County will replace 2 judges fired over their hours billed

After firing two judges and defunding their positions, Montgomery County commissioners agreed to add the two positions back to the payroll.

In June, commissioners accepted a recommendation of the county’s Board of District Judges to terminate Paul Damico and David Bluestein, both associate judges, and accept the resignation of Bernice Greathouse, a manager in the Office of Court Administration.

The decision followed a county investigation concerning “overpayment” for work the judges performed on evenings and weekends, County Attorney B.D. Griffin said.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has recused itself from the case and it is being reviewed by Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman. She said no criminal charges are pending.

During budget hearings this week, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack proposed reinstating the two associate judge positions and funding them each at a set salary of $125,000. Stipends for evening and weekend work were removed.

Noack pushed for the termination of Damico, Bluestein and the resignation of Greathouse.

Since 2011 Montgomery County has paid a judge $350 per day to cover additional shifts on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in addition to their annual base pay. Damico’s base pay was $139,094 and Bluestein’s was $127,810, said Jason Millsaps, chief of staff for County Judge Mark Keough.

The 435th state District Judge Patty Maginnis and 221st state District Judge Lisa Michalk will each oversee the judges. Previously, the county’s Office of Court Administration oversaw them.

Noack said the county will not rehire Damico and Bluestein. The new judges, who have not yet been determined, will be appointed by commissioners next week.

“There is a need to make sure bail bonds are set in a timely manner,” Noack said as the reason to reinstate the positions. “The criminal judges have a lot on their plate as do the county court at law judges.”

The associate judges will oversee all probable cause hearings including on the weekend and evenings. A probable cause hearing is a proceeding after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial.

Greg Gaines and Celeste Blackburn, who represent Bluestein and Damico respectively, said their clients have repaid the funds they claim were overpaid due to a county payroll system glitch. Bluestein repaid about $31,000. Damico’s amount repaid was not available.

Damico and Bluestein, both full-time employees, were not assigned to a specific court. They would fill in as needed for judges taking time off and get paid extra if they worked beyond their regular schedules.

The county payroll system has had problems of late. In March, county commissioners voted 4-1 to strip County Treasurer Melanie Bush of her payroll duties and create a separate payroll department in the wake of paycheck miscalculations for several hundred employees and inaccurate payments to citizens on jury duty, among other things.

Gaines and Blackburn said neither Bluestein nor Damico were aware of the overpayments, and both asked for the amount of their respective over payments prior to the vote to terminate them so they could repay the money.

They were never provided that information, the attorneys said.

County officials declined to comment on the attorneys’ claims, noting the potential for litigation on the matter and the personnel investigation.