County election officials around the state are already reporting getting a bunch of requests, some of which appear to be part of a coordinated effort. Generally, lawyers won't have much free time if they're on a busy deal or busy case and will sacrifice many weekends and evenings during those times, but there will also be times (entire weeks or months) where there are no busy deals or cases--times when you get out of the office in the mid-afternoon or have long. See here for the background. As the motion filed today argues, this provision violates the First Amendment and undermines election officials and election workers ability to perform their duties. Lawyers for the GOP argue the county is ignoring state election laws and breaking the mandatory chain of custody for ballots. Handling of the voted ballots themselves opens up the possibility of accidental or intentional damage or misplacement that could call into question the election after the fact.. They couldnt hold out forever theres a lot of pressure to make I-45 renovation and expansion happen and no one gets everything they want in a negotiation. The Supreme Court is occasionally solicitous of the First Amendment, if it approves of the speech in question, so who knows what they might do. Instead, Hidalgo said, the comptroller should have calculated on the basis of pay periods rather than the number of months. One thing thats clear from the high % of mail ballot app rejections weve seen is officials should be empowered to explain the process and encourage folks to vote by mail. Youre immunocompromised and you want to vote by mail or from your car because youre afraid of a deadly disease? My office will be involved in the case every step of the way to ensure peoples votes are protected.. Letters have a maximum word . (S or C-Corps), Articles Random fact: In 2020, Democrat Jane Robinson lost her race for Chief Justice of the 14th Court of Appeals by 1,191 votes out over over 2.3 million cast, a margin of 0.06 percent of the vote. This practice group provides general legal services covering law enforcement, public works, community services, road and building construction, park site planning and development, vendor selection and contract development, agreement preparation for design and engineering services, real property transactions, inter-local agreements with other governmental jurisdictions, Public Information Act requirements, open meetings requirements, and the application of state and federal laws and regulations related to HIV/AIDS programs, the medical examiner, parks and library operations, disaster planning, and emergency management services. of Directors, Bylaws I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. Its your own damn fault you didnt vote! My question for you all, is this pretty much done deal that I'm getting fined and going to jail? Regarding the temporary restraining order request getting rejected, Kevin Pennell the plaintiffs lawyer said in an email Friday he had no comment. . CIA plans to hold a fundraiser, hopefully on Feb 19. View New York Release of Lien of Estate Tax, View Application for Name Reservation - West Virginia, View Arkansas Registration of Foreign Corporation, View Colorado Foreign Judgment Enrollment. That would not be a cheap race as things stand now, as you can see. packages, Easy Order The remedy for having to vote late because of voting location problems is to extend voting hours to accommodate those that were affected. Texas Supreme Court justices questioned during oral argument if they should answer certified questions from a federal appeals court about challenges to an election law that created penalties for soliciting voters to use mail-in ballots. Note that Paxton had previously tried to indict Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir on similarly flimsy charges in 2020, but a grand jury in Williamson County again, not where the alleged crime took place declined to indict. Kyle Scott is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. I dont know when we as a society will act to protect people from gun violence, but we cannot act quickly enough. No results found. Cagle 64,225 186,970 0 5,056 Greg Abbott recommended keeping the current waiting period. That link takes you here, and while the in-person fundraiser mentioned there is now over, the Donate link remains. The Environmental Practice Group enforces environmental laws and related County development regulations. Alexander Mealer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. To vote by mail in the primary, Texas voters must request mail ballot applications between January 1, 2022, and February 18, 2022. Garcia, A 175,027 340,089 0 291,697 https://mailchi.mp/3860a20fae8b/we-need-your-help?e=cf7bb2b770&fbclid=IwAR3bf6Pdu4mhPHiTnPDtpzT361sMx5VyDAxSnUXy7qM7EbTLGfZabSUiT4w, Clubs in Action PAC (@CIAHTX) 8:32 PM 27 February 2023. Forms, Small Steve Radack. It doesnt make any sense outside of, obviously, cynical partisanship and these targeted actions against Harris County, the most diverse county in the state Mirza said. I am a bot whose sole purpose is to improve the timeliness and accuracy of responses in this subreddit. Its just one page long, and the gist of it is this: In this mandamus proceeding, which challenges Harris County election officials processing of the later cast votes, we grant the following temporary relief under Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.10(b): The petition for writ of mandamus remains pending before this Court. . Joe Danna, Sheriff Despite the GOPs criticism, at least 40 Republican judges are choosing to participate in the countys plan. The state is expected to quickly appeal the ruling. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg during a press conference Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Houston. And of course there can always be election contests. I'm only ever in the county my college is in for school alone. The Harris County Attorney's Office fights for the interests of Harris County through the civil justice system to preserve access to clean air and water; ensure safe, healthy neighborhoods; protect consumers against fraud, exploitation, and other bad acts; and defend voting rights. Adding sidewalks and bike amenities to areas where TxDOThas committed to trying to reduce the number of properties it will take. Texas has a primary election on March 1, 2022. Even in the case of the loser who lost to DaSean Jones by 449 votes, its extremely hard to imagine there could have been enough people who encountered problems and could not vote anywhere else and would have voted for the loser to make a difference. Last time around, Hegar folded like a cheap suit after Harris County took the matter to court. Former officer Gerald Goines led a raid on the home, which police believed to. How much does a District Attorney make? As the story notes, Bell County had similar issues with some polling locations and also got a court order allowing locations to remain open until 8 PM, which the AGs office has not opposed. From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: @TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges., Austin Statesman (@statesman) 9:30 AM 6 February 2022. The bondsmen would also have to report how the premium was paid and who paid it. Service, Contact Forms, Independent We worked hard to make this happen. The citys press release is here. A week is a lifetime in politics and this can radically change, but if the governor wasnt hurt by what happened with the electric grid and the winter storm in February and for the most part, he seems to have not been hurt by it its probably the same kind of calculations here when it comes to the masking order and mandatory versus voluntary vaccinations, Taylor said. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Judge Peeples was the jurist who ruled that the abortion bounty hunter law SB8 violated the state constitution last December, though he did not issue a statewide injunction against it. And for all of the fuss, final results were posted at 1:26 AM, which seems pretty damn reasonable to me. So Paxton, ever the coward, convened a grand jury in Montgomery County not Harris, where this alleged crime took place, but the very friendly confines of Montgomery County and presented his case. Civil Ad Litem . Mark Goldberg Assistant District Attorney | Harris County District Attorney's Office. I will pass along information about the fundraiser when I have it. The only reason we know any of this is because Paxton put out a whiny press release complaining about his inability to get a Montgomery County grand jury to give him what he wanted. A judgerejecteda second attempt by a bail bondingbusiness to put an end to a Harris County rule requiring defendants accused of violent offenses to pay aminimum 10 percent feeto secure their release from jail, officials said Monday. ; and. UPDATE: Later in the day I found this Statesman story, which added a few details. Matthew Dexter is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Lets see what happens in May. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. My office is going to do everything we can to protect every single vote that was cast. Privacy | Disclaimer | I dont know why the change of court and I dont know if the second hearing was delayed or if it just took that long for a ruling, but here we are. Divorce, Separation The litigation exception typically is upheld by courts, so McIngvales lawsuit is unlikely to produce the requested records, he said. We have never agreed that these ballots can be part of the final election results, and this afternoon were going to ask that the Texas Supreme Court rule that these late-cast votes should be excluded as Texas law requires.. I would quibble with the assertion that Abbott took swift action as you know, Ive been marveling at how long it took him to respond. I would be very interested in meeting with you to discuss this matter further, and I would appreciate any advice or guidance you can provide. Still, others have been pleasantly surprised when what was once an existential threat is transformed into a manageable inconvenience. See here for the background. The difference in visions has dogged the project for more than two years, but progress on remaking the freeway hit two large potholes in March 2021, after critics of the widening convinced some local officials to step in andfederal highway officials paused work. Spanish, Localized Name Change, Buy/Sell Following a testy three-hour hearing earlier in the day, Federal District Judge Xavier Rodriguez temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the rule against Harris Countys election administrator until the rest of a lawsuit plays out. 2023-00958; Rory Olsen v. Judge Jason Cox. On the one hand, I have faith that local political leaders who have been vocal in their opposition to TxDOTs previous plans have done their best to get as good a deal as they can. Maybe you illegally downloaded a movie or song. Menefee said Paxtons opinion directly contradicts a separate opinion his office issued last month, as well as an opinion issued by the AGs office more than 30 years ago, which both concluded that ballots are confidential for 22 months following an election. All public case information is still available to everyone, once they login, and can be viewed FREE of charge. On rebuttal, Pettit argued that sanctionable solicitation is not limited to criminal inducement. That short fiscal year has made it difficult to make year-to-year funding comparisons, and has resulted in the county and the comptrollers office using different methods to analyze whether the constables funding has increased or decreased. The bottleneck of design differences that has divided officials about remaking Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston is easing, officials said Monday, clearing the way for construction on the $10 billion project, perhaps in less than two years. The amended complaint was filed on Monday, December 27. Longoria has planned to engage in speeches and hold voter-outreach events but has been unable to do so for fear of criminal prosecution and civil penalties, said Tuesdays filing, adding that Longoria also halted plans to promote mail-in voting with fliers and on social media. This website often will provide the arresting agency . Menefee. The stay and pause, officials said, would give an opening to officials to work out details of the planned freeway widening without backing off their opposition to what TxDOT is proposing. Trust, Living I doubt theres an agreement that satisfies everyone, but there are definitely options that do a better job of minimizing harm and promoting equity. In a statement Tuesday, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefees office said: The requests for these documents were handled the same as any other requests for documents related to ongoing litigation against the county. Under S.B. Filing this suit, in the same manner as several other jurisdictions, was I think a straightforward choice. They said that it took President Joe Biden a fellow Democrat winning the White House for federal regulators to put pressure on this issue in the conservative Lone Star State. Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel indicated there could be more election contests to come. Judge Jackson is represented by John Raley. Its just illogical to me, and this is a part of the story that nobody talks about.. Rodney Ellis, County Commissioner, Precinct 1 During a Wednesday hearing before the court, the foremost issue that appeared to concern the justices was whether they should provide an advisory opinion to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at all. NEW I, along with @LinaHidalgoTX and @LongoriaTx, requested that the DOJ do everything in its power to ensure that despite the impacts of SB1 and the high percentage of mail ballot rejections, every eligible voter has their vote counted in our elections in Harris County. There is no justification for denying the public information about a controversy just because it involves litigation, Aleshire said. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee's Statement on Supreme Court Nomination February 22, 2022 Harris County Attorney Menefee Responds to Governor Abbott's and General Paxton's New Policy Banning Healthcare For Transgender Children February 17, 2022 Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Statement on Fifth Circuit Ruling While most criminal cases are handled in state courts rather than in federal courts, the types of criminal cases prosecuted by the United States Attorneys Office include white collar fraud, Medicare fraud, drug trafficking, tax evasion, and immigration crimes. However, he is leading by 449 votes, so if you threw out all of the E-Day provisionals, he would still be ahead by 89 votes in his race. Not to my knowledge. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM 17 February 2022. Im extremely doubtful that there is a legitimate legal challenge here, Stein said. The remedy, if they somehow win on these laughable claims, would be to redo the entire damn election. The other challenge is regarding State Representative District 135, which will be heard in the State House of Representatives. The Texas Transportation Commission kept I-45 in its funding plans a few months ago, and some design work was allowed to continue, but now theres another federal complaint filed against the project by various opponents. If not, well take the ones off that are not, and then they update their records.. Judges cant take pro bono help to defend selves. . But we dont plan to let him abuse his power. See here for the background. Taylor alleged 80 percent of polling places with paper shortages on Nov. 8 were in areas considered Republican strongholds. The judge in the Lunceford contest was assigned on December 13, I dont know what has happened since then. Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday voted to sueTexas Comptroller GlennHegars office in response to hiscomments accusing the countyof defunding law enforcement. With a new election administrator about to come on board, we can revisit the matter and see if theres a consensus to be had. The amount of evidence theyd need to provide to come close to justifying such an ask, I cant even begin to comprehend. Menu The lawsuit, filed just hours before polls closed on Election Day, could have caused serious delays in counting ballots on May 24 had the Texas Supreme Court agreed with the Harris County GOP that the plan was unlawful. At the same time, party leaders are threatening GOP state lawmakers who control the Texas Legislature with increased sanctions if they dont support the platform, including potentially spending tens of thousands of dollars directly to oppose them in future primaries. Letter from the US Attorneys Office? Were evaluating the lawsuit and will let the courts sort it out.. Second, the lawyer will start identifying their objectives and lining up what evidence theyll need to win their case. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on the court, voted against the measure. There is no valid justification for such a one-sided restriction on speech.. To put it another way, good luck proving intent. Feb. 18 is the last day for counties to receive applications for mail-in ballots for the March 1 primary. Hegar said in a statement that the county will be barred from increasing property tax collections plus revenue from properties added to the tax roll last year until it resolves the discrepancy. In fact, when something controversial enough happens to be the subject of a lawsuit, that is exactly when the public most needs to know what the record shows. The Harris County Elections Administrators office debuted the plan in the May 7 election deputizing law enforcement officials and full-time county staffers to deliver ballots from the polling location to the countys central counting station. We want a project that does not displace, and we know that wide freeways do not relieve traffic, the group said. Ignoring the letter forces the opposing partys lawyer to do one thing recommend that his or her client proceed to Court. If I read this literally as a layman, I think Im required to provide ballots the day after an election before the results have even been canvassed, said Chris Davis, elections director in Williamson County, who said such a release would make it impossible for counties to confidently conduct recounts that would stand up to legal scrutiny. While Ingram was on the stand, Rodriguez presented him with hypothetical interactions between Longoria and voters, asking if she could recommend voting by mail to someone who appeared to qualify. for Deed, Promissory I am requesting that the Harris County Elections Administrator take the actions required by the Texas Election Code.. 12(lost to Judge Genesis Draper), Brian Staley, former candidate forHarris County Civil County Court at Law No. I have no interest in prioritizing those needs over anyone elses. Ramsey 550,625 149,433 0 944,935 Paxton and one of the district attorneys (Shawn Dick of Williamson County) appealed. [Paxtons office wants] to throw a monkey wrench into the operations of vote counting, especially if they think they might lose, and Paxton is in a close race as far as I can tell, said Linda Eads, a professor at Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law and a former deputy attorney general for litigation for the state of Texas. Even for a few weeks. The right to free speech and the right to vote are vital to democracy, and S.B. Its not clear to me where things are procedurally with this litigation and remember, there are a bunch of other cases as well but in this matter the Fifth Circuit wanted to get some clarity on state law before doing whatever it has on its docket to do. Republican judicial candidate Erin Lunceford filed a petition Wednesday seeking a new election in Harris Countys 189th judicial district court race after losing by 2,743 votes out of more than 1 million ballots cast. Planning on picking it up at 8am Central Time today! And completely out of the blue. The Texas Transportation Commission is scheduled to approve the UTP at its Aug. 30 meeting. Brian Staley is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Houston ISDs board of trustees already is expected to vote Thursday on a mask mandate proposed by Superintendent Millard House II. The case, Paxton v. Longoria, concerns a First-Amendment issue over how provisions in Senate Bill 1, a 2021 law, could lead to civil penalties and or criminal prosecution of county election administrators and volunteer deputy registrars. Let me start off by saying that my heart breaks for everyone in Uvalde. Under Hegars calculations, Heaps annualized budget would have been about $48.9 million over 12 months nearly $2.3 million off from the $46.7 million figure calculated by the county. Berrys office said Heap actually received $48.5 million. There is a deadline of MARCH 8 to raise funds!! By signing the Business Records Affidavit and having it notarized, the recipient attests that the documents provided are true and correct copies of the original documents and that the documents are kept in the normal course of business. The concrete plants are subject to permits that aim to limit pollution in the form of particulate matter and crystalline silica which have been linked to respiratory diseases and cancer but independent testing of concrete facilities by the complaints authors indicate that pollution levels exceed health-based limits. As shown by Attorney General . Affidavits of surety to surrender principal often list the premium and are filed by bail agents as an attempt to cut ties with a defendants bond, usually after a new charge. Matthew Masterson, who previously served as the Trump administrations top election security official and now is Microsofts director of information integrity, said that Paxtons opinion will make it impossible for election administrators to appropriately ensure that ballots are kept secure. Highway officials, however, have said since March that the federal review and lawsuit leave them no choice but to stop talking. I have $15 Million in Zimbabwe dollars locked in a safe. Both parties had the opportunity to ask questions, review the chain of custody document, and raise issues. Ms. Wyatt is represented by Neal Manne. Harris County Clerk's Office Our eCommerce feature allows the public to purchase both certified and non-certified copies of various documents. Its deeply annoying that we have to do this as a reminder, these cases are stinking piles of nothing and the losers pursuing them damn well know it but its where we are. The Court accepted the certified questions and set oral argument for May 11, 2022. Claim your certified mail. Governors have broad power under the Disaster Act, he said, noting that the state Supreme Court sided with Abbott when Travis County attempted to enact a New Years Eve curfew for restaurants. See the sample using the Preview function and read its description. Last year, TCEQ approved an amendment that included exemptions for emission limitations for concrete batch plants, in response to an application to construct a plant by a Fort Worth concrete company. Employment law attorneys advise the county, its departments, and its officials regarding proposed policies, procedures, and legal obligations and provide training for management and newly elected officials. Given the precedent and given the broad discretion the governor has under that act, hes probably on pretty solid ground, Erben said. Nor did Paxtons office intervene this year when voting hours were also extended by one hour in Bell County because of early morning glitches with check-in systems. Each affidavit alleges that numerous registered voters in Harris County do not reside at the addresses listed on their voter registration records, as required by state election law. of Incorporation, Shareholders 1 makes it a crime for me to do a critical part of my job, and it hurts the most vulnerable voters, saidIsabel Longoria, Harris County Election Administrator. The Statesman has a couple of key bits from the ruling: In his order, Rodriguez rejected Paxtons argument that the solicitation ban targets government speech, which isnt protected by the First Amendment because the state is allowed to regulate how public employees perform official duties. Contact, who do court appointed attorney work for in michigan, where file florida department of revenue power of attorney, for power of attorney who is the principal and who is the agent, find out how many cases an attorney has won, how to get an out of state power of attorney for car registration tennessee, texas durable power of attorney form 2019 which statute, what k8nd of registered mail letters come from the state attorney, why would i get a letter from harris county attorney. I maintain as I said yesterday that it is highly unlikely that the 180th Court will be affected. As a reminder, and as you can see from the report released by the Elections Office on the 18th, DaSean Jones netted 360 votes from the provisional ballots cast on Election Day. The deals, however, also give TxDOT room to consider alternatives that reduce the number of homes and businesses displaced, but also do not hold them to any specific reductions. Longoria is employed by Harris County, and Morgan is a volunteer registrar. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee Tuesday denied Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegars announcement that county officials are attempting to resolve the defunding claims Hegar made earlier this month. Minutes, Corporate In 2021, Harris County became the first governmental entity in Texas to file suit against JUUL. Free Preview Harris County Attorney Letter Description Attorney Vacation Letter Texas This is an official form from the Harris County, Texas District Clerk's Office, which complies with all applicable laws and statutes. In the letter to the attorney generals office, Bitter, the general counsel for the secretary of states office, wrote that an election clerk may effectively have to break state law in order to comply with a request for ballots so soon after an election. This is not some sort of radical rebellion, he said. They noted many of the details give TxDOT room to renege while others fall short of the changes some neighborhood advocates had sought. I dont see a quick path to a resolution here. Judge Draper is represented by John Raley. Operating Agreements, Employment Looking on the Electronic Filings search, I think this case is number 22-1044. Will, All Burgess 940 14,710 5,207 5,403 2023-00955; James Lombardino v. Judge Audrie Lawton-Evans. Business Packages, Construction Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Heap 0 69,735 18,880 68,808 Im sure this group is totally on the up-and-up and will spend an equivalent amount of time canvassing in Baytown and Kingwood and the Villages. 2023-00927; Bruce Bain v. Judge Corey Sepolio. By contrast, under Texas law, it isnota crime for a public official or election official todiscourageeligible voters to vote by mail, saidLiz Ryan,partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. This happened to Rob Icsezen, the host of the H-Town Progressive podcast and a Democratic appointee of the Early Voting Ballot Board and Signature Verification Committee for the 2020 election. To recap the history here, back in September a group of plaintiffs including Isabel Longoria filed one of many lawsuits against SB1, the voter suppression law from the special sessions. Hes going to have to weigh all that.. USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. People near them, concerned for their health, plead for them to go far away. Tami Pierce is representing herself with co-counsel, Paul Simpson. UPDATE: Heres a later version of the story about the GOPs lawsuit over the results delivery process.