What is the county's liability as well as other commisioner's liability when 1 precincts roads are in disrepair and possibly unusable and roads in the other 3 precincts are maintained well (ie. 1 commissioner is not doing his job and the constituents in his county are ready to string him up)?

In the event of an accident on a county road where it can be argued that the county did not adequately maintain the roadway, the county may face liability. This presumes a plaintiff's attorney who knows how to work with Tort Claims, government law, and all that. (Once in a while you get lucky and win one of those due to bad pleadings) The fact that one commissioner out of four may not be managing the roads in his precinct in the manner his constituents would prefer, or in the manner that the others would prefer is not something you - or they - can control. He was elected to do the job as he saw fit; presumably he is doing so. From what you described, I doubt that any lawsuit arising out of an accident would reach him personally.

That said, and presuming that the situation in his precinct is getting pretty bad, it would seem to me that it you need to start being on the defensive. For instance, if your commissioners talk about a resolution condemning their colleague, remind them how that is going to look to a jury in a lawsuit! Do nothing, and encourage them to do nothing, that would add the appearance that the county both knows of and condones the commissioner's failures.

Good luck!

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

It's sort of the nuclear option, but if the slothful commissioner insists on remaining that way, you might also remind him/her that "intentional or corrupt failure, refusal or neglect to perform a legal duty" constitutes official misconduct -- the start of the ride to the unemployment line if an unindicted citizen of the county gets mad enough to swear to it.