Tovar v. State

OPINION

STONE, Justice.

In this appeal we are asked to determine whether conviction of a government official under the Texas Open Meetings Act for calling or participating in a closed meeting not permitted under the Act requires the fact finder to first determine that the official knew the closed meeting was impermissible. We hold that under the plain language of the Open Meetings Act, a government official can be found guilty of violating the Act by calling or participating in an impermissible closed meeting, even when the official is unaware of the illegality of the meeting.

Joe Tovar, the…