The Supreme Court of Texas has settled in favor of Jefferson County constables and deputies in a case with statewide implications.

The main issue was whether deputy constables were, by definition, police officers, and if not then would not be entitled to collective bargaining under the local government code.

The constables association had been under collective bargaining agreements since 1994 but some time around 2010 the county implemented budget cuts and eliminated eight deputy constable positions across the precincts. The constable’s accusation alleged this violated the collective bargaining agreement’s seniority restriction on layoffs. The parties were unable to come to an agreement thus leading to the grievance process, according to information from the Texas Supreme Court.

The issue went back and forth in lower courts until the constables association sued to force arbitration and bring the issue to the Texas Supreme Court, which found in favor of the deputy constables and ruled they meet the definition of police officers under local government code.

The term “police office” is statutorily defined as a paid employee who is sworn, certified and full time and who regularly served in a professional law enforcement capacity in the police department of a political subdivision, according to the findings.

Karl Holmes, president of the Jefferson County Deputy Constable Association, said the case has dragged on for about seven years.

“It’s gratifying in a sense that it confirms what we’ve always believed,” Holmes said. “We always did our due diligence as any other officers and we just feel like this confirms and validates what we do.

“We’ve always considered ourselves as a different arm of law enforcement, function a little different than police officers but still have the power and authority as regular police officers.”