The Washington State Conservation Commission used the wrong law to remove two farmers from the Thurston Conservation District board, though it doesn’t matter, according to a court decision Tuesday.

The commission improperly tried Eric Johnson and Richard Mankamyer under improvised procedures, the Court of Appeals Division II ruled.

Nevertheless, the two men still got a fair hearing before being found guilty of neglect of duty and malfeasance in 2019, the three-judge panel said. They are not entitled to financial compensation, the court ruled. 

Johnson, a dairy farmer, said Tuesday he still believes the hearing was too informal, allowing witnesses to offer hearsay testimony and make unsubstantiated claims.

“We were hurt,” he said. “Our reputations were hurt.”

Johnson and Mankamyer were brought up before the state commission on 11 accusations alleging they were hampering the conservation district’s operations and harassing staff members.

Johnson and Mankamyer denied the allegations and attributed them to a clash with the staff and two other supervisors over the district’s direction.

The commission rejected Johnson and Mankamyer’s request to be tried under rules set out in the state’s Administrative Procedure Act. Their lawyer said APA proceedings would allow the defendants to subpoena witnesses and records.

Instead, the commission held a one-day hearing under the state’s Open Public Meetings Act and found Johnson and Mankamyer guilty on four charges.

The appeals court ruled that the commission’s only legal choice was following the APA.

Still, the hearing format wasn’t unfair to Johnson and Mankamyer, according to the court. They had a lawyer, and there were witnesses and exhibits, the court said.

Making the conservation commission redo the trial would be pointless because Johnson and Mankamyer’s terms have expired anyway, the court ruled.

Johnson and Mankamyer were not seeking a new trial, but they were seeking attorney fees and costs.

The conservation commission was reviewing the ruling and had no comment Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman.

The decision affirmed that the conservation commission created an ad hoc process to prosecute Johnson and Mankamyer, their lawyer, Shawn Newman, said in an email.

“While I am disappointed the court of appeals did not award attorneys fees, the court did confirm our contention that the state conservation commission violated the law,” he said.

Johnson was an appointed supervisor, while Mankamyer was elected. The court rejected the argument that removing Mankamyer violated the state constitution’s procedure for recalling elected officials.