Reynaldo Antonio De Los Santos, et al. v. William Bosworth, In the Official Capacity as Employee and/or Administrator and/or Policymaker and/or Official of Johnson County, Texas, et al.

Plaintiffs claimed and provided documented evidence showing that multiple Defendants as members of commissioners courts from two Texas counties failed to comply with both the Texas Open Meetings Act (the “Act”) and the Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (the “Code”). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit chose not to address these violations. Regarding the removal of counsel from a local indigent appointment list, state statutes specifically mandate that indigent appointments be managed in a fair, neutral, and non-discriminatory manner. The questions presented are:

1. Whether conditions precedent that are specified in both the Act and in the Code must be met before county commissioners courts, when operating as governmental bodies, are authorized to expend public funds necessary to retain defensive legal counsel prior to filing responsive pleadings or motions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12.

2. Whether the Fifth Circuit errored by failing to apply the facts of this case to the requirements from the Act, requirements from the Code, and to precedent in Smith Cty. v. Thornton, 726 S.W.2d 2, 3 (Tex. 1987) (holding that a Commissioners Court’s failure to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act regarding initial general public notification requirements then resulted in subsequent related actions performed by that commissioners court to be void).