Timing really is everything.

We wrote yesterday about the lawsuit filed Wednesday by two ex-Sheriff’s deputies, Louis Guthrie and Marcus Staudt, who are asking a judge in the state District Court to force the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to comply with the Texas Public Information Act. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia has not yet filed a response, and the department has no comment at this point.

One of the plaintiffs, though, will have an additional comment next week.

Guthrie is scheduled to appeal his termination Wednesday before the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Civil Service Commission, which has appointees from the county commissioners court, the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office. Guthrie was fired by the department last year for allegedly abusing his authority during an incident at a Humble car wash in which his wife claimed $17 was stolen from her car, according to a KTRK report.

The recent open records suit was filed just in time to allow Guthrie to let the seven-member panel know that he has a pending lawsuit affecting his case. Maybe even delay it a bit?

“We will point it out to [the] commission,” said attorney John Denholm, who represents Guthrie, but “we are ready to proceed.”

The Houston Chronicle and Houston Press are also reporting on this lawsuit, and there's a lot of conversation about it at the Let the Venting Begin! site for sheriff's office employees.

Contact Steve Miller at 832-303-9420 or stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org.