A state judge has reopened a lawsuit between the Dallas County Juvenile Department and the Commissioners Court as the department challenges county leaders for not approving staff raises.
The Commissioners Court and DCJD have been embroiled in a dispute about records the department has declined to hand over to commissioners, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
DCJD executive director Darryl Beatty asked District Judge Eric Moyé to reconsider part of the case concerning commissioners allegedly declining to approve annual 5% raises for 13 department staff members in retaliation for being denied access to the records. Beatty is paid a salary of $246,764 per year, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Moyé has agreed to reopen the case, as reported by KERA News. He previously ruled in favor of DCJD in another case in August, blocking a subpoena from County Judge Clay Jenkins and Commissioner Andy Sommerman to obtain the records, as covered by The Dallas Express.
Beatty said last week that he filed the petition to resume the lawsuit after commissioners voted to “illegally freeze” cost of living raises “in retaliation” because of Moyé’s August ruling.
However, Sommerman claimed he simply wanted to wait until the state concludes an investigation into the department, tying potential raises to the probe’s findings. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an investigation into DCJD over allegations of child neglect at Dallas County juvenile detention facilities.
“It was tied to those reports. It had absolutely nothing to do with Moyé’s ruling,” said Sommerman, per the DMN.
Sommerman voted to withhold the raises alongside Jenkins and Commissioner Elba Garcia, while Commissioners Theresa Daniel and John Wiley Price voted against the item.
“The youth in our care are treated inhumanely,” said Garcia, per the DMN. “They are often not allowed outdoors for months at a time. Many are kept in solitary confinement for days or weeks. Denied regular showers, denied food as punishment — all of these are not merely infractions of the state code, these are human rights violations.”
While the Commissioners Court and DCJD continue their ongoing legal feud, Dallas County taxpayers are reportedly paying both sides’ legal fees.
