Jun. 11—CARTHAGE, Mo. — Newton County Circuit Judge Kevin Selby is the fifth judge assigned to hear motions in a case filed by Carthage Mayor Dan Rife, who has moved to stop the Carthage City Council’s efforts to impeach him.
Selby was assigned to the case by the Missouri Supreme Court.
And the case is changing as well.
A filing to amend pleadings by Rife’s attorney, Christopher Thornton, said the request for a temporary restraining order is now moot because that order was granted by Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane and the council was forced to abandon its plan to hold an impeachment hearing June 5.
According to the filing, Rife is now seeking a declaratory judgment from the court that Rife’s May 28 veto of a city ordinance passed by the council including the bill of impeachment, or charges against Rife, has not been overridden by the council and remains in force.
During a June 1 special meeting, the council voted 7-2 to override the mayor’s veto of the bill of impeachment, but Thornton said the council should have acted to override the veto on the day Rife issued it and that June 1 was too late to override.
That earlier meeting was called on May 31 immediately after Rife first filed his motion for the temporary restraining order to block the scheduled June 5 impeachment hearing.
The appointment of Selby to hear the case is the latest in a series of actions and counteractions taken since April 9, when five new council members were sworn in and they immediately started trying to restructure city administration by attempting to fire then-City Administrator Greg Dagnan and approving a no-confidence vote against Rife.
No new hearings had been scheduled on the matter as of the end of the business day Tuesday.
The council was attempting to move quickly on the impeachment because the attorney they hired to prosecute Rife, Paul Martin, is supposed to leave for a vacation Thursday and is not scheduled to return until July 8.
Jasper County Circuit Judge David Mouton earlier had recused himself from the case, passing it to Crane, who granted the restraining order, but Martin asked for a new judge June 4.
That request was granted, and the case was passed to Jasper County Circuit Judge Dean Dankelson, who recused himself and sent the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, who appointed Nichols on Thursday.
Rife and Thornton then filed for a change of judge.
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