Judge won’t dismiss Gattis charge
Both sides cite free speech violations in official oppression case.
GEORGETOWN — A judge ruled Friday that the Williamson County attorney’s office must amend its complaint about an official oppression charge against County Judge Dan Gattis to include more information about the charge against him. Visiting Judge Sid Harle, however, refused to dismiss the charge.
The complaint said the county judge, “knowing his conduct was unlawful,” intentionally denied or impeded Sheriff Robert Chody in the “enjoyment of a right, privilege, power or immunity, namely to engage in free speech.”
Williamson County Sheriff Chief Deputy Tim Ryle told the American-Statesman in July that Gattis threatened to “zero out” the budget of the sheriff ’s office if Chody did not stop tweeting about internal county issues. Ryle said Gattis made the threat to him at a Commissioners Court meeting July 17.
Chody had put out some tweets questioning the county’s response to what he called a sewage leak in a hall between the jail and the justice center.
Gattis declined to comment after he was charged with the Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and up to one year behind bars.
Gattis’ attorney, his son Dan Gattis Jr., argued during the hearing Friday that the official oppression charge should be dismissed because, among other issues, it violated the county judge’s right to free speech. Gattis Jr. also had asked that, if the charge was not dismissed, more information about it be included in the complaint.
“What’s unlawful, we don’t know,” Gattis Jr. said. “What’s impeding or denying, we don’t know. We are left to guess at what could or could not be criminal conduct under this statute.”
Jason Nassour, the chief counsel for the county attorney, said after the hearing the complaint would be amended to include more information about the unlawful conduct alleged against the county judge.
He said the county attorney’s office expects the case to go to trial, possibly early next year.
Gattis Jr. disagreed. Once the amended complaint is filed, he said after the hearing, “we will be able to argue the constitutional points of this and the case ultimately will be thrown out.”
He said the incident was just a spat about the budget.
“Sheriff Chody and the county attorney chose to use criminal charges to up the ante,” Gattis Jr. said.
Nassour disagreed, saying Gattis made an unlawful threat to take away Chody’s entire budget, which would prevent Chody from doing his job.
“There is something wrong with using a bully pulpit in the Commissioners Court to threaten an elected official with the budget you oversee when they are elected and answer to the people,” Nassour said.
Last month, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended Gattis from judicial duties with pay after the oppression charge was filed against him.
A county spokesman said the suspension would not keep him from doing his job because he performs administrative duties in the county and has never performed judicial duties.