Dateline: January 16, 2003

County's constable saga comes to end

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Two years after it began, Donley County’s constable saga has come to a close.

“It is officially over now,” County Attorney Pro Tem Kaye Messer said.

Former constable Jimmy Swinney had until January 3, 2003, to appeal his last legal setback and did not do so.

In October, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Amarillo let stand a January ruling by District Judge David McCoy and returned the case to the lower court.

“Judge McCoy dismissed every count and all counts against all defendants on December 3,” Messer said. “[Swinney] had 30 days to appeal, which has now expired.”

Previously, Judge McCoy had found that the commissioners’ court had not abused their discretion in setting Swinney’s salary.

Messer said the county incurred no cost in mounting its defense. While her contract only calls for her to prosecute the Donley County’s criminal cases, she chose not to charge anything for her services in this case. Also, the appellate court ordered Swinney to pay any court costs, she said.

Swinney won a write-in campaign in November 2000 to fill the position of constable in Donley County’s Precincts 1&2, which had been vacant for more than three decades. He took office in January 2000 and six months later sued the county and the members of the commissioners’ court alleging, among other things, that his $3,170 annual salary was unreasonable. He later resigned from office after he failed to become a certified Texas peace officer.

County Judge Jack Hall said he was happy with the way Messer had served the county.

“I give all the credit to Kaye Messer for representing the commissioners’ court and me in this lawsuit,” Hall said. “We are well pleased that it has ended.”

Messer said the future of the Precinct 1&2 Constable’s office has not been determined.

Because Swinney never officially qualified for office and because his appointed replacement – Gerald Mullanax – also resigned without qualifying, the office is eligible to be declared dormant under a new constitutional amendment approved by Texas voters in November.

“We have not discussed that issue yet,” Hall said, “but I’m sure we will.”