County judge signs letter on behalf of court judges without authorization

ELLIS COUNTY – A letter dated May 2 and signed by six District Court and County Court at Law judges in Ellis County was recently sent to The Ellis County Press for further inquiry.

The subject of the letter; Ellis County Judge Todd Little’s urgent need to apply for a MAC grant fund, which the letter signed by the judges explained was for an “indigenous defense initiative known as Managed Assigned Counsel (MAC).”

The six judges noted Little’s attempt to secure these funds was concerning.

Opening with a statement to Little, the letter signed by 40th District Court Judge Bob Carroll, 378th District Court Judge William Wallace, 443rd District Court Judge Cindy Ermatinger, Ellis County Court at Law No. 1 Judge Jim Chapman, Ellis County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Gene Calvert, and Ellis County Court at Law No. 3 Judge Joe Gallo read: “We appreciate your ongoing effort to equip our local judiciary with cost effective resources which are designed to assist the judges in continuing to deliver a high-quality system of justice here in Ellis County.”

However, later in the letter it was clearly not appreciated when Little used one of the judge’s signatures on the grant narrative without permission.

It was noted in the second quarter of 2021 Little formed a committee of stakeholders for the purpose of evaluating options geared toward maintaining quality indigent defense attorney services, while affording the Commissioners Court an increased degree of cost oversight.

“By July 2021 it was clear that the initial option, a public defender system, did not have broad support, but certain committee members were open to exploring the MAC concept. Later the state offered COVID related grant funding for those counties initiating a MAC system.”

The judges stressed in the letter to Little that given the time frame they were surprised by the “urgency of his approach during the week of April 11.”

“Yet in spite of the short notice,” the letter read “by Thursday, April 14, we had unanimously signed a detailed letter of support.”

The judges expressed in the letter they had been of the understanding the letter they supplied would be used for submission to the Commissioners Court in support of the MAC grant resolution, submission to the committee and included with the grant application.

It was noted this was all on the condition the judges as well as with the Commissioners Court, would have a strong role in the design, staffing, and salaries of the final proposal.

This did not seem to be the case when the grant application narrative and budget was “rushed to the committee” on April 28 with what the letter stated was “significant language contradicting and opposite to many points outlined in the April 14 letter” also including assertions regarding backlog, the selection of the permanent MAC Director, as well as staffing and budget.

It was also noted on April 27th the administrative court judge had agreed to serve as the temporary grant director to meet the grant requirement.

“At no time did he authorize the use of his signature on the grant narrative” the letter by the judges stated to Little.

They suggested that Little’s use of the unauthorized signature was the result of miscommunication among office staff, etc.

Little, who was hard to reach for comment, did not reply regarding the use of the unauthorized signature. However, in a written email statement he replied, “The TIDC Improvement Grant was a unique opportunity to overcome our COVID-backlog while simultaneously establishing an oversight mechanism for ensuring quality indigent defense in Ellis County. My staff and I worked hard to draft a workable Managed-Assigned Counsel program to apply for the grant, but when we presented our plan to the commissioner-appointed Indigent Defense Committee, we were informed that there was no COVID-backlog, after all. At this time, pursuing a Managed-Assigned Counsel program is no longer a priority. We thank all participants of the committee for their time and effort serving the taxpayers of Ellis County.”

The judges ended their letter to Little with the remarks that “given the rushed events over the past two weeks leading up to the grant deadline, and the inconsistencies addressed above, the undersigned trial court judges hereby withdraw our … letter of support for the MAC option dated April 14.”

The judges did indicate that in the 2022-2023 county budget cycle they would revisit options Little might be considering for the local judiciary, or specific in relation to indigenous defense.