A judge is considering the “extraordinary” removal of Hays County District Clerk Avrey Anderson, who was accused in court Tuesday of professional incompetence, negligence of official duties and fostering a hostile work environment.

Considering whether to temporarily suspend Anderson as proceedings for his permanent removal from office continue, Hays County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum did not issue a ruling Tuesday that would allow for Anderson’s immediate suspension, but emphasized a sense of urgency to see the situation rectified.

“I want to move on this case,” Meachum said. “I think we have a job to move, whatever side you’re on, and move with some amount of pace here to make sure we sufficiently reach the conclusion to this trial.”

Meachum, who expects an October trial on Anderson’s permanent removal to remain on the docket, said she hopes to issue a ruling on the temporary suspension within the next two weeks.

Anderson, who was elected at age 19 after defeating longtime Republican incumbent Beverly Cowan Crumley in 2022, faces a bevy of complaints over a continuing pattern of negligence in processing various legal filings the office is required to record and disperse.

Specifically, subpoenas have failed to be delivered while other documents have simply gone unaccounted for, Gregg Cox, Hays County first assistant district attorney, testified.

Cox recounted the ebbs and flows of the working relationship with Anderson, both the procedural problems that have been born out of inexperience and Anderson’s seeming unwillingness at times to learn.

“Our prosecutors and our investigators have had to adjust their processes and the timing in which they do things to allow enough time to make sure that the district clerk’s office gets their role performed and that it doesn’t interfere with the case,” Cox told the court, “particularly our investigators when it comes to the processing of subpoenas.”

Jury summons notices were also not being processed for a time, Cox said, leaving defendants, judges and trials without juries.

“We hit a stretch where we didn’t have any juries showing up,” Cox said. “Mr. Anderson did not seem aware that he needed to be doing that.”

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Maximiliano Hernandez, a deputy clerk who would lead the district clerk’s office if Anderson were temporarily suspended, described a tense work environment brought by Anderson’s erratic behavior.

During a lengthy and emotional testimony, Hernandez expressed frustration over Anderson’s approach to leading the office, bursts of profane and threatening language, and an overall absence from the daily work flow.

“It’s frustrating that this is the third time I’ve had to testify about this administration,” Hernandez said. “Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing to have this case filed against our office.”

Testifying at the end of the nearly four-hour hearing, Anderson apologized for comments directed toward employees in the office as well as Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins, saying the outbursts were brought by “extreme frustration.”

“I’m not very emotionally intelligent sometimes, and I don’t want to make anyone feel bad. I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable,” Anderson testified. “And the response about Mr. Higgins was inappropriate. I regret saying that as well.”

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Anderson and Higgins had an early tiff after taking office, as both were elected during the 2022 election cycle. Anderson filed a complaint, which has since been retracted, to remove Higgins from office under a law passed by the Legislature last year to target and remove progressive “rogue prosecutors.”

Meanwhile, Higgins has not protested any calls for Anderson’s removal.

Higgins watched the Tuesday proceeding from the back of the courtroom, quietly laughing when Anderson’s comment in question, in which he said he wished Higgins would be hit by a bus, was being discussed. Higgins declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, but said he was optimistic about a future outcome in the proceeding.

Pretrial status conferences are scheduled in August and September ahead of the trial on Anderson’s permanent removal in October.

“This is a request for extraordinary removal,” Meachum said. “Removing an elected official from office when the voters have elected them is an august power and is something that no one should do lightly.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hays County district clerk may be suspended as removal effort proceeds