I have filed motion for a writ of mandamus against the commissioners court based on an A.G.'s opinion, Jc 0603. I have a hearing set for emergency relief next week. I am looking for ideas or representation with no funds. Thanks.

Assuming the hiring freeze you're concerned with deals with previously-budgeted positions, you may be able to successfully invoke the reasoning of Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. GA-0081 (2003), issued day before yesterday. The opinion concludes that, once a commissioners court creates a position in a county office, it cedes authority over that position to the official who will make the appointment to fill the position for the remainder of the budget year.

A procedural note may be useful to you, if you plan to pursue the matter yourself. Having been on the business end of mandamus suits, the mistake I see most commonly is cluttering them up with Declartory Judgments Act claims and other ancillary matters that open the door to extended discovery and satellite litigation. From my perspective, what you want to do is get in the courtroom and get a ruling as quickly as possible on a simple mandamus claim. Unless the commissioners court is forced to act quickly (for instance, by vacating their freeze order), they will not, the budget year will expire and the matter will become moot. Of course, it may all be academic at the end of the budget year, when the commissioners court issues the "writ of man-damnit" and simply erases the position at issue. Good luck.