A hearing that had been scheduled for Monday in a civil lawsuit filed last year by Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr., against County Judge Gerald Robinson was postponed just hours before it was scheduled to begin.
Special Circuit Judge Gary Arnold signed the order which was requested by attorneys for both Woods and Robinson, and the members of the Quorum Court from 2022.
According to the order, the attorneys asked for the postponement “due to mediation forthcoming.”
In March of last year, Woods filed the lawsuit alleging that he attended a meeting with Robinson to discuss the 2022 budget for the juvenile detention center but when the 2022 budget was presented to the quorum court, it included a reduction of funds that had not been discussed.
The lawsuit went on to contend that the proposed ordinance reduced the amount of money needed to operate the juvenile detention center by just over $328,000, with the reductions affecting supplies, food, medical needs, as well as personnel.
The lawsuit asked the court to order the county to adequately fund the juvenile detention center immediately and to ensure that the funding remains in place.
