State attorneys said that the law did not apply to volunteers like Morgan and argued the government can prohibit interactions between local election officials and voters without running afoul of the First Amendment. Ted Heap, Constable Precinct 5 Please read our complete disclaimer here. We appreciate your patience and look forward to speaking with you soon. After provisional and mail-in ballots were counted, the incumbent for Harris Countys 180th Criminal State District Court, DaSean Jones, went from trailing Republican Tami Pierce to leading by less than 500 votes, the Houston Chronicle reported. There were 2,555 provisional ballots cast on Election Day, of which 2,420 included a vote in the DaSean Jones Tami Pierce race. We still need to know what all these details are, and I definitely agree that there is room for TxDOT to weasel out on a lot of promises. Most letters will include a section labeled Definitions that instructs the recipient about how to interpret keywords within the text of the requests. I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. Get more than 85,000 state-specific legal and tax samples that you could save and complete in clicks in the Forms library. Hegars claim is a repeat of a fight thatalready played outbetween the comptroller and Harris County last August. An election judge is the person in charge of running a voting location. If it is charges it'll give you the opportunity to prepare if you get the paperwork. But no matter the ultimate outcome, Taylor said, Abbotts political standing will likely remain unaffected. That sort of addresses my question above about the last line in the SCOTx order. Raising this as a First Amendment issue makes sense to me, and maybe it will make sense to the courts as well. I suppose if this happens the next thing well hear about is Angela Paxton driving them away, probably as they hunch down in the back seat of her SUV, for the safety of the suburbs. I want to send a message to the Harris County elections administrator, Taylor said. The Bail Bond Board adopted this rule after hearing directly from the families of victims of violent crimes, community organizers, and law enforcement. The letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. Elizabeth Buss is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. No one wants that, but sometimes having the fight is the most straightforward way to resolve the dispute. Republicans Tom Ramsey of Precinct 3 and Jack Cagle of Precinct 4 skipped Tuesdays Commissioners Court meeting as part of an ongoing battle of political wills that could extend until the deadline for approving a tax rate passes at the end of October. Though planned for nearly 20 years, concerns intensified five years ago, when groups such as Air Alliance Houston, LINKHouston and Stop TxDOT I-45 organized toargue highway officials should focus more on improving transitand avoid any additional freeway widening. 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.. Not a dismissal, but I hope that will demonstrate our commitment., Menefee said he will ask the court for a stay of 30 days, and then potentially extend that for an additional 30 days if the discussions are fruitful., The pause is a show of good faith by the county to remind TxDOT that were in this to find solutions and address community concerns, Menefee said in a statement. [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. Oh, and the second place where there might be a Democratic primary fight worth watching is in Precinct 1. As of today, the office has not received an opinion on how to proceed with these particular public information requests. Which, despite this being Montgomery County, and despite it being entirely his show, declined to indict Icsezen on whatever charges Paxton had dreamed up. As the story notes, the I-45 project is on pause while a complaint filed with the Federal Highway Administration over the projects effects on communities of color are investigated. 2023-00930; Mark Goldberg v. Judge Erika Ramirez. The travel time alone for the attorneys will be in the thousands when ZOOM meetings are not allowed! Claim your certified mail. Theres apparently some talk of a compromise, which would need to happen soon, but Ill believe it when I see it. Additional Losing Candidates File Election Contests in Harris County. That included an 88-year-old voter whom Morgan would typically call at the start of every year to remind her that she has to reapply for mail-in ballots. Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. See here for the background. The security controls exist for a good reason, he said, and undermining them has serious implications. 6 Cause No. Neighborhoods with batch plants lack deed restrictions and zoning to protect them, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said. Morales-Doyle said that Morgan began the case with a reasonable fear of prosecution and while the state has indicated a disinclination to prosecute she does not know the position of the Travis County district attorney, nor what future district attorneys would do. Conduct research and analysis of legal problems. The petition is filed in Harris County, but the case will be heard by a judge from outside the county, according to Menefees office. The motion filed today requests a preliminary injunction against the S.B. The injunction applies to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and local county prosecutors in Harris, Travis and Williamson counties. Nevertheless, the requests contained in civil investigative demands and grand jury subpoenas often exceed the appropriate boundaries of what can be asked for. The project, estimated to cost at least $9 billion, would rebuild and widen I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, including the freeways interchanges with Interstate 69, Interstate 10 and Loop 610 in Independence Heights. Their enforcement of laws involve cases of public health, deed restriction, crime victims compensation, and animal cruelty/ dangerous dog seizure warrants. 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. You could have voted elsewhere! 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. . Rodriguez previewed his order throughout a Friday morning hearing during which he repeatedly pressed the states attorneys with increasing exasperation to fill in what he cataloged as ambiguities in the new law. Icsezen interpreted this to mean that they werent allowed to observe the SVC, checked his interpretation with the Harris County Attorney, which approved his decision, and turned the poll watcher away. Our hospital system will operate at a $45 million deficit, Hidalgo said. Giving this much power to a governing minority is the problem here. The odds that Jones could lose the entire 360 vote net he got from the E-Day provisionals plus another 90 votes in this subset of the total ballots just strike me as extremely remote. Greg Abbott expanded early voting for an additional week to allow more people concerned about COVID-19 to vote before Election Day. She conceded gracefully and went on with her life. The other thing is this: because theres enough prosecutorial discretion thats involved, it takes time obviously justice takes time and any sort of delay in court action could be months from now, long after, hopefully, the crisis and the spike in delta has passed. The anti-solicitation provision makes it unlawful for a public official or election official while acting in an official capacity to knowingly . Speaking Engagement- Use this link to request the County Attorney speak to an audience at an event. 5 Cause No. Oftentimes, a demand letter outlining your debts owed is enough to get debtors to pay up. The judge in the Lunceford contest was assigned on December 13, I dont know what has happened since then. Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. Estates, Forms There is no valid justification for such a one-sided restriction on speech.. Trust, Living Heap 0 69,735 18,880 68,808 Harris County officials argued as much in a filing to the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday. Hidalgo opened the meeting alternately lambasting Ramsey and Cagles absence and lamenting the potential impacts of the countys inability to approve its proposed tax rate. You now know everything I know. Each of them should be deeply embarrassed and these claims should not be taken seriously by the public, said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. TxDOT still must acquire some property, Koch said, and the pending Federal Highway Administration review that the local agreements do not affect must be resolved. I still dont see any mention of a decision being handed down. The information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. I have $15 Million in Zimbabwe dollars locked in a safe. 6(lost to Judge Kelley Andrews), Matthew Dexter, former candidate forHarris County Criminal Court at Law No. Adding to the confusion, Hegar and the county are separately at odds over Heaps current budget, which was adopted by the Democratic-controlled Commissioners Court last fall. Hegar, responding to a fresh complaint from Harris County Constable Ted Heap, said county officials had reduced the budget for Heaps Precinct 5 office by some $2.4 million in their most recent budget. LLC, Internet The Chron has more. 2 Cause No. In at least one race, the provisional ballots could impact the outcome. Todays decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over election officials trying to help voters.. I'm curious about what people think--should OP accept delivery? The request drew a fast rebuke from Democratic Party leaders and Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. Briones 819,495 331,782 0 667,234 The state, represented by Lanora Pettit, a principal deputy solicitor general with the Office of Attorney General, acknowledged in her brief that volunteer deputy registrars are not public officials subject to prosecution; the term solicit does not include merely providing information but instead requires strongly urging a voter to fill out an application that was not requested; and the Attorney General is not a proper official to seek civil penalties. The letter, a response to a letter sent by seven Houston-area Congressman urging Buttigieg to not impede the project, was drafted by Stop TxDOT I-45, which formed to oppose the project, along with Air Alliance Houston and 14 environmental, community or left-leaning groups. Circuit Court of Appeals has put a temporary hold on a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of a rule that keeps local election officials from encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots, according to Harris County officials. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee on Thursday expressed disappointment in the decision by the 5th Circuit, which has blocked a number of court challenges to conservative policies. Please give a few bucks if you can and help them all out. I want kids across Harris County to go on to live long, healthy lives. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. To get some of those benefits, officials first have to iron out technical issue that not only affect the$10 billion rebuild of I-45and the downtown freeway system, but numerous other mobility projects that cross it. Notes, Premarital An election judge is the person in charge of running a voting location. That left a mere 750 or so alternatives, including ones that would have been very close by. In 2021, Harris County became the first governmental entity in Texas to file suit against JUUL. This is not some sort of radical rebellion, he said. This section is responsible for receiving and processing incoming customer requests including purchasing copies and reports and filing documents in existing cases (causes). Skepticism remains high among project opponents that TxDOT can be a willing participant. The guardian of the estate has all rights and obligations to expend the wards funds, subject to prior court approval. Work demands keep most lawyers in private practice from frequent or lengthy vacations. During the election CIA knocked on 300,000 doors. Googling around, I saw a news item from September about Juul settling with the state of Texas, which was part of a larger class action settlement, and a news item from December about a $1.7 billion settlement of over 5000 lawsuits nationwide. Judge Lina Hidalgo is the head of Harris County's governing body. Letters have a maximum word . The original hearing was in the 269th Civil Court, and the second hearing was to have been on May 6. Theft, Personal However, given that the provisional votes cast on Election Day favored Democrats, its even less likely for that race to be affected, and it would be impossible for both of them to be in a position to change. CLUBS IN ACTION is trying to raise 95K to donate to them. USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. The judge hearing the case is in San Antonio which complicates matters re time to get there and back for hearings. Works with law enforcement officers in the investigation of criminal cases. I wish the stories that have been published about this would go into more detail about this as I have done yes, I know, math is hard, but you could at least use highly unlikely language to offer some context. 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. That doesnt mean Ill agree with every decision they made, but I start out with the belief that they did their best to act in our interest. Additionally, many letters from the U.S. Attorneys Office will include a blank Business Records Affidavit for the recipient to fill out and have notarized. 9 Cause No. Although the scope of Rodriguezs preliminary injunction is limited, the judge dealt the first legal blow to new elections restrictions and voting changes Republican lawmakers enacted last year. Harris County assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies. local news and culture, Faith Bugenhagen Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice or gives rise to a solicitor/client relationship. 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. You can reach one of our senior attorneys seven days a week, including weekends. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. The Department of Justice haschallengedS.B. But due to a change in state law, you only have until March 8 to make a contribution. 10 Cause No. She is 1 of 17 elected Harris County Dem. Nationwide Federal Defense, Compliance and Litigation. Agreements, Sale Existing law said poll watchers were allowed at the former, but said nothing about the latter. The opinion has already impacted elections administrators across the state, who told Votebeat that theyve seen an onslaught of requests since Paxton released it. Trust, Living And every voter who might have been discouraged by issues at one location could have gone to another one, which would have been at most a couple of minutes away by car. Its going to be Republican versus Republican, Renteria said. of Attorney, Personal There were a half-dozen voting locations within walking distance of my house on Election Day. They have a goal in mind and this is why they hired a lawyer. This law was created to combat alleged voter fraud that we know does not exist, and instead hinders the ability to properly encourage seniors and voters with disabilities to exercise their right to vote by mail, saidChristian Menefee, the County Attorney for Harris County, Texas. Cagle 64,225 186,970 0 5,056