Hearing over Fort Bend County judge's appointment takes place
On Thursday, Judge Jeth Jones traveled from Galveston County to Fort Bend County to preside over a hearing in a case that was dropped. He was brought in to oversee a civil case involving Judge KP George.
Sarah Roberts sued him after she was removed from a public meeting. In April, Jones decided to temporarily remove George and appoint Daniel Wong, the republican nominee for the judge's position on November's ballot.
Last month, Roberts dropped the case after George was sentenced in a separate felony case. After that, County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson said Wong should be removed, and filed a lawsuit to do just that.
Despite the case being dropped, Roberts asked the judge to get involved with Wong's appointment. On Thursday, a hearing over it took place.
Roberts' attorney, Dylan Russell, told Jones they didn't want him to remove Wong.
"We are not asking that this court sign an order that interim judge, or interim county judge, or purported interim county judge Daniel Wong is not the interim county judge," Russell said.
Instead, he wants Jones to make his appointment more clear with the case closed.
"I'm asking the court to enforce and clarify its own order consistent with Texas law," Russell said. "They have zero case law they provided to this court."
Wong's attorney, Christopher Hilton, told the judge that if he were to do that, it could impact the case filed by the county attorney.
"What they are asking for is an advisory opinion that would pull this case into the middle of a political fight where it doesn't belong," Hilton said.
Instead, Hilton told Jones he should do nothing. "The proper thing for the court to do today is to deny or dismiss everything that's before it and send us all home," Hilton said.
During the hourlong hearing, Jones pointed out that all commissioners approved an item in April that named Wong judge through the end of the year.
"Why do I need to do anything? That's already in place by the commissioners court," Jones said.
No decision was made on Thursday. Jones said he would rule at a later date.
RELATED: Fort Bend County commissioners back to work, but concerns over judge's seat remain
As far as the county attorney's lawsuit, ABC13 is still waiting for when that will move forward. Smith-Lawson filed it more than two weeks ago, but no court date has been set.
Democratic commissioners return to commissioners court, sort of
For more than a month, the two democrats on commissioners court, Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy, have skipped commissioners court meetings. On Thursday, they returned to the chambers.
It wasn't for the regular meeting, but an informational meeting they called to explain to neighbors why they've been absent.
"We cannot participate in something that we have been informed by our chief legal counsel for the county that is potentially unlawful," McCoy said.
The two commissioners said they don't have plans to return to commissioner court meetings until the legal situation is settled. Despite their absence, the three Republicans have been able to hold meetings.
On Thursday, that continued. Wong's spokesperson has told ABC13 he has invited the two missing members to return. While they can vote on items with three members, that changes with the budget.
Unless four members are present, political experts told ABC13 commissioners can't set a tax rate, which means they can't pass a new budget. Commissioners have to have a budget in place by October.
SEE ALSO: Does Fort Bend County have a judge? It depends on who you ask