Marfa JP refuses to follow the law in records requests
BREWSTER AND PRESIDIO COUNTIES — Brewster County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Scott Wasserman, who serves in Alpine, has not received any communication from the Brewster County Sheriff’s Office, including important legal/criminal documents, since mid-February. The official said he had no clue as to why he was being frozen out by local law enforcement.
“In addition to not magistrating, all citations written by Brewster County Sheriff’s Office deputies written in Precinct 1 are being filed in Precinct 3 (Judge Gonzales). I also have not received any search or arrest warrant applications (including those needed for the arson case currently being investigated),” Scott Wasserman said in an emailed statement. Because he offices in Alpine, he should be the busiest JP in the county.
JPs are elected officials and judges charged with approving or denying probable cause affidavits for search and arrest warrants, processing fines for minor offenses like traffic citations, overseeing minor civil cases and holding magistrations in which defendants are read their charges to make sure they are understood, given additional reminders of their rights and offered a chance to hire a public defender if they can’t afford an attorney. Thus, JPs often visit jails for these official duties. JPs in smaller counties also are called to the scene of death to conduct death investigations and order autopsies.
The Big Bend Sentinel became aware of the situation last week from two anonymous sources before Wasserman’s confirmation. The sources asked to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation from the sheriff’s office. The sources describe the situation as Wasserman being banned from the county jail. “I don’t know if I’m banned from physically visiting the jail,” Wasserman wrote. “No one has talked to me about the situation.”
Those sources also said sheriff’s deputies are transporting newly arrested inmates by van to Marathon to be magistrated by JP3 Gonzales — likely to avoid Wasserman.
When The Sentinel last week asked for comment from Sheriff Ronny Dodson on why he refused to release probable cause affidavits for an arrest warrant affidavit — which are public record — in the jailing of alleged arsonist David Neet, Chief Deputy Ryan Skelton responded by email: “We have newly elected JP’s that require so much detail in the affidavits … and our deputies now have a practice of disclosing so much detail due to these requirements, we are not allowed to simply explain how the elements of the law were met, we are having to disclose investigational details to satisfy the new JP’s.” It’s unclear whether this explanation is the cause of the conflict with Wasserman, and Sheriff Dodson did not respond to a request for comment.
“I imagine the sheriff has a logical reason for his decision but, again, no one has said anything to me,” Wasserman stated. When asked about the level of detail needed to execute a warrant, he replied: “I can only speak for myself; I’ve studied a great deal of case law on the subject. I taught the subject while on active duty in the Coast Guard. I require nothing more than the minimum legal standard. I’ve denied only one probable cause affidavit from a BCSO deputy for insufficient probable cause. The case involved smuggling, but the affidavit contained no evidence about how the deputy determined someone was in the country illegally.”
When asked about whether the Neet probable cause affidavits were public record if they were signed off on by a judge, he affirmed that they were and said any JP who executes one should have a copy in their office for the public to view or make copies of.
Wasserman and Precinct 2 JP Paul Rashott — who serves in Terlingua — are the newest JPs, both elected in November of 2022. JP3 Gonzales in Marathon was first elected in 2010.
The 83rd District Attorney’s Office eventually released records to The Sentinel for Neet’s arrest warrant and search warrants for his car and apartment. (See related story.)
Marfa JP refuses to follow the law
At the same time The Sentinel was requesting Neet’s records, Presidio County Precinct 1 JP Dina Jo Marquez was refusing to release probable cause affidavits related to the arrest of two individuals on allegations of intent to distribute drugs in Marfa. When we reminded her that these were public records that she is required to keep available in her office, Marquez still denied the request and referred The Sentinel to the district attorney’s office.
The district attorney’s office released the requested records promptly on Friday. Marquez did not respond to later phone calls requesting clarification on why she was refusing to follow Texas law.
The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states that an affidavit for an arrest warrant (Title 1, Chapter 15.02) and a search warrant (Title 1, Chapter 18.01) are public record and “immediately” available for public inspection in the JP’s office during normal business hours. The code also gives prosecutors a procedure for asking a judge — usually the district judge — to seal the warrants and affidavits if there is a “compelling state interest” that public disclosure would jeopardize the safety of witnesses, victims or informants or “cause the destruction of evidence.” The seal is for 30 days, at which point the prosecutors can ask for a 30-day extension, after which the documents must be unsealed. The attorney general already issued opinions to other government agencies declaring the records public.
Precinct 2 JP Juanita Bishop, who works in Presidio, said Tuesday that yes, the affidavits are public and that she would provide any arrest or search affidavits she executes to those requesting them.