Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0692 Page: 2 of 3
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Mr. Adan Mufioz, Jr. - Page 2
courthouse holding cell. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. MW-559 (1982) at 2; see also Tex. Att'y Gen.
Op. No. DM-1 19 (1992) at 3 (stating that a facility housing county inmates other than a "traditional
county jail" must comply only "with rules promulgated by the [C]ommission"). Accordingly, the
Commission is authorized to regulate the observation of inmates confined in courthouse holding cells.
You cite two minimum jail standards as relevant. First, title 37, section 265.3 of the Texas
Administrative Code requires that "[i]nmates confined in a holding cell ... be observed by facility
personnel at intervals not to exceed 30 minutes." 37 TEX. ADMIN. CODE 265.3 (2008) (Tex.
Comm'n on Jail Standards, Observation During Holding). The regulations define the term "holding
cell" as "[a] cell designed for the temporary holding of inmates." Id. 253.1(13) (Definitions).
Second, title 37, section 275.1 requires hourly observation of inmates by "corrections officers" at a
"facility":
Facilities shall have an established procedure for visual, face-to-face
observation of all inmates by corrections officers at least once every
hour. Observation shall be performed at least every 30 minutes in
areas where inmates known to be assaultive, potentially suicidal,
mentally ill, or who have demonstrated bizarre behavior are confined.
Id. 275.1 (Regular Observation by Corrections Officers).
The Commission has not defined the terms "facility," "facility personnel" or "corrections
officer" in its regulations, and we decline to provide definitions to words or phrases that the
Commission, as the enacting authority, has declined to define. See id. 253.1 (Definitions); cf id.
253.1 (11) (defining "existing facility" as a type of facility). Absent these definitions, we are unable
to state whether the current practice is contrary to any controlling statutory or regulatory authority.
The long-standing policy of this office has been to defer to the administrative agency charged
with the administration and enforcement of a statute to interpret its own rules in the first instance.
Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. Nos. JC-0449 (2002), M-609-A (1970). As the agency charged with
"adopt[ing] reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum standards for the custody, care
and treatment of prisoners," the Commission must determine, in the first instance, whether bailiffs
have the authority to supervise inmates being held in courthouse holding cells. TEX. Gov'T CODE
ANN. 511.009(a)(2)-(3) (Vernon Supp. 2008). Because the answers to your remaining questions
will depend on the Commission's determination as to the first question and/or present questions of
fact, we decline to answer those questions.(GA-0692)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0692, text, January 22, 2009; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275588/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.