However, when vacancies arise, the commissioner's court of the respective county has the authority to appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term.
[1] In Texas, constables and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in any precinct within their county.
[2][3] However, some constables’ offices limit themselves to providing law enforcement services only to their respective precinct, except in the case of serving civil and criminal process.
The constable's authority considerably overlaps with that of the county sheriff, especially with respect to serving civil documents as well as criminal warrants.
[4] On April 13, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court held that deputy constables fall within the definition of "police officers" and are, as such, entitled to engage in collective bargaining with their public employers under Local Government Code chapter 174.
[7] In the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2000, which was published by the US DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics, it was noted that there were 2,630 full-time, sworn constables/deputy constables in Texas.
[10] He wrote to the 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."
After Texas seceded from the United States in 1861, many county offices, including that of constable, remained unfilled or were filled by men less competent than their predecessors.
Austin, DeWitt, Fayette, McLennan, and Navarro counties had but a single constable each, appointed by Gen. Edward R. S. Canby, head of the Fifth Military District, in 1868-69.
Under the Constitution of 1869, a Reconstruction document that centralized many governmental functions, no constables were elected in Texas from 1869 to 1872, though some were appointed by justices of the peace.
Many of these appointees lacked experience in handling violent offenders and access to secure jail facilities, and had few deputies to call upon for assistance.
Complete records do not exist, but the most recent estimate is that at least ninety-three Texas constables have died in the line of duty, including sixty-seven in the twentieth century.
In some Texas counties, the constable position remains unfilled for several years[11] and this is attributed to several factors such as the refusal of people appointed to the job.