Forney City Council calls special meeting to discuss city attorney appointment following her recent arrest for DWI

in Forney
Mathew Richards
May 19, 2023

FORNEY, Texas — The Forney City Council has called a special meeting to discuss the city attorney appointment following her recent arrest for driving while intoxicated.

City of Forney's City Attorney and Chief Prosecutor Jennifer "Jenni" Barnes Smith was arrested May 17, 2023, and charged with driving while intoxicated in Rockwall County, according to court records obtained by inForney.com.

According to the City of Forney's agenda posted today, the Forney City Council has called a special meeting for 6 p.m. on Monday, May 22, 2023.

The agenda's sole item for consideration is an executive session item to "deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, disciple, or dismissal of a public officer or employee," namely the City Attorney.

Smith was booked into the Rockwall County Jail on May 17, 2023, on the charge of driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of greater than or equal to 0.15. The legal BAC limit in Texas is 0.08.

Smith posted bail on a $1,000 bond and was released from the Rockwall County Jail on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

Court records also indicate Smith was arrested earlier this year, on March 12, 2023, by the Fate Police Department and charged with public intoxication. She was released the same day on that charge on a personal recognizance bond.

Smith was first appointed as the interim city manager for the City of Forney on December 13, 2021. She was later unanimously appointed to retain the permanent role as the city's attorney and chief prosecutor on April 5, 2022.

We'll have more on this story following Monday's meeting, should any public action be taken.