REPORTER'S RECORD VOLUME 1 OF 1 VOLUME TRIAL COURT CAUSE NO. D-1-GN-19-004716 REV. RYAN "SASHA" GALLAGHER, IN THE DISTRICT COURT Plaintiff TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS vs. or Ao ew nXne CITY OF AUSTIN, COLLIN COUNTY, STATE OF TEXAS, AND TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, 250TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT 10 ) ) ) ) ) Defendant 1 er) 13 14 DEFENSE MOTION TO DISMISS, MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE 15 16 On the 4th day of December, 2019, the 17 18 19 following proceedings came on to be heard in the above-entitled and numbered cause before the Honorable Maya Guerra Gamble, Judge presiding, held in Austin, 20| Travis County, Texas; 21 ey 23 24 25 Proceedings reported by machine shorthand.10 ll 12 = 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 au 22 23 24 25 APPEARANCES FOR THE PLAINTIFF: (APPEARING PRO SE VIA TELEPHONE) Rev. Ryan "Sasha" Gallagher 1723 Candleglow Castle Rock, Colorado 80109 Mahatmajapa@gmail.com FOR THE DEFENDANT CITY OF AUSTIN: David W. May State Bar No. 24092778 City of Austin, Law Department 301 W. Second Street Bustin, Texas 78701 (512) 974-2342 FOR THE DEFENDANT COLLIN COUNTY: Robert J. Davis State Bar No. 05543500 Law Offices, Matthews, Shiels, Knott, Eden, Davis & Beanland, LLP : 8131 LBJ Freeway, Suite 700 Dallas, Texas 75251 (972) 234-3400or HK ow ew ne 10 11 7 13 14 —- 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 == INDEX DEFENSE MOTION TO DISMISS, MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE Announcements. . Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument by Mr. by Mr. by Mr. by Mr. by Mr. by Mr. December 4, 2019 May... Gallagher............05 Davis. Court Takes Matter Under Advisement.... Adjournment Court Reporter's Certificate........... 14 15 17 19 20 oe 23 Vol. Ree Pe ee eeeeo xr Ae ewne 10 dt a 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 = WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 - AFTERNOON SESSION (The following proceedings were held in open court:) THE COURT: D-1-GN-19-004716, Ryan Gallagher versus -- I have City of Austin, but it sounds like there's more than one defendant. Is that right? MR. GALLAGHER: Yeah, it's the City of Austin, the State of Texas, and Collin County. THE COURT: Okay. If I could have announcements -~ MR. GALLAGHER: (Unintelligible). THE COURT: Wait, wait, I need you to not talk unless I give you an indication that it's your turn. Okay? MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. All right. THE COURT: All right. So what I'm doing now is I'm going to ask you for announcements. And, Mr. Gallagher, you can go first. So tell me who you are. MR. GALLAGHER: My name is Rev. Ryan "Sasha" Gallagher or Rev. Ryan Sasha-Shai van Kush, and I am bringing this case. I'm the plaintiff. THE COURT: All right. MR. DAVIS: Bob Davis here on behalf of Collin County, Your Honor.MR. MAY: And David May on behalf of the City of Austin. THE COURT: Now, Mr. Gallagher, could you hear the two attorneys? MR. GALLAGHER: Yes. THE COURT: All right. And my understanding is -- I'm sorry, tell me your name again. oY OW ew MR. DAVIS: Bob Davis. THE COURT: I was like I know you guys 10] are on here but I don't know. i And, sir. 12 MR. MAY: Oh, David May. Sorry. 13 THE COURT: I'm sorry, I was like I 14| missed my chance. a MR. DAVIS: And for the State is Amy 16| Hilton and she had to go to Harris County, but she did 17| authorize us to represent to the court that the State -- 18 19 20 21 22 23 and actually I show on the docket that he's also sued the Texas Attorney General. THE COURT: Well, I am about to look this up and see. This is the wrong case. Sorry. I typed in the wrong one. 24 also -- but Amy Hilton is also Yes, 25| representing the Attorney General.oI Kn He wne 10 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MR. DAVIS: Correct. And she was unavailable, she had to go to Harris County for a hearing on behalf of the State. But she did ask counsel -- co-counsel to represent to the court she, on behalf of those two defendants, do not oppose transfer, depending on your court's -- depending on Your Honor's determination. THE COURT: Okay. All right. Well, let's start with the City of Austin's motion first. MR. MAY: Sure, Your Honor. I appreciate that. So, Your Honor, we filed our motion, it's under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a, which allows the court to dismiss a baseless cause of action. And the 91a motion is based only on the pleadings. And basically it says if the allegations, even if taken as true, together with the inferences drawn, do not entitle the claimant to the relief sought, then the court can go ahead and dismiss the action. There's also other grounds, if no reasonable person could believe the facts pleaded. In this case, we're proceeding under just the -- that if the allegation is taken as true together with the inferences do not entitle the claimantaoe wne 10 1. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 to the relief sought. So, if I may, Your Honor, I don't -- I have a binder for you. THE COURT: All right. Mr. Gallagher, he's given me a binder that contains your Complaint, their Answer, a proposed order, a copy of the rule, and a case called the City of Dallas vs. Sanchez, 494 S.W.3d 722 from 2016, and that's what he's given me. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. MR, MAY: So, Your Honor, if I could just direct your attention to the Plaintiff's Complaint at 1 there. In looking through this Complaint, the allegations that it appears that Mr. Gallagher is raising in regards to the City of Austin are very few and far between. I tried to highlight every place in there where the City of Austin is mentioned, and it appears that he's mainly complaining about a case that he had filed back in 2016 that was -- that was subsequently removed to the federal court, and then there was judgment in the -- in favor of the Austin Police Department in that case against Mr. Gallagher. And he doesn't -- MR. GALLAGHER: Can I respond? THE COURT: Not yet.or Kh He wKHH 10 11 aa 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 au 22 23 24 — MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. All right. MR. MAY: He doesn't specifically allege any complaints against Austin, against the City of Austin in his Complaint, he just mentions this old suit and sort of what happens in it. If you look on the -- I believe the second page of his Complaint, he talks about in 2015 when he came to Austin that he was arrested and that he was searched and there were items seized. Then he talks -- MR. GALLAGHER: (Unintelligible). THE COURT: You have to wait, you have to wait. I will give you a chance. MR. MAY: Then he talks about in 2016 he was involved in an accident in Austin, it's unclear if there's any claims in there. And then he discusses the Austin case in regards to the federal court. And then he goes into -- he references his Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure Form, which if you look through that on Page 3 there is a reference to Austin, where he talks about he went to Austin, Texas, once again references the case that was eventually decided against him. So there are no -- there are no real complaints against the City of Austin that are new, it appears. And these old complaints are -- they've already been disposed of by a judgment, and I do have aer An oe wne 10 os 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 at 20 21 22 23 24 25 copy of that judgment, as well. It's in your binder at Tab 5, right after the case of City of Dallas v Sanchez, under the blue sheet. And that's the Western District of Texas case, just a finding that his suit did not have merit. So, basically, Your Honor, what we're saying is there's no case here. And just under 91a, even if you take his allegations as true, he hasn't alleged anything that would entitle him to any relief. And so, therefore, we ask that the court dismiss the City of Austin from this matter. And I'll let Mr. Davis inform you sort of the more the background of Mr. Gallagher's sort of litigious nature. MR. GALLAGHER: Can I respond now? THE COURT: Yes. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. So, in that case I filed against the City of Austin, the federal court said -- or not the City of Austin, the Austin police department. And the federal court said it would need to be brought against the City of Austin, not against the Police Department, because they are not a separate entity that can be sued. THE COURT: Can you slow down a little bit, please?er ks 41 es wne 10 rae 12 13 14 ni) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 10 MR. GALLAGHER: Okay, they said that they are not a separate entity that can be sued, the police department themselves. So they said I needed to re-bring it against the City, this case would have to be brought against the City, not against the police department. And that's what this is. And this is also part of a continuum of things with the State of Texas that is not -- like the City of Austin is part of it. And that's why the City of Austin is only mentioned in that regard because that is what they did. And so this case was brought in 2016, where they confiscated over a hundred thousand items from me, took them to a forensics lab for six months. They did arrest me on the scene and then de-arrested because the didn't fine anything illegal. They literally arrested -- or not arrested me, but they took the things on the ground that they did not show up as heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine, so they took everything because they didn't know what it was, kept it for six months and then returned it after that six months And then, when I went to go pick them up from the evidence lab, my license plate had an expired buyers plate on it and the -- the detective, Dan Hill,aw ne or au 10 11 ae 13 14 15 16 a 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1. Sergeant Dan Hill with the Narcotics Investigation Unit, or Narcotics Conspiracy Unit, told me to go pick it up, even though my tags were expired and everything, he told me I needed to go pick it up and I said my stuff is expired. And I had already gone up there one day and I told him that -- THE COURT: Mr. Gallagher, you have to slow down. MR, GALLAGHER: Okay. Sorry. THE COURT: Because, Mr, Gallagher, because my court reporter is trying to write down everything you say. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. All right. THE COURT: So much -- MR. GALLAGHER: I'll try to slow down. THE COURT: so much slower. Much slower. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. And so Sergeant Dan Hill with the Narcotics Conspiracy Unit told me to go to the forensics evidence -- the evidence locker to pick things up, after I had gone to the forensics lab that he told me to go to. And then when I went to the forensics lab -- or to the evidence locker they pulled me over on the way there and gave me a ticket for expired buyers plate. And then, when Iorn we wns 10 il 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 77 20 21 22 23 24 25 attempted to -- THE COURT: Okay. MR. GALLAGHER: -- bring this up in court as an estoppel case, they banned the word "Estoppel" from the courtroom. THE COURT: Okay. So I need to know -- so you need to respond by telling me what you think is in your Complaint against the City of Austin. That's in your Complaint. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. Illegal search and seizure, illegal search and seizure, and religious violations, as well as like failure to -- like access to justice, like with the banning "Estoppel" from the courtroom and not letting me actually bring the case. Like they let me have a hearing and everything, they just didn't want to have the word "Estoppel” in the courtroom, so I wasn't even able to talk about anything. They literally wouldn't let me talk about where I was going, what I was doing when I got the ticket, and who had told me to go there. THE COURT: Okay. All right. MR. GALLAGHER: And so that's all the stuff against the City of Austin. The seizure, just the fact that the seizure is a violation of my religion and that it had no basis, because it was on the ground, itown ew ne 10 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 == 24 25 did not show up as methamphetamine or heroin, and then just giving me the ticket and not letting me bring up that it was estoppel, that I was following the orders of a police officer. THE COURT: Okay. All right. Did you want to respond, Mr. May? MR. MAY: Yes, Your Honor, if I may. Just briefly, when Mr. Gallagher's original suit was filed against the city and it was then removed to the Western District Court, and the things that he is talking about now are, again, what was part of that suit that's already been litigated, and that was I believe he said 2016, so the -- or even though in his petition he says 2015, so I'm not sure which it is, but in any case the Statute of Limitations has ran on that. And -- MR. GALLAGHER: The case ended -- THE COURT: You can't, you can't interrupt. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. MR. MAY: And so -- and once again, 91a is strictly based on the pleadings, and in this case just don't believe that there's anything in the pleadings that shows a cause of action. THE COURT: Okay. All right.er nn es wne 10 1 12 a | 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 77 24 25 Mr. Davis? Did you have -- MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the court. THE COURT: Yes. MR. DAVIS: When Mr. Gallagher says this is continuum, that would be an understatement to say the least. You are the 32nd court which has dealt with Mr. Gallagher's beliefs that smoking marijuana is a core tenet of his religious beliefs. His claims against Collin County arise from a 2010 plea to marijuana possession, he claimed he was a religious refugee and did not report for probation, he absconded to Colorado for five years. When he came back to Texas in 2015, he was arrested and placed in the Collin County jail. He requested for religious reasons to be provided marijuana. That was denied. MR. GALLAGHER: That's wrong. THE COURT: I will give you a chance to xespond, but you have to wait your turn. MR. DAVIS: When he was released he filed suit in district court in Collin County, claiming violations of religious rights for not being provided marijuana in jail. That was dismissed. The district court judge in Collin County said, do not bring these claims against Collin County anymore, and issued theeran oes wne 10 — 12 13 14 1s 16 17 18 19 20 2i 22 23 24 25 sanctions order. He then promptly filed the same claim in federal court. And the federal court dismissed them and sanctioned him and said, do not bring these claims against Collin County again. There are 32 other cases that he's filed against the DEA, the FDA, I actually attached the list to our motion, claiming that his religious rights have been denied by various entities because he should be able to smoke marijuana whenever and wherever he wants. Regarding the motion to transfer venue, in his pleadings he says, This is related to my prior plea and to my prior federal litigation against Collin County. There are no venue facts alleged against Collin County in Travis County. He's basically mixed three or four different independent claims against different governmental entities, he's learned that he can now E-file, and so he now E-files wherever he wants. After this case, he's filed this same case in Dallas County. So next week or the week after I'll be in Dallas County doing probably something similar, if the county is served in that one, I didn't see, the summons had been issued yesterday. But, to cut to the chase on this, we are asking that the case be transferred to Collin County.oI Ae es wn 10 1 — 13 14 15 16 ac 18 19 20 au 22 23 24 25 The State and the Attorney General's Office have agreed that that would be a viable option for them. Depending, of course, on the court's rulings that the City of Austin is dismissed, then the case could cleanly -- the remaining defendants could be sent up to Collin County and then the Collin County court, who has already addressed this issue, can address it in the newly-transferred case. That's the relief we're requesting. THE COURT: And Ms, Hilton gave you permission to -- MR. DAVIS: Yes, Your Honor. THE COURT: To let me know that the State doesn't oppose your motion. MR. DAVIS: Exactly, Your Honor. She put an e-mail, I should have printed it out, but she represented to all counsel to please relay to the court the State and the Texas Attorney General do not oppose, in fact, agree to transfer venue to Collin County. THE COURT: All right. Now, Mr. Gallagher, you can respond to the request, to the request to move this case to Collin County. And again please speak slowly. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. First off, I wantoda Ao ek wne 10 1 eel 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 — 17 to mention that my step-mom is a campaign contributor and a sponsor and listed for the Ken Paxton campaign. So they are tied together. My mom is part of the Ken Paxton campaign and everything. My dad and my step mom are both listed as Collin County Republican Party sponsors, and my dad does a bunch of printing work for the Collin County Republican Party. So these are people that are all very closely tied to my family. And, second, I never requested to be able to use marijuana in jail. It's about my religious text which was denied to me when I was doing work in the jail as a trustee. And the Christians were allowed to bring their bibles but they stopped letting me bring my religious text to my job. But all the Christians were allowed to bring their bibles. So that's what the claim was. It had nothing to do with marijuana in jail. The possession for marijuana stems from the criminal charge that he was talking about that got dismissed whenever I came to texas, State of Texas, and I filed a religious defense, they dismissed the case and forced me out of the jail because I was helping people with their cases as a jailhouse lawyer. And then they like made me leave and then they -- that case was dismissed and it was dismissed claiming that I finished probation when, as he said, I went to the state oforn He wn 10 il = 13 14 15 -_ a. 18 19 20 au 22 23 24 25 Colorado and left, I never finished probation. And so that case needs to be re-disposed because it says I completed probation, that is what that case states if you go look at it. Not you personally, I'm just saying if anybody goes to look at it, that’s what it says. So, I mean, to change it to Collin county would be just a complete conflict of interest and like not -- and like it would be they're the defendant, I don't see how they could be the judge, jury, executioner, and defendant. THE COURT: Okay. So your opposition is that you think there is a conflict of interest. MR. GALLAGHER: Not just a conflict of interest but like my family is -- that it's like they're asking my dad to like and his friends to do the -- like, I mean, that's not okay. THE COURT: Okay. All right. Anything else, Mr. Davis? MR, DAVIS: As we've cited in the motion, venue is mandatory against Collin County in the county, I've cited the appropriate sections of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, it's 15.005, There are no operative facts, nothing involving Collin County happened here. His complaints against Collin County all happened in Collin County.oar AFH sewn 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ae 23 24 25 19 The County, as Mr. Gallagher may or may not know, is separate and distinct from the State and from Attorney General Paxton. They are not related. The fact that his father may be a political donor is completely irrelevant to venue. So based on -- MR. GALLAGHER: (Unintelligible.) THE COURT: Don't interrupt. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. MR. DAVIS: Based on the law, and I think what we have now are undisputed facts, we would respectfully request that the case be transferred to Collin County. THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Gallagher, what is -- hang on. MR. GALLAGHER: Do I have a motion for discovery in my claim? THE COURT: You do not have a motion on file today. Do you have an e-mail address? MR. GALLAGHER: It is on file, actually. The clerk told me it was filed. Yes, I do have an e-mail address. It's mahatmajapa@gmail.com. THE COURT: Can you slowly spell thater hve ew ne 10 11 12 = 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 = 22 23 24 25 for me, please? MR. GALLAGHER: M-a-h-a-t-m-a-j-a-p-a, @gmail.com. The Great Spirit of Prayer. THE COURT: Okay. And the reason I ask for your e-mail is because I'm going to take this under advisement and I will issue orders and I will e-mail them to you. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. THE COURT: All right? You may have a motion on file, but it is not set for hearing today. MR. GALLAGHER: Oh, okay. All right. THE COURT: Okay? MR. GALLAGHER: So there is a motion of discovery on file for this, though? THE COURT: I don't know. I'm only looking at what is set for me. What I said was you may have one on file. I don't know. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay, All right. I'm pretty sure I do. I talked to the clerk this morning. THE COURT: Okay. Just so you know, the lawyers here are giving me proposed orders. I will read through the briefs and make my decision and then notify you, all of you, by e-mail. I'm going to ask you, please, do notoI VN oe wn 10 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 = rr 23 24 25 respond to the e-mail. It is -- MR, GALLAGHER: All right. THE COUR -- improper, it is improper to respond to the e-mail you receive from my office. So please do not do so. Okay? MR. GALLAGHER: All right. THE COURT: If you disagree with -- if you disagree with the ruling I make, you have to address that through proper court filings. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. THE COURT: Okay? MR. GALLAGHER: All right. And could I get a copy of this transcript and how do I do that? THE COURT: That's fine, I will send you a copy of the transcript. MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. All right. To the e-mail? THE COURT: To the e-mail, yes, sir. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. Thank you. THE COURT: You have a good day. This concludes the hearing. I'm going to hang up the phone. MR. GALLAGHER: All right. Thank you. THE COURT: Thank you.Oo Ge 10 11 12 tie 14 15 16 17 18 oe) 20 21 22 23 24 25 22 (End of proceedings.)Sod Oe 10 pil ae 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 al 22 ee) 24 25 23 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE THE STATE OF TEXAS ) COUNTY OF TRAVIS) I, Alicia DuBois, Official Court Reporter in and for the 459th District Court of Travis County, State of Texas, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing contains a true and correct transcription of all portions of evidence and other proceedings requested in writing by counsel for the parties to be included in this volume of the Reporter's Record, in the above-styled and numbered cause, all of which occurred in open court or in chambers and were reported by me. I further certify that this Reporter's Record of the Proceedings truly and correctly reflects the exhibits, if any, offered in evidence by the respective parties. WITNESS MY OFFICIAL HAND this, the Sth day of December, 2019. ‘s/ Alicia DuBois Rlicia DuBois, CSR Texas CSR 5332 Exp. Date: 1/31/2022 Official Court Reporter 459th District Court Travis County, Texas P.O. Box 1748 Bustin, Texas 78767 (512) 854-9301