Baker Awaits Further Proceedings Following Indictment, Arrest

TYLER — Smith County Judge Joel Baker remains free on bond after being indicted, arrested, and charged with three counts of violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. According to KETK, Sheriff Larry Smith says a warrant was issued for Baker’s arrest around 3:00 Friday afternoon and he turned himself in. Judge Baker is also under investigation for allegations he was involved in explicit sexual behavior online while conducting government business. That investigation is still ongoing and it does not appear Friday’s booking has anything to do with those allegations. Additionally, proceedings continue in an effort to have Baker removed from office.

Baker released the following statement Friday evening:

“Today the Texas Attorney General’s Office has informed me they have secured a misdemeanor indictment against me regarding their perceived technical violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act by the Smith County Commissioners Court. As the Attorney General and his supporters will agree, an indictment alone is no evidence of guilt or wrong doing.

“I am not guilty of these charges. At no time did I or any member of the court knowingly violate the Texas Open Meetings Act. I maintain this was not a mission to find the truth, rather a political witch hunt. I look forward to producing the true facts to a jury. I am confident a jury will find these charges to be frivolous.

“In order to protect the integrity of the judicial process I will not be trying this case in the media. I will prove my innocence and not allow a certain political faction to label me as a criminal for adhering to advice of legal counsel, who is assigned to advise the Commissioners Court by the Smith County Criminal District Attorney, the county’s chief law enforcement officer. I’m thankful any and all criminal investigations into the actions, conduct and procedures of the Smith County Commissioners Court are now closed.”

Grassroots America – We the People is the group that filed the petition seeking Baker’s removal from office. That group released this statement following Baker’s arrest:

“Citizens have a reasonable expectation that elected officials will obey the law – all of the law, all of the time – when conducting The People’s business. The following section of the law sets forth the reason Grassroots America filed the complaint against Judge Joel Baker and the Smith County Commissioners Court in May of last year when we learned about the American Traffic Systems 10-year contract:

“Texas Government Code, Title 5, Open Government; Section 552.001 (a) reads: ‘Under the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government that adheres to the principle that government is the servant and not the master of the people, it is the policy of this state that each person is entitled, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, at all times to complete information about the affairs of government and the official acts of public officials and employees. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy.’

“To those who would trivialize these alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Grassroots America considers an official’s oath of office, respect for the rule of law, and respect for the public trust to be very serious matters. While nobody was robbed at gunpoint or physically assaulted in this case, we believe the public trust was violated and violated more than once. We believe when all of the facts are known in this case, it will be abundantly clear the citizens of Smith County deserved much better from their county government.

“A community is known for what it tolerates. In Smith County, Texas, we should never accept disrespect for citizens, abuse of the public trust, and selective application of the rule of law. That’s why we filed the complaint and asked for a complete investigation.”