| May 2005 | |
Frontlines Judge rules against DeGuerin in Alpine case
ALPINE — The investigation into open meeting violations by the Alpine City Council, of which two members were eventually indicted, effectively came to a close this month, the Alpine Avalanche reported.
Visiting District Judge Peter Peca ruled against attorney Dick DeGuerin’s objection to the state’s motion to dismiss charges against his client, Avinash Rangra.
The ruling brings to a close the state’s case against Rangra for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to duke it out. I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to get a definitive answer on the constitutionality of TOMA, either overall or as applied,” DeGuerin told the Avalanche.
DeGuerin, a Houston attorney who has defended many high-profile cases, purchased a house in Marfa in the 1990s and operates a satellite law office in the Big Bend area.
The newspaper had been covering the controversy for several months. Alpine city councilors Katie Elms-Lawrence and Rangra were indicted by the Brewster County Grand Jury Feb. 17.
Newspapers ask judge to unseal priest’s records
FORT WORTH — The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram have asked a judge to unseal records of sexual abuse allegations against priests who worked in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese.
Tarrant County District Judge Len
Wade ordered the diocese to surrender the records last year in a lawsuit that accused Bishop Joseph Delaney of employing known predators. But the judge kept the records secret and ordered the plaintiffs to do the same.
The newspapers say the records should be unsealed because they concern public health and safety.
Suit over HIV news report moves forward
DALLAS — A state district court judge rejected a bid by an alternative weekly newspaper to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a church volunteer who said the paper reported without his permission that he was HIV-positive, the Associated Press reported.
A lawyer for The Dallas Observer, James Hemphill, said the paper would appeal the judge’s ruling to the state appeals court in Dallas.
The plaintiff is seeking $550,000 to $1.1 billion in damages against the Observer, charging that the newspaper violated a Texas confidentiality law. The law forbids disclosing medical test results without a patient’s written consent, except to government health agencies.
Ranger finds no citation to back open meeting claim
KERENS — Texas Ranger Trace McDonald could find no evidence to support claims that the city of Kerens violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Kerens Tribune reported.
The Ranger investigated a complaint that the city might have violated the act on three occasions.
In the report, McDonald said he had not located any information in the Government Code that requires a governing body to list specific items to be discussed in a closed meeting or any law requiring a governing body to notify employees if they are going to be discussed during an open or closed meeting.
However, Sec. A 551.103. of the Government Code specifies that a “governmental body shall either keep a certified agenda or make a tape recording of the proceedings of each closed meeting, except for a private consultation permitted under Section 551.071.”
The Ranger’s report also said a city employee, who had been discharged from employment on March 4, 2005, had requested an open meeting.
Winnsboro withholds reports relating to nepotism
WINNSBORO — The city of Winnsboro is seeking a formal opinion from the Texas attorney general as to whether some city documents requested by The Winnsboro News should be made public.
The documents in question relate to allegations of nepotism within the Winnsboro Police Department. The newspaper requested the records under the Texas Public Information Act.
In a letter dated April 5, a Fort Worth attorney asked Attorney General Greg Abbott to rule on the contested issue.
City may have violated act second time in 1 year
CEDAR PARK — City officials said they may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act for the second time in a year, a development that has raised residents ire toward City Attorney Leonard Smith, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Critics of Smith, a lawyer in private practice who has represented Cedar Park since 1990, say he has exceeded his authority, has failed to keep the city from breaking open meetings laws and makes too much money.
Smith’s supporters defend the city
attorney’s job performance and say the attacks are politically motivated.
EMS director alleges Borger broke act
FRITCH — Emergency Medical Services director John Peters is alleging that the town’s city council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Borger News Herald reported.
He cited two alleged violations of the act on Feb. 15 and March 15 and sent a letter to the attorney general’s office in Austin.
County wants newspaper to return ‘confidential’ report
DALLAS — Dallas County has filed for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction against The Dallas Morning News and parent company Belo Corp. after the paper posted a report on its Web site that the county claims is confidential.
The 52-page confidential draft by Health Management Associates Inc., examining medical and mental health care at the Dallas County Jail, was released to the county in February.
Ernest E. Figari Jr., a partner at Dallas law firm Figari & Davenport L.L.P, which is representing the county in this case, said the report was intended for Dallas County attorneys who were guiding the request for the report.
Newspaper finds colleges bought banned substances
FORT WORTH — An examination by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram discovered that the Texas A&M University and University of Texas at Austin athletic departments have routinely purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of dietary supplements labeled as containing ingredients that make them impermissible for distribution to student-athletes under National Collegiate Athletic Association rules.
From fall 2000 to spring 2004, the two programs spent nearly $120,000 on 21 such products, according to invoices and related documents the newspaper obtained from the colleges under the Texas Public Information Act.
The purchases appear to run contrary to an NCAA bylaw enacted in August 2000 that severely limits the types of supplements schools can dispense to student-athletes.
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