There may be an opinion in the future that addresses that question.. One week later, just six days from election day, the Harris County Republican Party notified us that its judges would not participate in the program.. (*) I did search on the Supreme Court webpage for Paxtons mandamus filing, which might have been more specific and thus answered my questions. Will, Advanced The motion filed today requests a preliminary injunction against the S.B. She is the Harris County District Attorney in Texas and assumed office in 2017. 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. You can help Democrats being sued by election losers, these cases are stinking piles of nothing and the losers pursuing them damn well know it, Here we go again with the defunding baloney, January 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County, agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, Metros plans for bus rapid transit into its overall design, Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans, Federal Highway Administration placed on the project in March 2021, postponing action on the countys lawsuit, Judge assigned to hear election loser contest, ruled that the abortion bounty hunter law SB8 violated the state constitution, And now we have a judicial loser contesting the election, The Republicans did warn us theyd be sore losers, ridiculous election contest filed in HD135, SCOTx allows provisional votes to be counted, Paxton sues to prevent some provisional votes from being counted, report released by the Elections Office on the 18th, At least one local voter purge effort has been thwarted, attempted to get Sunnyside residents to sign forms, Paxton issues deranged opinion on access to ballots, EPA to investigate TCEQ over concrete plant permits, If the only choices are take it or leave it, well, state officials offered regarding amending plans, argue highway officials should focus more on improving transit, The continued Republican threat to voting, reduced early voting hours in places like Harris County, Harris County GOP drops its lawsuit over election night vote dropoffs, break with the countys ballot delivery plan, wary to hand over ballots to emissaries so they can ferry to a central location, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, I didnt have a problem with the May 7 reporting, SCOTx ponders the questions the Fifth Circuit asked it about SB1, Seems like theres not that much in dispute, New bail bond rules survive initial court challenge, Fifth Circuit asks SCOTx for help on some SB1 issues, Of course the Fifth Circuit put a hold on the SB1 injunction, the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for, Injunction granted in lawsuit over criminal penalties for election officials who encourage voting by mail, Rob Icsezen and Dana DeBeauvoir would like to have a word with you, Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone, indict Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, sending out the howler monkeys against the Court of Criminal Appeals, Preliminary injunction sought against mail ballot restrictions, Biden administrations Justice Department, wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, letter sent by seven Houston-area Congressman urging Buttigieg to not impede the project, arent likely to be happy with half a loaf, Harris County sues Abbott and issues a mask mandate, mask mandate case involving El Paso County, Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) - Gov. Not that Im complaining. We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. Thanks! While the provisional ballots are included in the official count certified by Commissioners Court, the Supreme Court also is ordering the county to include in the final canvassed results a separate report that details the votes of the later cast votes for each candidate in each race. That way, candidates can determine whether this group of ballots would change the outcome of their race and assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted.. Otherwise you could be arrested with no notification. Forms, Independent Currently, Texas has two weeks of early voting before elections, though in 2020 Gov. I believe thats the first Ive heard of the construction timeline being pushed back to 2027, which is a modest benefit no matter what else happens. Anyone who ran into a problem at one location could have gone to another. Published March 3, 2023 at 8:10 AM EST. 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. Not all the things we wanted materialized, but that is compromise, said Harris County Pct. This affects no one accused of the most minor, nonviolent offenses who would be stuck in jail because they arent able to pay.. Agreements, Sale Thank you for your time and consideration. Youre immunocompromised and you want to vote by mail or from your car because youre afraid of a deadly disease? The opinion itself provides little guidance as to how long or for what reasons election administrators can block access to such ballots, leaving administrators across the state concerned about their ability to appropriately comply. LLC, Internet 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. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. 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. Judges are being sued in their individual capacity. That is why each person named in a suit has to retain their own attorney. The other challenge is regarding State Representative District 135, which will be heard in the State House of Representatives. Adding huge swaths of concrete is the opposite of what Houston needs, Houstonian Joy Fairchild said during a public hearing for TxDOTsUnified Transportation Program. (S or C-Corps), Articles That means the ball is in the state governments court, he said, which will have to make a move if it wants to change the status quo before Monday.. Their leadership has known about the Countys election day plans for some time, yet they waited until 6 hours before the polls close to now ask a court to throw the plans out the window and put residents votes at risk, Menefee said in a statement. Agreements, Bill And facilities are often in communities of color not wealthy, white River Oaks making what has been happening clear environmental racism, state Sen. Borris Miles said. Harris County will continue to follow Texas law, not the Attorney Generals opinion.. Political science and law experts agree that the local governments mask mandates have an unfavorable path forward, ending with the Texas Supreme Court; all nine justices are Republicans and have shown little appetite for ruling against the governor. If you throw out all of the Election Day provisional ballots, DaSean Jones still leads by 89 votes. Harris County gives 3 for one on non-violent offense but not DWI or BMV. Lets see what SCOTx says first and maybe that will clue me in. Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department; Harris County Pretrial Services ; HC AZ; Court Agenda; County Directory; Voters have moved on. According to the story, this all took place within a few hours, and according to other members of both groups who the author spoke to, it was no big deal at the time. Theres an unwritten contract between parents and their schools and its that when our children are under the care of their schools, they do everything they can to keep them safe, Hidalgo wrote in a letter to superintendents. The challenges were first reported by The New York Times, which found the affidavits disputed the eligibility of more than 6,000 voters. We cant spend money to design and we cant spend money to do those things, Ryan said at the forum, which drew criticism because it was for paying guests only at an event sponsored by various engineering, construction and planning firms. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. I will pass along information about the fundraiser when I have it. There is no perfect design, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Steve Radack. At an Oct. 21 forum sponsored by Transportation Advocacy Group-Houston Chapter, Texas Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan said the pause by the Federal Highway Administration and county lawsuit were more of an obstacle to open dialogue because they impede TxDOT from designing alternatives. The judge said his order does not affect any voting procedures, change the vote-by-mail process or affect voting deadlines or eligibility. Im pretty sure this is not what antitrust law was intended for, but what do I know? A hearing is scheduled Monday morning; lawyers representing San Antonio, Bexar County, will ask to extend the temporary restraining order into a temporary injunction. Usually, federal agents will handle investigative tasks, such as interviewing witnesses or executing search warrants, and then the United States Attorneys Office will rely on those investigative efforts of the federal agents to build a case for trial. What gives us perspective are the lawyers in our firm who left behind successful careers as federal prosecutors to come and work for us. The root cause of that debate, however, remains unresolved, Hegar said in the statement, referring to the defunding spat from last fall. All public comments received by Aug. 8 will be submitted to the commission, including comments fromTuesdays midday virtual public hearing. off Incorporation services, Texas Attorneys - Vacations - Harris County, Identity Houston, TX 77003. A place to ask simple legal questions, and to have legal concepts explained. The petition, which names Lunceford as the contestant and Craft as contestee, claims numerous violations of the Texas Election Code, including a failure to provide a sufficient amount of ballot paper to 25 polling locations. Additional Losing Candidates File Election Contests in Harris County. The Compliance Practice Group specializes in lawsuits for debt collection and enforcement of laws that protect the interest of Harris County. Because the proceedings are still ongoing, it is too soon to know whether the ability to extend voting hours in the future could be impacted. Were bringing real money to the county to ensure were protecting our youth from e-cigarette use, said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. 2023-00924; Elizabeth Buss v. Judge David Fleischer. The right to free speech and the right to vote are vital to democracy, and S.B. JBCC Criminal Background Check, Training and Registration for Guardians, Houston Bar Association 2019-2020 Elder Law Handbook, Houston Bar Association Elder-Law-Handbook_in Spanish - Espanol, Personal Representative General Information Sheet, COVID-19 (CORONA VIRUS INFO) Probate Courts, First Emergency Order Regarding(COVID-19) State of Disaster2020, Harris County JudiciaryProbate Courts 2020, Harris County Judiciary Probate Courts 2021, Fifty-Fifth Emergency Order Regarding (COVID-19) State of Disaster 2022. and help keep the future of the Houston Press, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. Nevertheless, the requests contained in civil investigative demands and grand jury subpoenas often exceed the appropriate boundaries of what can be asked for. The motion was granted by a district court judge and then put on hold by the Fifth Circuit. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM 17 February 2022. The fee cant be lowered due to appearance of impropriety issues. Business Packages, Construction Commissioners courtOfficeNameHarris County Commissioners Court JudgeLina HidalgoHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 1Rodney EllisHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 2Adrian GarciaHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 3Tom Ramsey1 more row. I did not see any news items related to this, so what you see here is all I know. I have $15 Million in Zimbabwe dollars locked in a safe. 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. 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. Im sure theyll say theyre just a bland nonprofit, but to a voter who does not have a law degree, who does not have a background in law enforcement, you are a lot more likely to believe that this is some kind of quasi-official visit, Slattery said. . As a result, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, even though fewer than 115,000 ballots had been cast. Houston ISDs board of trustees already is expected to vote Thursday on a mask mandate proposed by Superintendent Millard House II. Phony Defunding Claims II: Electric Boogaloo. As noted recently, there are other obstacles to the project, though perhaps if Harris County and TxDOT can settle their differences, those can be handled as well. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. 14 Cause No. He has no problem trusting a law enforcement officer to deliver the ballots, especially in a primary election where a Republican candidate is going to win no matter what. See here and here for some background about the litigation that allowed polling locations to remain open until 8 PM. And completely out of the blue. Its a win, at least temporarily, for Harris County officials in a fight against Paxtons attempt to discard thousands of midterm ballots as election results are set to be certified Tuesday. In Houston, the three Democrats on Commissioners Court voted to allow County Attorney Christian Menefee to bring his own case, over the objections of the two Republican members. it will not end well for you in the long run. I didnt write about the initial failure of the board to pass a rule requiring that bail bond companies must charge a minimum of ten percent of whatever bail had been set. See here for the background and here for the courts order. In a Wednesday evening news release, the elections office warned residents against scammers it said pretended to be from the county elections and voter registration offices and attempted to collect sensitive personal information from voters. Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday voted to sueTexas Comptroller GlennHegars office in response to hiscomments accusing the countyof defunding law enforcement. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced a settlement of the countys lawsuit against e-cigarette company JUUL Labs, Inc. over claims that JUUL deceptively marketed its products to children. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. I am requesting that the Harris County Elections Administrator take the actions required by the Texas Election Code.. As to who might file a contest, again well have to see. All About Bail Bonds owner and plaintiff Sunya Claiborne argued in the lawsuit that the policy jeopardizes her business calling the minimum fee requirement classic price fixing and a per se antitrust violation. The lawyer for the plaintiff, Kevin Pennell, said he plans this week to appeal the judges order. As for Joe Danna, is there ever a time when he isnt running for Sheriff? 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. I am willing to consider a pause, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. Simply put, the party would have a practical strategy on what to do and what not to do. Agreements, Bill of So lets think about this instead: . Lawyers take business trips if they have to, but time spent traveling is often time spent not billing (or billed at half-rates), which can reduce your income. 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. That, coupled with $27 million in affordable housing assistance TxDOT must provide to make up for lost apartments and homes, will allow many residents to stay in the area despite risk of gentrification, said Tanya DeBose, executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council, in a video about the project produced by TxDOT. I included Mealer and Cagle for post-election inclusion mostly out of curiosity. If you decide to make a contribution a check can be sent to: CLUBS IN ACTION The Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Harris County can include about 2,100 ballots cast during an extra hour of Election Day voting when officials certify the midterm results. Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. The Republicans picked the judges with some of the smallest accounts. We have multiple locations at which anyone can vote precisely as a hedge against problems at any one specific location. She is the first woman to be elected County Judge and only the second to be elected to the Commissioners Court. In the roughly 20 months since, officials chipped away at the differences,postponing action on the countys lawsuitand awaiting the federal review, while exploring what changes TxDOT could make to appease concerns. A-Z, Form The law has drawn multiple lawsuits in addition toLongoria v. Paxton. Not only would the back-and-forth cause further confusion among parents of schoolchildren, but leaders of Bexar, Dallas, and Harris counties could simply refuse to stop requiring masks. Theres absolutely no justification for this state and federal law are clear, and nothing has changed about them. (3) Whether the Texas Attorney General is a proper official to enforce Texas Election Code 31.129. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee says the county is not releasing the ballots, arguing the opinion Paxton issued in the name of election integrity last week runs afoul of the law. Hani Mirza, legal director of the Texas Civil Rights Projects voting rights program, was part of the team that sought the court order extending voting hours this year. As the Harris County Attorney, Christian D. Menefee is the chief civil lawyer for the largest county in Texas. 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. Abbott is exceeding his authority under the state Disaster Act of 1975, Menefee argued, which the county attorney said allows the governor to suspend laws in only narrow circumstances. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. On January 7, 2021, I filed with the Harris County Clerk's Office an affidavit disclosing my . TxDOT has yet to adequately respond to community concerns about induced demand the phenomenon by which wider highways make traffic worse, the group Stop TxDOT I-45 said in a statement. Guide, Incorporation Harris County District Attorney - Forms and Downloads for the following: General Affidavit, Check Fraud Complaint, Nonsufficient Funds Letter, Stop Payment Letter, and others. Harris Countys settlement is part of a global settlement with JUUL Labs, Inc resolving numerous cases brought by government entity plaintiffs, including school districts, cities, and counties. None of that will stop the Fifth Circuit from doing what the Republicans ask them to do since thats what they believe their job is, but at least he tried. Justice Jeff Boyd asked Morales-Doyle, Im just not sure why the dispute matters. The County will participate in the case, and we plan to make clear that it would be a grave injustice to throw out more than a million legally cast votes, especially given Ms. Luncefords completely baseless theories. Texas Attorney General Website (How to Request Public Information), Harris County Attorneys Office,1019 Congress,15th FloorHouston, TX 77002. an LLC, Incorporate Hidalgos office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This is a preliminary injunction, and whether it survives the Fifth Circuit or not there will be a trial on the merits later this year, and you can bank on it going all the way to SCOTUS. Did I mention that the Republicans opposed the extension of voting hours in Harris County (and not in red-voting Bell County, which also had voting location issues), and also opposed the counting of provisional ballots cast by people who voted after 7 PM? Tenant, More Real Residents in Aldine recently packed a room to tell TCEQ not to approve another new plant only to find out that the deadline had already passed to ask the state agency to escalate the dispute to the next level. Ron DeSantis' office sent a letter to State Attorney Monique Worrell demanding answers after an alleged shooter with a criminal history was allowed to stay on the streets prior to a shooting spree in Pine Hills last week.. Keith Melvin Moses allegedly shot five people in Pine Hills, killing three, which included a television reporter and a 9-year-old on Feb. 22. Respondents are ordered to provide the Court with a copy of the canvass results, including the separately tabulated later cast votes, as soon as they are available. I want kids across Harris County to go on to live long, healthy lives. Life comes at you fast. 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. Texas Republicans rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results and we dont care how many times the elites tell us we have to, said Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi, who was elected the leader of the party with no opposition. The original hearing was in the 269th Civil Court, and the second hearing was to have been on May 6. (Except for Steve Radack, who still has a nice chunk of change in his account.) Corporations, 50% I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. Their complaints, filed with the EPA earlier this year, said TCEQ failed to provide information in Spanish and insufficiently protected communities of color who live in areas where concrete facilities are predominantly located. State highway officials held fast to their plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 in Houston on Thursday, offering a litany of benefits the project will bring and pressing federal officials to lift a 12-month-and-counting pause on development. Most big law firms have people fly coach now unless a business class seat is the only thing available. Upon receiving a sworn statement challenging a voters residence, election officials must send a Notice of Address Confirmation to the voter in question. The Harris County GOP on Fridaydroppedits lawsuit, filed on the day of last months primary runoff election, challenging the countys plan for counting ballots. The project also connects to trails for running and biking, adds air monitoring in certain areas, adds features aimed at encouraging transit use and commits to stormwater design changes sought by the Harris County Flood Control District. A federal district judge granted the motion, which would have applied to the primaries, and Im willing to bet would have helped ease the confusion that led to all of those rejected mail ballots, but the Fifth Circuit, as is their wont, put a hold on the injunction. Astros Week: Michael Brantley, AT&T Sports Southwest's Money Problem and Pitch Clock Chaos, Top Draft Prospect Jalen Carter Charged With Reckless Driving and Racing on Day of NFL Combine. Change, Waiver See here and here for the background. You can also contribute to any candidate you like directly just google them or find their campaign Facebook page to get to a suitable Donate link for them. The agreement outlines plans for widening the freeway by adding two managed lanes in each direction from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, along with various frontage road and interchange alterations. 55th District Court Judge Latosha Payne ruled Aug. 9 against atemporary injunctionstemmed from civil litigation lodged in April against the Harris County Bail Bond Board that attempted to prevent the premium policy from taking effect.