The resignation letter that J. Marcus Hill turned in to his boss, Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, lacks a couple of things –- a date for one thing, and an official time stamp for another.

But the office swears it’s legit, and that it in no way, shape or form came because of Texas Watchdog’s sleuthing and pursuant story. (Click on the image at left, or click here, to see a PDF of the letter.)

“I delivered it to Vince on Oct. 2, and I’m clear on that date because Vince had the flu and I took it by his house,” said Special Counsel Terry O’Rourke, who will replace Hill on Nov. 4 as first assistant in the office, its second-in-command.

Texas Watchdog started asking questions about Hill and reviewing court documents pertaining to his work in mid-September.

O'Rourke's comment comes on the heels of a column last week by the Chronicle’s Rick Casey and our response. The county attorney's office has further attempted to explain itself in the wake of the story via a posting on the office's home page, in an online Q&A conducted with Hill by office spokeswoman Ella Tyler.

The flap began with an ethics statement passed in June by the Harris County Commissioners Court. Among the provisions is a mandate that county employees "... will not represent others before any county courts or decision-making bodies."

Hill -- and this is perfectly legal in Texas -- represented others before Harris County decision-making bodies as part of his sole proprietorship law firm, Hill & Hill.

O’Rourke told Texas Watchdog today that the ethics statement not yet been legally implemented by the county attorney’s office -- and will not likely be.

“Our duty as county attorney -- together with the group, the ethics panel, the district attorney’s office, and so on -- is to authentically convey between now and Thanksgiving what the real rules are,” he said.

Ethics provisions, codes and statements, including the June statement, have the right intent but are not binding at this point. Instead of relying on a statement, O'Rourke said, the notion must begin with state law.

He added that “every independent office holder has the right” to dictate ethical and moral standards for his or her office.

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