BY FAITH HARPER AND ROY MAYNARD, TYLER PAPER
(TYLER PAPER)- Smith County Judge Joel Baker was indicted on charges of conducting illegal closed-door meetings on three occasions, according to the Grand Jury indictment released by the 114th District Court on Monday.
The indictment was handed up on Thursday. It outlines the three misdemeanor charges against Baker, which were investigated by Texas Attorney General’s Office attorney Daniel Brody, and true-billed by a Smith County Grand Jury.
District Judge Christi Kennedy asked to be recused from the case, and her motion to recuse was granted by Administrative Judge Mary Murphy on Friday. Murphy then appointed Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Jack Carter of Texarkana to hear the case.
All three meetings for which Baker is charged involved discussion of the county’s contract with Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions for unmanned traffic cameras - a contract that was signed by Baker in January 2015. The meetings all took place the prior summer.
The indictment states that Baker “did knowingly close or aid in closing a regular meeting of the Smith County Commissioners Court to the public, and the closed meeting, relating to American Traffic Solutions (ATS), was not permitted under… the Texas Government Code.”
Three such meetings took place: July 8, 2014, with all commissioners in attendance; July 29, 2014, with all commissioners; and on Aug. 12, with all members present except Commissioner Terry Phillips.
The contract was approved in open session in that Aug. 12 meeting, with some caveats listed by Commissioner Jeff Warr, who made the second. He stipulated that the court’s legal counsel, the purchasing director and the county auditor sign off on the contract before it was finalized.
Baker later signed the contract, though it remains unclear which of those actually signed off on it.
If Baker is convicted of one or more of the charges, he will be automatically removed from office and subject to a possible fine and/or jail time.
No other commissioners were named in the indictment.
In a statement released last week, Baker said he is innocent of the “perceived technical violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.”
“I am not guilty of these charges,” the statement reads. “At no time did I or any member of the court knowingly violate the Texas Open Meetings Act. I maintain this was not a mission to find the truth, rather a political witch hunt. I look forward to producing the true facts to a jury. I am confident a jury will find these charges to be frivolous.”
According to the Texas Association of Counties, the Texas Open Meetings Act “requires that every meeting of a governmental body, with certain narrowly drawn exceptions, be open to the public and that the public be given notice of the time and place of meetings and the subject matter to be discussed or acted on.”
Closed meetings, or executive sessions, are allowed for specific matters, but “while the Act permits executive sessions in specific circumstances, it never permits a body to meet without posting the subject matter to be discussed,” TAC notes.
JULY 8, 2014
The agenda for the July 8, 2014 meeting listed ATS - but only in open session.
“Receive and consider presentation from ATS on a public safety issue and take any necessary action regarding the same,” the agenda read.
Yet no action was taken, according to the official minutes.
The executive session agenda for that day did not list ATS as a topic of discussion. It did have an agenda item for “pending contract and procurement requirements.”
No action was taken following the executive session.
JULY 29, 2014
There’s no listing on the July 29, 2014 agenda for ATS, but commissioners went into executive session to discuss a number of items. Those included “seeking legal advice for options regarding security issues and/or public safety, including but not limited to the deployment or specific occasions for implementation of personnel or devices or a security audit.”
They also went into executive session for “legal advice regarding pending contracts and procurement requirements.”
A third legal reason for the executive session was listed: “Receive legal update briefing in consultation and seek legal advice regarding pending legal matters, including but not limited to matters placed with outside counsel.”
It’s unclear what that item meant.
Following that executive session, the court approved a contract with ISIS Investigation to enhance security devices at county offices (not to exceed $10,000). An amended contract with PATH was approved, though the minutes don’t say for what. And commissioners approved a contract with a legal firm, Carstens & Cahoon, LLP. That’s an intellectual property law firm based in Dallas, according to its website. The minutes don’t say what the firm was hired to do.
No mention was made in the minutes of ATS.
AUG. 12, 2014
On the day the contract was approved, there’s no mention at all of ATS on the agenda. A public hearing was held on the proposed 2015 tax rate, but ATS was listed in neither the open session nor executive session agenda.
The minutes, however, show that the contract was approved under “contract and procurement matters.”
The motion made by Judge Baker and seconded by Commissioner Jeff Warr to approve “a professional service agreement with ATS pursuant to authorization by Legal Counsel, Purchasing and County Auditor.”
The measure passed 4-0, with Commissioner Phillips absent.
REACTION
Reached on Monday, two commissioners say they still want Judge Baker to resign (they first called on him to do so in March), though they acknowledge there is nothing they can do to force it.
“I don’t think there’s anything the court can do,” Phillips said. “I think (Baker’s) intention is to just keep on keeping on. And my job is to just try to keep moving forward, keep working for the county.”
Though he expressed sympathy for Baker’s family - “It’s hard to get arrested and get booked in and have to post bond” - Phillips said the best thing for Baker to do is resign.
“He should have stepped down over the (recent) sexting scandal,” he said. “And he still should now. We’re trying to rebuild the public’s trust in the court.”
Phillips was referring to recent allegations that Baker exchanged explicit emails with a woman other than his wife. Baker acknowledges that messages were exchanged, but says he was playing along in hopes of finding out who was trying to harm him politically.
Commissioner Cary Nix also hopes Baker will step down.
“I have always thought that and I have never changed my mind,” he said. “I still think he should resign.”
With the court going into budget and tax season, Nix said, the charges only make their jobs harder.
“These are uncharted waters,” he said. “But we still have to carry on doing the county’s business. It’s just very hard with things up in the air like this.”
Commissioners JoAnn Hampton and Jeff Warr did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
