Attorney representing former Bowie administrator plans to file charges against TEA attorney

An attorney for the Texas Education Agency could be facing assault charges after an altercation Tuesday morning during a break in the ongoing hearing involving three former Bowie High School administrators.

Tony Conners, attorney for former Bowie Assistant Principal Juan Manuel Duran, asked that sheriff’s deputies be called to the County Criminal Court at Law 2 courtroom on the 7th floor of the El Paso County Courthouse.

Conners told ABC-7 he wanted to file charges because “Stuart Baggish, attorney with the Texas Education Agency aggressively bumped into me.”

Prior to the incident, Conners had raised questions about emails a witness was testifying about. The witness in question, TEA employee Monica Martinez ,testified remotely via teleconference. She was being cross-examined by Baggish and the TEA.

Conners was upset he was not provided copies of the emails. Baggish said the emails were covered under attorney-client privilege.

The visiting administrative law judges had moved off the record and into a brief break to discuss the emails when the confrontation allegedly happened.

“Rookie mistake,” Conners said.

“What did you say?” Baggish asked.

“Rookie mistake,” Conners said.

When deputies arrived, they spoke with Conners and others in the hall outside the courtroom at the time the incident happened.

Baggish declined to comment when asked by ABC-7 for his version of events.

Duran, along with former Bowie Principal Jesus Chavez, and former Assistant Principal Anna Louisa Kell are being investigated by the TEA for their parts in the grade-level and course credit scandal at Bowie.

They are not facing charges, but could lose their teaching licenses and related professional certifications as a result.