Fort Bend County Divides Over Legal Power | Texas News

Texas News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 28, 2026 · 1m

Fort Bend County just voted to birth a new civil legal department — a move that guts resources from elected County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson’s office, sparking accusations of political payback. With a 3-0 vote (two Republicans and interim Judge Daniel Wong) and two Democrats absent, the commissioners claim they need a separate unit to handle transactional work like contract reviews — but critics warn it’ll turn county lawyers into rubber stamps for the majority. Smith-Lawson calls it “blatant political retribution,” while the move deepens a legal feud over Wong’s legitimacy as interim…