Our county has recently opened a new building to house the district courts, district attorney, district clerk, and extension service. The county is going to hir some courthouse security officers on top of the two bailiffs we already have for district court.

I know that bailiffs do not have to be deputies or licensed peace officers (see Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. M-973), but I am trying to figure out if courthouse security officers, who would presumably be in charge of patrolling the hallways and around the building, need to be deputies and/or licensed peace officers. These officers would not be acting as bailiffs and would not have the power of a district court behind them.

It would seem to me that they would need to be licensed peace officers so that they could (a) carry a firearm on the premises and (b) make arrests and/or investigate possible criminal offenses occurring on the premises.

I would appreciate any thoughts, however.

I have never dealt with that question before, but here is a thought: Could the judge direct the bailiff to patrol areas outside the courtroom, thereby avoiding the need for peace officer status? I suppose this might require the sheriff's approval.

Since it will house one or more district courts, the building will be a "courthouse." See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 102.017(d). As Boyd suggests, control of that building and its security arrangements rests not with the district judge but with the sheriff, subject to the regulations of the commissioners court. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code sec. 291.003. Neither the sheriff nor the commissioners court can effectively displace the other in this arrangement. See, e.g., Wichita County v. Vance, 217 S.W.2d 702, 702-04 (Tex. Civ. App.--Fort Worth 1949, writ ref'd n.r.e.) (affirming temporary injunction confirming sheriff's control of courthouse security and commissioners court's regulatory authority over courthouse usage). So your sheriff will have some say in this issue, and probably will want his officers to be the ones providing the security services. Few sheriffs willingly pass up an opportunity to draw salaries out of the courthouse security fund. So I see negotiations between your commissioners court and sheriff in your future.

While there may be uglier sights than the one posed by Mr. Brumley, I am apt to avert my eyes from such a view Sorry Courthouse security a purely Sheriff perogative.