Fort Bend County Commissioners Court

voted Thursday to shift part of elected County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson's office under the court's control, a move critics called political retaliation amid her ongoing legal battle challenging Interim County Judge Daniel Wong's authority.

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In the same meeting, Commissioners Court voted to eliminate funding for three of the county's eight associate judges after Dec. 31, despite warnings from judges that the cuts could leave families waiting months for hearings and worsen already heavy court caseloads.

Both measures passed 3-0 with Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage absent amid their ongoing boycott of Commissioners Court over Wong's authority to serve.

The votes deepen a monthslong struggle over power in Fort Bend County government while raising consequences beyond the political fight: who controls the county's legal advice and whether residents already navigating crowded courts could face longer waits for hearings.

The change would move attorneys and support staff who provide legal advice outside the courtroom, along with their funding and resources, from the elected county attorney's office to a new department reporting directly to Commissioners Court. Smith-Lawson's office would continue handling the county's litigation.

The new Legal Department-Civil Division begins operating Oct. 1.

Smith-Lawson said she learned about the proposed restructuring only after the agenda was made public and that commissioners ignored her requests for an explanation.

"I submitted an email to each one of you regarding clarification regarding this action and I've been wholly ignored," Smith-Lawson said to the court. "No one has explained to me the justification of this and no one has given me any data or any rationale for materially altering an office that is 37 years old."

The measure passed without further discussion.

Critics called the move retaliation because

Smith-Lawson has been at the center of the legal fight over whether Wong can continue serving as county judge. 

Smith-Lawson concluded in June that Wong's authority ended after the civil removal case against suspended County Judge KP George was dismissed. Her office then took legal action challenging his continued authority.

During public comments, former District Judge Frank Fraley

called both the county attorney restructuring and associate judge cuts "strictly political."

"This is retaliation and you need to stop it," Fraley told Wong.

McCoy and Prestage have refused to participate in Commissioners Court meetings with Wong presiding, arguing that his presence could invalidate county actions. Commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales have continued to participate in meetings with Wong presiding.

The associate judge cuts drew extensive opposition from Fort Bend County judges, who warned Commissioners Court that reducing the positions would create longer waits for residents seeking protective orders, resolution of custody disputes and other court matters.

Judge Monica Rawlins, presiding judge of the 328th District Court, said her family court handles divorces, custody disputes, adoptions, child support and protective orders. Because protective orders receive priority under state law, she said, her associate judge can keep other cases moving while she handles proceedings that can take hours or days.

"Without my associate judge, that means that if there is a divorce pending and there's abuse, they have to wait," Rawlins said. "And they may have to wait for months before they get to me."

Rawlins said her court disposed of 3,109 cases in 2024-25.

"I could not do that with it being just me," she said.

Judge Kali Morgan, presiding judge of the 505th Family District Court, said Fort Bend County's family courts had nearly 7,000 pending cases as of July 31 and each receives about 200 new cases per month.

Morgan said county officials behind the proposal had not visited the courthouse to observe the judges' dockets or contacted them for their input.

"There has been no phone call, no email, no communication whatsoever to even so much as ask us our opinions," Morgan said.

Eliminating associate judges, she said, would create "unreasonable delays" for families and children.

Judge Maggie Perez-Jaramillo, presiding judge of the 458th District Court, questioned whether Commissioners Court has the legal authority to effectively eliminate the positions through its budget power.

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"Removing three associate judges does not make those cases disappear," Perez-Jaramillo said. "It simply transfers the workload."

She said the cuts could lead to longer dockets, delayed hearings and slower resolution of cases. Perez-Jaramillo also said the county's judges had jointly signed a letter asking commissioners to retain the associate judges.

"This is not a partisan issue," she said.

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This article originally published at Fort Bend restructures county attorney's office and cuts three associate judges.