TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – Smith County District Clerk Penny Clarkston was arrested for contempt of court for not handing over information related to a high profile case.
Court documents allege that the district clerk was given several chances over the last two months to hand over information to the district court pertaining to the William Davis capital murder case.
Lawsuit alleges Winnsboro ISD ignored bullying for years, retaliated against family Davis was found guilty and sentenced to death in October 2021 after accusations that he intentionally blew air in the arterial lines of patients at a local hospital where four patients were killed and several injured.
The case has recently reentered the spotlight amid accusations that Davis’ defense team was harassing jurors in April.
On May 20, the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs wrote to Judge Reeve Jackson of the 114th District Court, requesting information regarding their jury summons process. It requested information as to the method used to randomly select prospective jurors in 2021. It also asked for statistical information on prospective jurors summoned between July 26-28, 2021 as well as how many summons were sent, how many were returned, disqualified or excused in those days. The agency specified that they were not requesting information about particular jurors, only information on the processes, statistical and demographic information.
According to a document filed by Reeve Jackson, Clarkston was aware of the agency’s request the same day it was sent, however almost 60 days later, her office had still not sent the documents. On July 17, Reeve Jackson issued an “Order to Produce Information” to Clarkston, setting a July 22 deadline for her to comply.
In addition to the requested jury statistic information, Jackson asked for a sworn affidavit explaining Clarkston’s delay on providing the information. Alternatively, she could provide a sworn affidavit explaining the steps she took to attempt to find the information and why she was unable to produce the request.
Smith County Clerk found guilty of interfering in traffic stop, son’s arrest His order warned that refusal to comply could result in her being held in contempt and subject to a fine of up to $500 or up to six months in jail. It was filed with the court on July 17.
On July 24, Clarkston filed a sworn affidavit that was dated two days prior, explaining the process of getting the information from all involved parties and stating that she had fulfilled the response from the state agency. She said she forwarded the information to the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs at 4:17 p.m. and mailed a flash drive containing an additional 716 documents at 4:50 p.m. to the agency.
When the court still had not received the information on July 23, Reeve Jackson issued a notice of allegations of contempt, an order setting a hearing and an order to appear in court on July 25. The document specified that the sheriff of Smith County would personally serve Clarkston with a copy of the order.
“As a result of her refusal to comply with the Court’s order both the Court and the litigants in this matter are unable to move forward with their responsibilities related to the case and, further, risk being unable to comply with the orders of the Court of Criminal Appeals,” the document states.
On July 25 in Reeve Jackson’s court, Clarkston was arrested for civil contempt of court. After being initially processed in the Smith County Jail, she was taken to the Gregg County Jail due to her status as a Smith County employee. She was released the same day, per court order.
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