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A pair of local lawyers stated that they don’t see much of a case for Elgin in its lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but there are other factors to consider.
James Ringel and Jimmy Brymer, founding attorneys of Bastrop’s Ringel & Brymer, PLLC, claimed that the filing boils down to public opinion and enforceability, in a recent interview with the Courier.
“I don’t see this lawsuit actually accomplishing much besides being just a giant waste of time on Paxton, just to turn up support for himself,” said Brymer.
The state filed its lawsuit against the city of Elgin earlier this month for adopting an ordinance eliminating enforcement of low-level marijuana possession offences. The proposition passed November 2022 with nearly 75% voter approval.
The city recognized this as an illegal ordinance but failed to keep it from the ballot due to confusion that surrounds the initiative petition and referendum process, according to city representatives.
Ringel and Brymer stated that the lawsuit is fairly straightforward and will most likely result with the proposition being struck from the city’s code of ordinance.
“I think that legally, at the end of the day the laws are pretty clear, state law trumps the city. The same way federal law would trump state law,” said Ringel. “It’s a pretty simple argument here, state law says marijuana is illegal, you guys made a law that says it’s not. On the one hand, municipalities have a lot of discretion how they run their city, but there are limits to that.”
The team claims that the lawsuit is most likely politically driven, an attempt to appease a certain base of voters or donors that are staunchly anti-marijuana, or to divert attention away from Paxton and his own criminal indictments.
Paxton is set to go to trial April 15, pleading not guilty to charges of securities fraud. The indictment was filed over eight years ago, a few months into his first term, stemming from accusations that he tried to solicit investors for a McKinney technology company without sharing the information that it was paying him to promote its stock.
While the attorneys say that “he’s in a vulnerable position right now,” they don’t necessarily think that this is the wisest move for Paxton.
“The public opinion on marijuana, even in Texas, has shifted to being more and more accepting of it, especially for small amounts. This isn’t going to win him, in my opinion, any votes that he wouldn’t have had before,” added Ringel.
Even if the ordinance is rendered void, there’s not much else that the state can do to affect Elgin residents or the city’s enforcement of marijuana policy, according to the attorneys.
“The issue comes down to enforceability. I don’t see how the judge would side with Elgin, but I don’t see cops on the street treating this law with authority, nobody cares about low level counts of marijuana. Even if the law gets struck down, at the end of the day, if the local officers don’t want to enforce it, I don’t imagine that they’re going to send it in,” said the team.
Sheriff offices and local police departments occasionally don’t bother sending low-level possession cases to the district attorney, as they are often dismissed, according to the attorneys.
The Department of Public Safety could still enforce these laws in Elgin, but the lawyers “imagine that’s pretty low on their list of priorities.”
Ringel and Brymer see this case as signs of the “civil war” happening right now in the Texas Republican Party.
“It’s a waste of time and taxpayer money. It’s just performative for someone that he wants them to see that he’s against marijuana,” said Brymer. “The big way to see the change is for people to vote on the state level elections, and local ones too. It’s important for people to go out and vote for state legislatures.”
Ringel & Brymer, PLLC has already established itself in the county, after opening its doors last year, with “small firm service, big firm results.” The team’s new office can be found in downtown Bastrop, at 1305 Pine St.
