Former Texas House representative Lon Burnam has filed a petition seeking the removal of Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare from office. The filing, submitted on Sept. 9, alleges that O’Hare engaged in official misconduct by using his authority to remove Burnam from a commissioners court meeting and issuing a criminal trespass warning.
The petition was filed the day before Burnam appeared in court for a hearing on criminal charges stemming from an incident in August. During that meeting, Burnam was arrested and carried out by sheriff deputies after O’Hare cut short his public comment time.
Burnam faces two misdemeanor charges: hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct, a Class A offense, and disrupting a meeting or procession, a Class B offense.
Tiffany Burks, Burnam’s attorney, filed a motion to quash the criminal evidence, arguing that the documentation contained errors such as incorrect dates. She stated that the criminal and civil cases are proceeding independently but will collectively illustrate the circumstances surrounding the dispute. Burks noted that if the motion to quash is granted, the misdemeanor charges could be dismissed.
In his petition, Burnam claims O’Hare intentionally used official authority to ban him from attending meetings for 180 days in response to criticism. The incident occurred when Burnam picked up a microphone during his comment time, an action O’Hare interpreted as a violation of decorum rules. Burnam had previously criticized O’Hare for denying a reasonable accommodation to another speaker.
