BOERNE — The Kendall County Commissioners Court opted to halt progress on a new county court-at-law or appointing its first presiding office until the new county judge and commissioners take office next year.
County Judge Darrell Lux, Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Elkins and Precinct 4 Commissioner Don Durden step down in January. Early voting is Oct. 24 to Nov. 4 and Election Day is Nov. 8.
Elkins argued a growing backlog of cases hastens the need to appoint a county court-at-law judge now and not wait on a future election, but his colleagues disagreed, adding it should be up to voters to decide down the road.
A county court-at-law did exist before in Kendall County, but it was dissolved in 2015 during the creation of the 451st District State Court.
“Do I feel at some point in time there needs to be a county court-at-law in Kendall County? I was a proponent of not getting rid of it from the very first time,” Lux said. “But the majority of the court at that time was feeling comfortable with the idea of saving money. But people have a right for their cases to be heard also. At some point in time, this needs to be created. I am not in favor of moving forward at this particular time.” County courts-at-law handle civil and criminal cases including misdemeanor criminal cases, civil actions, juvenile matters, probate cases, guardianships and civil mental-health cases.
Traditionally, a county court-of-law judge is not appointed but runs for the office and is elected to a four-year term.
\\Elkins kept urging his colleagues to take action and not tarry.
“Individuals are being hurt today because they’re not being heard,” Elkins said. “So we need to do something as soon as possible. I will add, waiting until January 2025 and then sometime later on to get someone full time doing it for the county I think is a mistake. There’s always money in the budget. We don’t spend all the money every year.”
He continued, “We have a plan. We have a way to address it with a visiting judge, but let’s make it happen. Because people are hurting.”
In the end, the lack of action was nearly unanimous among the commissioners with Elkins continuing to dissent.
Last year, efforts to create a new county court-at-law involved entreating the state to allow Kendall County leaders to appoint a new judge, as well as a chain of emails between a commissioner and state lawmakers that raised some eyebrows.
Around that time, Katherine McDaniel, Kendall County first assistant district attorney, filed her bid for the seat in the Republican primary.
In the end, attorneys advised that any suggested wording of legislation merely revert to the former language governing the original county court-at-law.
Although Elkins urged the commissioners to appoint a judge soon, his fellow commissioners and incoming officials preferred to wait until after the results of the Nov. 8 election and allow the newly elected leaders to move on the issue.
“My opinion is different than Commissioner Elkins,” Lux said. “I also feel it extremely important that the first county court-at-law judge … be elected by the constituents of Kendall County.”
He added, “We hear, ‘Well, you know the state gave us the opportunity for a county court-at-law. If we don’t use it, we’re going to lose it.’ I can’t say our record with good news from the state has been very good for a lot of things, but I can’t imagine if we just said, ‘We were not ready. We thought we were. We were not ready. We’ve had challenges with the pandemic. … So, please forgive us for asking you to create a county court-at-law. Let us ask you again in the future if we need to do that if this one expires.’” Durden echoed Lux’s message, noting the county was not in an “emergency situation.”
County Judge-elect Shane Stolarczyk, who received the GOP bid and has no challenger for the seat, said he has worked with 451st State District Court Judge Kirsten Cohoon to find a “taxpayer friendly solution” by bringing in a state-funded, visiting judge to handle a backlog of family and civil cases.
Further, he agreed the first county court-at-law judge should be decided by the electorate.
“I believe it is a mistake for this court to make an appointment,” Stolarczyk said. “The legislation creating this position still needs to be fixed. … And it’s a mistake to not leave it to the voters to decide who will be the next CCL judge. Our citizens are engaged in the democratic process as evidenced by our last elections. So, I believe it’s best to leave it to them to elect the candidate best fit for this office.”
Incoming Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian voiced agreement.
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