Art. 2A.065 DEPUTY OR OTHER OFFICER TO DISCHARGE SHERIFF'S DUTIES

If a sheriff has too much on their plate or is unavailable, a deputy can step in and handle any of the duties that this law normally requires the sheriff to do. This means the criminal justice process does not stop just because the sheriff personally cannot handle something. A deputy has the same authority to carry out these tasks.

This rule also covers what happens if a county has no sheriff at all, whether the position is empty due to resignation, removal, or any other reason. In that case, the law says another officer takes over. This would be whoever is legally authorized to step into the sheriff's role when the office is vacant.

For people involved in a criminal case, this rule means the wheels of justice keep turning even if the sheriff's office faces a leadership gap. Deputies and designated officers have clear legal backing to perform sheriff-level duties, so things like serving papers, making arrests, or other required actions can still happen without delay.