Family Violence and Sexual Abuse elements, like special attention to Protective Orders in Family Violence cases; Texas Health Code in the case of Mental Health warrants and their specialized handling; Specialized attention given to the retrieval of Probation and Parole Violators, etc.
There is one exception to this statement above: Constables do not enforce city ordinances, with the singular exception of city ordinances that have a corresponding “twin” element in a Texas State Code, and it is the “twin” that may be enforced by a Constable. Enforcement of city ordinances is left up to the city police or other city-empowered code enforcement personnel. This is the ONLY area of law that a Constable does not enforce.
- Constables are elected Law Enforcement Officials on the County level and are above a city police officer in “range of authority.”
Constables are elected within a given geographical district or a portion of a County called a precinct. The precinct falls along the same electoral lines as the concurrent Justice of the Peace precinct which the Constable immediately serves. Many times this Precinct encompasses more than one city within the County. This “precinct” practice extends from early English law where there was only one shire reeve (early Sheriff predecessor from which the name “Sheriff” originated, who was predominantly the King’s tax collector) but there were several Constables in smaller areas of the shire (region), hence precincts, and the Constables were the local peace-keepers with full powers to enforce all laws, Civil and Criminal.*(see more History below.)
- Constables are responsible for the service and enforcement of Court Process (Orders) issued from both the Civil and Criminal Court System.
This is certainly the case for the Court Process addressed to persons and locations within their own elected Precinct, but they can also enforce Process outside their Precinct. The JP courts are the very first responsibility of a Constable--- they serve and enforce all the judicial court orders that emit from a JP court, and their enforcement authority continues onward to advance up the judicial court “food chain” through County Courts, State District Courts, Appeals Courts and the Texas Supreme Courts. Constables do not serve process from municipal (city) courts, however; this is handled by the officers of a City or Town Marshal’s Office, or by city police officers.
- Constables are the main first-level enforcement officers of County-issued misdemeanor criminal warrants.
Depending on the County and agreements with the County Sheriff, Constables also serve, enforce and effect a good number of felony (more serious) criminal warrants as well as misdemeanor warrants. Constables are Court Order enforcement officers first.... but that is most certainly not all they do!
- The “jurisdiction” of a Constable is actually the entire State of Texas.
Constables have the authority by law to cross County lines, if necessary, into other counties to perform both Civil and Criminal process and law enforcement duties that originate from their own counties but extend to entities in the foreign counties. However, although they have this particular authority, and can effect that at any time they wish, it is generally not very practical to enforce court process in this manner. So, more often the standard practice, the originating Court will forward the Process to a Constable in the foreign County to serve directly within their own County, saving the originating County Constable a trip (especially given the size of Texas!) Constables also serve and enforce Court Process from the senior courts of other States that affect persons or deal with real property or situations within their Precinct. Therefore, by law, a Constable’s jurisdictional authority extends to the entire State of Texas, if necessity calls for such in the functional realm of their duty.
- Elected Constables are the chief administrative officer of their Office
Constables, like Sheriffs, appoint Deputy Constables to serve “under” them to perform the duties of the Office. Consequently, the marked Constable’s squad car you may see driving down the street is most likely being driven by a Deputy Constable. Deputies have the full range of authority of the elected Official for whom they work, so, any statements made concerning the elected Constable in this writing certainly applies to their Deputies as well.
- Constables have the right and duty to enforce and effect all traffic laws in Texas.
Constables can and often do “work traffic,”(an often-asked question.) Texas Constables have the power to make traffic stops, and issue traffic tickets or make arrests for traffic violations-- this has often been a “point of confusion” on the part of many citizens who have often thought Constables did not have this power or authority. They DO! In fact, in the larger Counties in Texas (most certainly in Dallas County), most Constables now have a Traffic Enforcement Division consisting of specially-equipped Traffic squad cars out on the streets, running radar on the streets and in school zones, and searching for speed offenders and, most importantly, drunk drivers! The traffic citations (“tickets”) issued by Constables (and Sheriffs and State Troopers of the Highway Patrol) for traffic violations are set to be heard by a judge of the Justice of the Peace Courts, which are the first “Courts of Authority” of these important officers. So, watch out when you sail past that Constable in excess of the speed limit, thinking “he can’t stop me,” because you might get a BIG surprise--- red lights, siren, and all!!
I hope this section of this web site helps answer your question, “What do Constables do?” The answer is, “Just about anything, and a whole lot of everything where Law Enforcement, both Civil and Criminal is concerned.” If you have any specific questions that are not answered here, please feel free to contact me (Click on the “Contact Me” button at the upper left of this page) and either call me or send me an e-mail, and I’ll be happy to answer your question!
A Brief Historical Overview of the Constable*
According to scholars, the word constable derives apparently from the Latin comes stabuli, which means “master of the horse,” “master of the stables,” or “count of the stables.” This is because early constables in France were military officers whose duties consisted of raising armies and local militia for the king.
In medieval England, constables were enveloped into courtly structure and were members of King Alfred’s household by 871 A.D. They were also a major part of the kingdom of William of Normandy (William the Conqueror) after he defeated English King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. By 1070, Robert d’Oilly, a favorite of William I, was appointed constable of his shrievalty by both William I and William II. In 1086, d’Oilly was made sheriff of Warwickshire in England. Sheriffs and Constables both rose to power from this medieval English structure as unencumbered effectors of the law, and were further formalized into early English civil law by Article 45 of the Magna Charta of 1215, forced upon King John at Runnymede on June 15. Article 45 states in part, “we will only appoint as justiciars (enforcers of the law), constables, sheriffs or bailiffs, such as know the law of the land, and intend to observe it properly.”
With the settlement of the permanent English Colonies in North America, Constables in the Virginia Colony were well established by the 1640s, serving much the same duties today by elected Constables in Texas. Constables also served in the other British Colonies as law enforcement officers: Massachusetts by 1660, and by 1676 were in service in colonial New York. Constables continued as regional law enforcement officers during and after the American Revolution, and came as a part of civil law with the westward expansion of the United States as Territories and States were established.
The founding of the Office of Constable in Texas goes back to 1823, and is the first and oldest law enforcement position in our State, long before the advent of U.S. Marshals, Sheriffs, or Texas Rangers! Concurrently, alcaldes (Mexican judicial officers), what were to later become Justices of the Peace, were the first judges in Texas.
On March 5, 1823, Thomas V. Alley was appointed Constable within the original Colorado District, Stephen F. Austin’s first colony under Mexican rule. He was appointed by John Tumlinson, Sr., who was alcalde of the District, soon after Governor Trespalacios divided the Colony into two Districts in December, 1822, for better civil administration and justice.
Tumlinson wrote to Baron de Bastrop in San Antonio that he had “appointed but one officer who acts in the capacity of Constable to summon witnesses and bring offenders to justice.” A year later, Alley was required by newly approved civil codes to obtain a bond, which he did on January 26, 1824. That same day, Constable John Austin also made bond in the San Felipe de Austin District.
The Office of Constable in Texas was born at that time period of our history and flourished through the War for Texas Independence from Mexico (1835-6), further when Texas was its own country as The Republic of Texas (1836-45), through Texas Statehood before and during the Civil War (1861-65), and afterward continuing Texas Statehood to the present day.
*Historical information for this article was extracted, paraphrased, and/or copied from Texas Constables- A Frontier Heritage, by Allen G. Hatley, Texas Tech University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-89672-424-7
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