Jurisdiction questioned in lawsuit to remove Round Rock trustee; her lawyer expects case dismissal
A lawsuit asking for the removal of Round Rock Trustee Danielle Weston from the school board for official misconduct and bribery is pending in the 3rd Court of Appeals.
Weston's lawyer, Tony McDonald, said on Wednesday that he expects the case against her to be dismissed within the next few weeks.
The appeals court sent Joseph McCullough, who filed the lawsuit, a letter on June 16 saying it had no jurisdiction because there was no signed ruling from a lower court judge on the case. The 3rd Court of Appeals gave McCullough until June 27 to file a response explaining how the appeals court could have jurisdiction over the case.
"There's nothing he (McCullough) can say that would empower the court to have jurisdiction over the appeal," said McDonald.
McCullough, who is representing himself, said he is not sure what he is going to do. He said in an interview on Wednesday that he cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
He said he was hopeful that the lawsuit would not be dismissed.
"The worst-case scenario is that people can at least read the petition and learn of the misconduct of Trustee Weston and hopefully the information within it can be used as the basis of criminal charges."
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The lawsuit alleges that Weston committed bribery by giving her financial supporters access to district emails instead of requiring them to file a public information request for them.
Weston has denied any wrongdoing.
McCullough filed the lawsuit on April 4 in the Williamson County 425th District Court. The case is being handled by visiting Judge James Morgan.
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McDonald said he filed a plea that the district court had no jurisdiction to hear the case because it was filed under a Texas government code that requires the county attorney to join the lawsuit against Weston.
The county attorney has not joined the suit.
McCullough said in a a court document filed on June 14 that the government code did not require the county attorney to join the lawsuit before the judge could allow the case to proceed.
Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs filed a motion on June 17 to recuse himself from the case, saying the lawsuit had references and claims discussing the office of the Williamson County attorney and the county attorney that created a potential conflict of interest.
"The Williamson County Attorney’s Office has, prior to the beginning of this Chapter 87 hearing, recused itself from the criminal investigation and any subsequent prosecutions stemming from the criminal investigation of the voluminous allegations surrounding the Round Rock Independent School District,' the motion for recusal said.
"The allegations include but are not limited to allegations against the school board itself, individual board members, the Round Rock ISD Police Department, and citizens that have interacted with the school district. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has assumed responsibility for the investigation and any subsequent prosecution surrounding Round Rock ISD."
The visiting judge has not signed Hobbs' motion for recusal because McCullough appealed the case and the judge is "waiting for that to be ruled on first," Stephanie Lloyd, a spokeswoman for the county attorney's office, said on Wednesday.
The Texas attorney general's office did not respond to a request for information on Wednesday about whether it was investigating any allegations made in the lawsuit against Weston.
McCullough said he filed the lawsuit because he attended a Round Rock school board meeting in September that Weston walked out of and also saw a board meeting in December where trustees talked about Weston releasing confidential emails.
"She's been adversarial toward her own school district," said McCullough. He said he had to move this year out of the Round Rock school district with his family because he couldn't afford to buy a house in the area.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Jurisdiction questioned in lawsuit to remove Round Rock trustee; her lawyer expects case dismissal
