Son of arrested Smith County Clerk attempts to ‘correct the slander’ at commissioner’s court meeting

TYLER — The son of Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips and County Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips, attempted to speak at the Commissioner’s Court meeting on Tuesday to “correct the slander” surrounding his family after his mother and brother’s arrest. According to our news partner KETK during the public comment portion of the meeting, Judge Neal Franklin announced that Lance Phillips requested to comment on a specific agenda item and would be given three minutes to do so. “This is what can happen to you when you’re driving down the Smith County roads. I just wanted to correct the slander about my family on and for the record,” Lance Phillips said.

He was told by Judge Franklin that if his comment was not about item number three, which was the replat of several roads, then he would not be allowed to comment. Following an incident in March, Lance Phillips’ mother and brother were arrested and charged with interfering with public duties. They have both since been released. Body-cam footage of the arrest was released by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and showed the events that lead up to the arrests. The cases will be tried by a visiting prosecutor from outside the county after the Smith County District Attorney’s Office recused itself since prosecuting the son and wife of a current county commissioner could lead to legal conflicts, Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman said.