Following testimony presented at the end of November in the ongoing Texas Opening Meetings Act (TOMA) lawsuit involving 17 city officials from around the state, U.S. District Judge Robert Junell directed James “Beau” Eccles, deputy division chief for the Attorney General of Texas, to submit an additional brief addressing whether or not TOMA should be reviewed under a “strict scrutiny” standard.
TOMA provides that every government meeting, including city councils and most boards and commissions, must be open to the public and carries criminal and civil penalties for officials violating the act.
The heightened standard of “strict scrutiny” that Junell referred to is the toughest of three levels of review available to the courts in individual rights cases, and it shifts the burden of proving that the law is constitutional, or legal, to the state.
U.S. District Judge Robert Junell who ordered additional briefings due in January, is not expected to render a decision before February.