Justice Turned On Its Head

OPINION

By Charles O'Dell, Phd

Anyone who believes the days of smoked filled back rooms where elected officials collaborate with special interests to make deals and make plans to destroy their opposition are over is in for a rude awakening, and its time to start paying attention.

District Judge Robert T. Pfeuffer turned long established jurisprudence on its head last Wednesday, March 26, 2008, when he delivered a five sentence written ruling in favor of Nick Ramus, who has been previously convicted as a public nuisance, in his civil suit against Hays County.

Following is Judge Pfeuffer’s ruling in its entirety:

“Gentlemen:
In connection with the various matters under advisement in the above styled cause, please be advised that Intervenor’s Objections to Plaintiffs’ Evidence is overruled.
Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is granted.
Defendant Hays County’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is denied; and,
Intervenor’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is denied.
Mr. Newsom is requested to prepare and circulate amongst counsel, a Proposed Order reflecting the Court’s ruling.”

That’s it.

Judge Pfeiffer’s ruling stopping a county government from exercising its statutory authority to enforce health and safety laws flies in the face of all previous case law. Previous court decisions have all found that no county could be stopped from exercising that statutory authority. Left unchallenged, the ruling would cripple the rule of law in Hays County, consolidate special interest control and reward a failed county Environmental Health Department for not following health and safety laws.

An objection to the false evidence presented by the plaintiff in his sworn Affidavit and by his attorney, Skip Newsom, was also overruled by Judge Pfeiffer. Most of what Ramus swears to be true and correct is undocumented and was shown to be false. Such claims of having a $100,000 septic system at his San Marcos property with two 8,000 gallon holding tanks and over 6,000 feet of drain pipe, and a $1,000,000 property were shown to be false.

The Judge gave no rationale or reasoning for his confounding ruling.

None of this could have happened without what appears to be an orchestrated effort by Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton, Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley and a cadre of good old boys using Ramus in a high stakes effort to reestablish a Hays County shadow government of special interests.

Ramus filed suit against Hays County after commissioners court on April 17, 2007 revoked his commercial on-site septic permit that facts on the ground show was in all likelihood issued either in error or illegally by the Hays County Environmental Health Department.

Barton and Conley both supported the Ramus suit and expected it to end in a settlement that would have embarrassed newly elected County Judge Liz Sumter and Pct. 4 Commissioner Karen Ford. Barton means to show who controls commissioners court in Hays County and has already begun a raid on the public treasury with his citizen-proof $19.5 million limited tax bond after voters defeated his $172 million road bond last year. Barton will sponsor a much larger road bond in the upcoming November election.

When it became clear that a court hearing would occur, Ramus’ attorney stalled for time while the Bartons’ newspaper, The Hays Free Press, and other associated on-line entities attempted to frame poor Mr. Ramus as a victim.

To improve Ramus’ public image, someone (some believe it was Conley) convinced the Hays County Republican Party to sponsor Ramus as its candidate for Pct. 1 Commissioner. Judge Pfeuffer’s ruling for Ramus may help to polish his new public image, but it doesn’t change the hard facts.

Now Barton and Conley need Pct.1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe’s vote to keep the county from appealing the Pfeuffer ruling. Otherwise, all their back room efforts will be dashed in appellate court. Ingalsbe initially voted to revoke the Ramus permit.

If the Pfeuffer ruling isn’t appealed, Barton will open the floodgates on his special interest transportation and development projects at great cost to taxpayers. More importantly, Hays County will be back in the hands of those who pick and choose which laws to enforce and who to enforce them against. They are the good old boys.

Barton and Conley were elected to serve the public interest but have abused their positions of authority and have used our public resources to gain the political control they need to serve their special interest supporters. Ingalsbe is in a position to hand that to them.

“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” -- Thomas Jefferson

You know what to do.

County Judge Liz Sumter
(512) 393-2205
lizsumter@co.hays.tx.us

Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe
(512) 393-2243
debbiei@co.hays.tx.us

Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton
(512) 262-2091
jeff.barton@co.hays.tx.us

Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley
(512) 847-3159
will.conley@co.hays.tx.us

Pct. 4 Commissioner Karen Ford
(512) 858-7268
karen.ford@co.hays.tx.us

As co-founder of Hays Community Action Network (HaysCAN) in 2003, O’Dell strives to carry out the mission of ensuring open, accessible and accountable government. He is a long time and close observer of the workings of the Hays County Commissioners Court. He earned a degree in Agricultural Education and a Masters in Ag Economics at Texas Tech, and, later, a Ph.D. at The University of Maryland while employed as a Research Economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Texas born and raised on a family farm, O’Dell is a Hays County Master Naturalist and a board member of the Ethical Society of Austin.