Lawyer, county judge Tim O’Hare have heated exchange over juvenile board vote
The Tarrant County Juvenile Board on Wednesday corrected a motion that mistakenly removed a local lawyer from a list of eligible court-appointed attorneys, which sparked a heated discussion between the lawyer and County Judge Tim O’Hare.
The Tarrant County Juvenile Board approved a motion Wednesday to accurately reflect that a measure voted on in January did not remove Brian Willett from the list of eligible attorneys to represent children whose families can’t afford attorneys. The January vote was misinterpreted and resulted in Willett’s removal from the list.
According to Judge Alex Kim, he confused the rules for voting. Kim said O’Hare contacted him the next day, saying there was a problem with the vote’s outcome, and Kim agreed. Willet was actually never removed from the list.
“That was my mistake,” Kim said. “The minutes should reflect that Mr. Willett does continue to receive appointments because he passed on that vote.”
The perception that Willett had been removed from the list raised concerns in the legal community and among Democrats, particularly because Willett, a Democrat, had filed to run against Kim, a Republican, for the 323rd District Court seat. The juvenile board is made up of all the district judges in the county and County Judge Tim O’Hare. Kim did not vote in the January meeting.
During the public comment period at Wednesday’s meeting of the board, Willett said what happened was driven by politics.
“I’m the only board-certified criminal and juvenile law attorney in this county, so how it came up that I was somehow not qualified, I have no idea,” Willett said. “Typically, it was all political, and for O’Hare to tell me that he didn’t know who I was when we got our meeting on February 10 is so disingenuous and such a lie.”
O’Hare, who sat just a few feet away from Willett, disagreed with Willett’s comments, immediately interrupting him.
“What are you talking about?” O’Hare said. “I didn’t even know who you were sitting down here today.”
Willett referred to a Feb. 10 meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court when O’Hare said he had contacted Kim, who told him Willett was back on the court-appointed attorney list. O’Hare first contacted Kim about the vote being misinterpreted about a month before the February commissioners meeting, Willett noted. But Willett said Wednesday that he had not received any court-appointed cases at the time of the February meeting.
“You are flat wrong on your facts,” O’Hare responded.
Willett then directed comments toward Kim. “Just political, because I’m running against you,” Willett said. “You decided that you wanted me off that wheel, and I know that’s exactly what happened.”
Kim did not respond to Willett’s comments.
Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, told the Star-Telegram in January that the decision to remove Willet was an “egregious misstep.”
The L. Clifford Davis Legal Association, an association that connects Black lawyers and legal professionals in Tarrant County, said in a news release that Willett’s removal was “deeply concerning.”
“Judges must serve as neutral arbiters of the law — not as partisan actors. When judicial authority is perceived to be used to disadvantage political opponents, public trust in the judicial system is eroded,” the release said.
