HOUSTON – Five individuals have filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo from office.
The people cite Hidalgo’s absence from public office in the lawsuit.
Recommended Videos
The lawsuit said “after July 27, 2023 Judge Hidalgo has abandoned the office of the Harris County Judge and failed to perform any of the duties and responsibilities of the Harris County Judge.”
The lawsuit continues saying Hidalgo missed scheduled meetings on Aug. 8, Aug. 17, Aug. 22, Aug. 29, Sept. 12, and Sept. 19. It said at least three of the meetings were regularly scheduled meetings.
“Judge Hidalgo’s absence from public office has prevented her and continues to prevent her from the lawful discharge of her duties as Harris County Judge,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit said the plaintiffs seek Hidalgo’s removal from office on grounds that she exercised gross carelessness in the discharge of her duties, or she is unfit or unable to promptly and properly discharge her official duties because of serious physical or mental defect that did not exist at the time of the election.
The lawsuit also claimed Hidalgo’s absence for three consecutive meetings means she has abandoned the office.
The plaintiff’s desire is for the matter to be set for trial by a jury, the lawsuit said.
In early August, Hidalgo announced she would be taking a temporary leave of absence to receive treatment for clinical depression. She is expected to return to her usual schedule on Monday, Oct. 2.
“The petition is meritless and an absolute joke. It repeatedly misspelled several words. Judge Hidalgo is looking forward to returning to the office on Monday, October 2nd, as she announced in her letter dated September 14, 2023,” said Brandon Marshall, Harris County Judge’s Office Spokesperson.
Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia released a statement regarding the lawsuit.
“Another dumb political stunt by election-denying Harris County MAGA extremists. Legally this has a less than zero chance of success starting with the fact that the petitioners cite a Texas Government Code Section that does not exist. If they want to be taken the least bit seriously, they should also try spelling the word “Judge” correctly in the opening of the filing. This nonserious filing is a waste of taxpayers’ time and money and we look forward to it being thrown out immediately,” Garcia said.