Brian Willett, an attorney, spoke before the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday afternoon to find out why he was removed from a juvenile appointment wheel and whether it was politically motivated.
Kamal Morgan
Tarrant County Commissioners are questioning the removal of an attorney from a juvenile appointment wheel as community members continue to search for answers.
Brian Willett, a Democrat, was not approved for a list of attorneys a court can assign to represent juveniles whose families can’t afford one. The decision was made during a Tarrant County Juvenile Board meeting last month. The board is made up of all the district judges in the county and County Judge Tim O’Hare.
O’Hare said that after the Juvenile Board meeting, he followed up with Judge Alex Kim, chair of the Tarrant County Juvenile Board, to verify whether Willett had been approved, since the majority of votes were to abstain. Kim reviewed it again, said he had it wrong, then placed Willett back on the list, according to O’Hare.
O’Hare said Kim sent, or was in the process of sending, Willett a letter reappointing him to the list and reassigned Willett cases last week. Willett said during court that he had not seen an email. It was not until after the meeting was over that Willett confirmed Kim did email him at 2:56 p.m — while he was speaking in Commissioners court — that he had been reappointed.
Willett filed to run for the 323rd District Court, which hears child welfare and juvenile delinquency cases. He is running against Kim, a Republican and the incumbent judge. He said his removal not only affects his livelihood but also the children and their families.
“The only thing that I’ve done in this case, a list that I’ve been on since the inception in 2002, is decide to run against Alex Kim, that is why I’m here,” Willett said to the commissioners. “I would have never thought three months ago, when I wasn’t even deciding if I was going to do this, that I would be standing here speaking to you.”
Willett is board-certified in both criminal law and juvenile law and says he was also removed from the felony appointment list over the past month as well.
Kim did not appear at the Commissioners Court, instead sending a letter. The letter said he declined to appear because of two legal principles: Statutory Separation of Powers, which holds that the Commissioners Court cannot provide oversight of the Juvenile Board, and Lack of Jurisdictional Authority, which holds that the court cannot summon judicial members of the Juvenile Board.
“I will not participate in a proceeding that disregards the statutory boundaries of our respective offices or risks that politicization of the juvenile justice system,” Kim wrote.
Several people from the community spoke up in support of Willett.
Monroe Solomon, president of the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said removing Willett reduces the pool of lawyers to represent juveniles and erodes the county’s trust in the criminal justice system.
“When judges act to remove a qualified attorney from the appointment wheel, the process must be fair, transparent, and based on evidence, not on politics, not on personalities, and not on questionable motivations,” Solomon said.
Pamela Young, a community organizer and United Fort Worth member, attended the January Juvenile Board meeting and said it was “staged politics.”
“This entire removal process was a choreographed, concerted political effort to sabotage the opponent of Judge Alex Kim,” Young said.
The L. Clifford Davis Legal Association, an association that connects Black lawyers and legal professionals in Tarrant County, said in a news release that Willett’s removal was “deeply concerning,”
“Judges must serve as neutral arbiters of the law— not as partisan actors. When judicial authority is perceived to be used to disadvantage political opponents, public trust in the judicial system is eroded,” the release said.
During a Jan. 21 Juvenile Board meeting, an agenda item to approve the juvenile appointment wheel was presented.
Judge Christopher Taylor, a Republican who presides over the 48th District Court, said he wanted to remove Willett from the approved list of attorneys due to “personal issues” and vote on Willett separately. Willett said he had never met Taylor before.
Judge Don Cosby, a Republican who presides over the 67th District Court, questioned whether Taylor’s motion to remove Willett from the list was a political move. Three different votes were held to table the agenda item; another to approve the list without Willett and one to reapprove him. The final motion to approve Willett failed.
The denial of Willett’s approval comes after Tarrant County GOP Chair Tim Davis challenged the candidacy of seven Democrats running for judicial offices in the primaries. One of the candidates was Willett.
Days afterward, the Tarrant County Democratic Party contested the ballot filings of 41 Republican judicial candidates and two state Republican House candidates in a letter to Davis.
Both parties claim problems such as invalid signatures and missing or incorrect voter information on petitions that judicial candidates submit to secure a place on the ballot.
Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, told the Star Telegram that says the decision to remove Willet was an egregious misstep. “I don’t think this fear and intimidation tactic is fair to any voter of any party, and I definitely hope people remember that when it comes time to vote,” Campolo said.
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Kamal Morgan covers racial equity issues for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He came to Texas from the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Send tips to his email or Twitter.