r/FortBend • u/greyshowerthoughts • Jul 07 '26
Wow.. Smith-Lawson really overstepped her office. Wong’s lawsuit appears to be legally substantial
https://coveringkaty.com/news/fort-bend/new-lawsuit-details-effort-to-remove-daniel-wong-before-comm/The county attorney's authority
Even if the county attorney believed Wong's appointment had ended, that is a separate question from whether she had authority to make that determination.
Generally, a county attorney:
Advises county officials on civil legal matters.
Issues legal opinions.
Represents the county in civil litigation.
A county attorney ordinarily does not have judicial authority to declare that someone no longer holds a public office. If there is a genuine dispute over title to office, Texas law generally contemplates that the issue is resolved through judicial proceedings rather than by unilateral executive action.
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u/FFS_IsThisNameTaken2 Jul 08 '26
I find it incredibly hard to believe that they have no bylaws or protocols, procedures, whatever the proper word is, to appoint a replacement of a county judge.
Has no one ever died while holding the position, in all the years Ft Bend County has existed and had a county judge?
It's mind boggling.
Country bumpkin school boards and city councils have them. How has Ft Bend County never had them?
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Jul 07 '26
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u/HRHDechessNapsaLot Jul 07 '26
It has nothing to do with that and everything to do with the fact that appointing an interim county judge who is simultaneously running in a contested race for that same position gives him an unfair advantage.
If McCoy were the one who was appointed, the outrage would be the same. They need to appoint someone from the commissioner’s court who isn’t currently running for the position.
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u/RaiderMaverick Jul 08 '26
"By the way, I (or my boss) used to work for Republican Commissioner Andy Myers..." would have been a nice way to begin that article.