Texas Supreme Court Capitol Complex Austin, Texas June 2, 2011 Dear Court: I was just wondering: Did you guys lose track of the Open Beaches case? Is the file lost? Perhaps you have forgotten, since so much time has elapsed since the motion for rehearing was argued on April 19. (In case you stopped counting, that was 43 days ago. ) This was an important case in which the central issue was whether the public’s easement to use the beaches “rolled” with the configuration of the beach. If you’re a little shorthanded, I’d like to offer my services. I was the author of the legislative report, “Footprints on the Sands of Time,” which you cite as part of the record in the case. I was working for Babe Schwartz at the time (1969), and part of my report was a long discussion of the law–you know, Seaway Co. vs. Attorney General and all those other cases that took the public’s side and you just ignored.  I even mentioned a local case in Galveston that recognized a rolling easement. If it’s all the same to you, I’d appreciate it if you could reach a decision soon. I’m contemplating a trip to Galveston and I’d really like to know if there will be any beach I can use when I get there, or whether Ms. Severance, the plaintiff, is going to have it all fenced off by then. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I keep trying to figure out why you guys can’t make a decision, and I think I know the reason. You planned to wait until the Legislature leaves town so you can screw the public having to worry about any pushback. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? But, hey, the Legislature fixed you, didn’t they? They stayed. Believe me, I can sympathize. I’ve been around ’em for the past 140 days, and I’d like for ’em to leave town too. But just between us, you’ve got nothing to worry about. There’s not enough concern for the public among the lot of them to make a fuss when you rule that the public has no more right to use the beach, as I am willing to bet you will.