Texas State placed District Judge Tanner Neidhardt, an adjunct professor in the School of Criminal Justice, on administrative leave following an alleged violation of state election laws.
Neidhardt sent an email to his students asking for their vote using his Texas State email address on Oct. 21.
Tyler Key, an attorney at the Key Law Office, the same firm where Neidhardt’s Democratic challenger Alicia Key works, emailed The Star documents related to Neidhardt’s violation.
On Oct. 21, the first day of early voting, Neidhardt sent an email to students saying class was canceled, and they could use the day to vote.
“I ask for your vote so I may remain judge of our county here,” Neidhardt wrote in the email. “… I hope you have the confidence to vote for me.”
Neidhardt’s email came after an Oct. 7 email to faculty and staff from Nelly Herrera, vice chancellor and general counsel of the Texas State University System, reminding them of the Texas Government Code on elections. The code states “a state officer or employee may not use official authority or influence or permit the use of a program administered by the state agency of which the person is an officer or employee to interfere with or affect the result of an election or nomination of a candidate or to achieve any other political purpose.”
After discovering the violation, Alicia hired attorney Chevo Pastrano to write a letter to Texas State President Kelly Damphousse detailing the situation and asking for action against Neidhardt. The requested actions included terminating Neidhardt’s privileges as an adjunct professor, suspending his Texas State University System email accounts and IT access and implementing remedial measures to address the impact of the violation. Pastrano also suggested the university send a mass email to students, faculty and staff, informing them of Neidhardt’s termination and the suspension of his privileges.
Pastrano also filed a criminal complaint against Neidhardt with the Texas State University Police Department and the Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
“We have received a formal complaint regarding this matter. It would be inappropriate to comment at this time,” Gregg Cox, first assistant district attorney wrote in a statement to The Star.
Neidhardt confirmed Texas State placed him on administrative leave following Pastrano’s letter. It is unclear if any other action has been taken against Neidhardt.
“I was put on leave last night, 10/26, less than 24 [hours] after my opponent asked the university to reverse their ‘final’ decision,” Neidhardt wrote in a statement to The Star.
According to Neidhardt’s statement, the university originally told him he could continue to teach students as long as he did not send out anymore emails. Neidhardt said he complied with Texas State’s requirements, but was placed on leave anyway.
According to Pastrano, neither he nor Alicia will ask Texas State to take further action against Neidhardt.
“We think that the university is taking the appropriate steps in order to prevent further violations of law, which was our main concern,” Pastrano said.
Neidhardt had been teaching the Courts and Criminal Procedure class (CJ 2350) this semester, but Monday, Oct. 28, marked his final day as the professor of the course. Jeff Bumgarner took over as the professor for Neidhardt’s CJ 2350 class.
Emma Oertling, criminal justice junior, said Neidhardt announced to the class that Monday, Oct. 28, would be his last day of teaching.
“He came in and just kind of was like, ‘Hey, this is going to be my last class with you guys. I’m so sorry about it. I just found out not that long ago,’ and then we didn’t talk about it because we had a guest speaker… but he did say it was because of an email he sent,” Oertling said.
Some of Neidhardt’s students have spoken out about him being placed on leave.
“I understand there may have been a violation of Texas State University rules concerning the use of a university email address,” Salena Vare, a criminal justice junior, wrote. “Nonetheless, the level of action taken against Professor Neidhardt is unjust.”
According to Vare, Neidhardt made it clear he would not give preferential treatment to students based on who they voted for, or any campaigns they worked for.
For Jason Arellano, business agriculture senior who was also in CJ 2350, Neidhardt was one of his favorite professors in college.
“I didn’t actually know he was up for reelection, he never brought it up [in class],” Arellano said. “…But now it’s sad because it feels like the university is pushing him out the door.”
It is unclear if Neidhardt’s status as an adjunct professor will be reinstated. It is also unclear if Neidhardt will face any criminal charges.
This is a developing story. The University Star will provide updates as they become available.
