Oh, and the second place where there might be a Democratic primary fight worth watching is in Precinct 1. I think the Fifth Circuit is evaluating whether to put the injunction back in place while the rest of the initial lawsuit is litigated, but we are in the weeds here and I dont have certainty about that. In a primary election, each polling location has one judge from each party overseeing their own partys voting process. Harris County Attorney Denies the County is Resolving Texas Comptroller In its release, the county elections office said it does request the information being asked on the form used by men and added that voters are not required to sign them. Attorneys for the city and county relied on a dissenting opinion from a judge on the 8th Court of Appeals in a mask mandate case involving El Paso County, Ariens said: that Texas law does not allow the governor to suspend laws giving local governments the ability to respond to public health crises as they see fit. Ted Heap, Constable Precinct 5 Remember, if you are not working you are not getting paid but the office bills continue nevertheless. Corporations, 50% Hegars claim is a repeat of a fight thatalready played outbetween the comptroller and Harris County last August. The only other race that is close enough to be even theoretically affected by the provisional ballots is the County Criminal Court #3 race, where Porsha Brown trails by the even smaller margin of 267 votes. What would I like to see happen at this point? Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. In a statement, Air Alliance Houston said the agreements will do very little to protect Houston communities from the harms posed by this project, specifically related to air pollution caused by the larger freeway in many neighborhoods around the central business district. FDAMS User Guide . Ignoring the letter forces the opposing partys lawyer to do one thing recommend that his or her client proceed to Court. Theres absolutely no justification for this state and federal law are clear, and nothing has changed about them. The petition asks the high court to order Harris County to allow election judges to drive their own precinct ballots to the central counting center at NRG Park. Order Specials, Start The resulting ability to anticipate the governments case strategy gives us a critical edge over firms that lack this capability. See the sample using the Preview function and read its description. S.B. Four Weeks Is Norm for Lawyers At law firms that have official policies, 20 vacation days per year is the norm, with some senior associates getting as many as 25, Moody told Bloomberg Law.But taking vacations while billing enough hours, remaining available to clients, and meeting court deadlines can be tricky. My office is going to do everything we can to protect every single vote that was cast. CIA plans to hold a fundraiser, hopefully on Feb 19. DWI 2nd will get credit only for 2 for 1. Update: I'm being summoned to the county court to defend myself for reckless driving charges. Incorporation services, Living Judge Payne is represented by John Raley. Forms, Real Estate As of today, the office has not received an opinion on how to proceed with these particular public information requests. Clubs In Action raising legal $ for judges. Vips Application . The challenges were first reported by The New York Times, which found the affidavits disputed the eligibility of more than 6,000 voters. Clerk Hudspeth is represented by Neal Manne. This practice group works closely with The State of Texas in Mental Health commitment. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 4:44 PM 17 February 2022. . Please read the Administrative Order below: Harris County Orders /COVID Emergency Orders. Former officer Gerald Goines led a raid on the home, which police believed to be a drug den.Jun 21, 2021 If you decide to make a contribution a check can be sent to: CLUBS IN ACTION The motion was granted by a district court judge and then put on hold by the Fifth Circuit. Judge Lina Hidalgo is the head of Harris County's governing body. Lets see what SCOTx says first and maybe that will clue me in. Harris County voters are in for a long election night, with full election results in primary runoff races not expected until well into Wednesday. My tuition has been paid in full and I would have imagined the school would have notified me for other fees at this point in time. Despite the crisis, St. Marys University School of Law professor Michael Ariens believes the lawsuits ultimate success is a long shot.. I for one dont see any difference between the two. The push to further restrict early voting and mail-in ballots is rooted in former President Donald Trumps continued claim without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen from him largely because of mail-in balloting. The investigation will focus on whether the adoption of the amendment and the permitting process is discriminatory, and whether the state agency failed to seek meaningful public comment. I do know that at least one more loser has filed a losers contest, but I dont care to give any of this any more validity. They are trying to make it as difficult as possible, and talking people out (of driving ballots themselves) by warning them there will be long lines, Siegel said. (That lawsuit is now on hold as negotiations continue.) The Harris County Attorney and Lone Star Legal Aid, a nonprofit law group, alleged that the state environmental agency discriminated against racial and ethnic minorities and those with limited English proficiency through a revised permitting process to build new concrete batch plants. 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. Tami Pierce is representing herself with co-counsel, Paul Simpson. The court hasnt specified whether or not thats legal, Fombonne said. The citys press release is here. So it doesnt speak to who has to drive to meet the other person to do so, Longoria said. Houston ISDs board of trustees already is expected to vote Thursday on a mask mandate proposed by Superintendent Millard House II. Standards and Procedures . The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. Greg Abbotts executive order prohibiting local authorities from issuing COVID-19 restrictions, such as mask and vaccine mandates. The judge in the Lunceford contest was assigned on December 13, I dont know what has happened since then. Yet, the way the (Texas Public Information Act) is written, no one except those involved in the underlying lawsuit can get access to the public information.. 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. If the questions are not answered, she would therefore still need to have the temporary injunction in place, he said. solicit[] the submission of an application to vote by mail from a person who did not request an application. The civil-liability provision creates a civil penalty for an election official who is employed by or an office of the state and who violates a provision of the election code. Despite the GOPs criticism, at least 40 Republican judges are choosing to participate in the countys plan. That link takes you here, and while the in-person fundraiser mentioned there is now over, the Donate link remains. The problem is none of the justifications hes providing make any sense.. They were wrong back when they tried this the first time the comptroller and his allies and theyre wrong again now, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said before the court met in executive session Thursday. 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. 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. We expect TxDOT to work alongside us to achieve the same. This is important to us, said Huey German-Wilson, president of the Trinity and Houston Gardens Super Neighborhood, and now we have someone to hear us loud and clear, for the small Black and brown voices in communities that have not been heard.. After closing the polls, election judges will hand off ballots to law enforcement officers and deputized county staffers, who will drive the equipment to the central counting station at NRG Arena on the judges behalf. https://mailchi.mp/3860a20fae8b/we-need-your-help?e=cf7bb2b770&fbclid=IwAR3bf6Pdu4mhPHiTnPDtpzT361sMx5VyDAxSnUXy7qM7EbTLGfZabSUiT4w, Clubs in Action PAC (@CIAHTX) 8:32 PM 27 February 2023. Agreements, Letter See here for the background. Conduct research and analysis of legal problems. This is how I learned how little was in their campaign accounts. That doesnt change the fact that his filing is trash and should be rejected by SCOTx on the grounds that these people deserve to have their votes counted. Looking on the Electronic Filings search, I think this case is number 22-1044. 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. The Harris County Elections Administrators Office received a flood of affidavits this summer challenging the eligibility of thousands of registered voters throughout the county, accusing them of not living at the addresses listed on registration records. Why would I receive a letter from Harris County attorney? Obviously, County Attorney Menefee made up his mind since then. His comments followed testimony from Longoria and Morgan, who said they feared the civil and criminal penalties that could come from violating the broad prohibition. I was invited to this meeting because of the effort to create and carry out block walking events. UPDATE: The Trib story also references 2,000 ballots, which does not help clear up my confusion. 5(lost to Judge David Fleischer), Chris Daniel, former candidate for Harris County District Clerk (lost to Marilyn Burgess), Erin Lunceford, former candidate for the 189, Tami Pierce, former candidate for the180th District Court(lost to Judge DaSean Jones), Alexandra Mealer, former candidate for Harris County Judge (lost to Judge Lina Hidalgo), Mike May, former candidate for State Representative District 135 (lost to Representative Jon Rosenthal). Politicians at the news conference slammed the state environmental agency for valuing the needs of industryover the health of people. 2 Cause No. They have a goal in mind and this is why they hired a lawyer. Hidalgos office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As the Harris County Attorney, Christian D. Menefee is the chief civil lawyer for the largest county in Texas. 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. Spanish, Localized "Hello Freind, My name is John Odagu, County Attorney for your county. 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. The lawsuit is an example of why the Texas Legislature should repeal the litigation exception provision in state law that offers public offices an option to withhold records during litigation, said Bill Aleshire, an Austin attorney who works with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. 95% Success Rate. Throughout the hearing, Rodriguez also pressed for the reasoning behind the anti-solicitation provision, interrupting the states questioning of Ingram in search of an answer. Business. Here @JudgeGenesis Draper. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. Todays decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over officials trying to help voters. To say the least, that would be an extraordinary circumstance. 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. Heap 0 69,735 18,880 68,808 Proper: For each employer for whom you have worked within the past five years, documents evidencing the name and address of each officer, director, or manager of those employers and documents evidencing each persons position. Planning, Wills Why Would County Attorney Send Mail Instead, hes basically taking this power and turning it into a mechanism to tie local officials hands. No one wants that, but sometimes having the fight is the most straightforward way to resolve the dispute. The judge said the law likely violates the First Amendment. If you throw out all of the Election Day provisional ballots, DaSean Jones still leads by 89 votes. Another 49 challenges came in after Aug. 10, the 90th day before the election. 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. 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. Hudspeth 4,660 22,009 0 9,952 In 2017, the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature evenamended state lawto specify 22 months, updating state standards to mirror federal requirements. Gov. Judges are being sued in their individual capacity. That is why each person named in a suit has to retain their own attorney. 8 Cause No. State law requires four members of the court be present to set the property tax rate. Attorneys. 3 Cause No. Oberheiden, P.C. But well see what happens. Alexander Mealer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Guardianship Referral Letter to be filled out with Doctor's Letter File: County Clerk's Office at 201 Caroline, 8th floor, Houston, TX 77002. . Under S.B. Others rub shoulders with business leaders, politicians, sports figures, and even celebrities. 2023-01202; Stan Stanart v. Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth. Forms, Small Because the Harris and Travis County district attorneys did not appeal, only Longorias challenge to the civil penalty permitted by the civil-liability provision and the Volunteer Deputy Registrars challenge to the criminal liability imposed under the anti-solicitation provision were at issue in the appeal. The injunction applies to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and local county prosecutors in Harris, Travis and Williamson counties. About | Corporations, 50% off UPDATE: Heres a later version of the story about the GOPs lawsuit over the results delivery process. As a result, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, even though fewer than 115,000 ballots had been cast. 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. The Fifth Circuit asks the justice to answer whether a volunteer deputy registrar, or VDR, is a public official under the Texas Election Code; whether speech the plaintiffs intend to use constitutes solicitation within the context of the state code; and whether the Texas Attorney General has the power to enforce that code. In no uncertain terms, the secretary of states office which isrun by a Republicanappointed by Gov. Court records filed Friday showed a bail bondsman sued Harris County as an attempt to stop the new rule, which would require agents like her to charge defendants jailed on violent offenses a 10 percent minimum to secure their freedom after an arrest. 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. From what Ive gathered from talking to people, the multiple-dropoff-locations idea, which had been Diane Trautmans original plan, is probably the best way to go. Have I got that right? On Feb. 28, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril D. Haines sent a letter to minority and majority leaders of both the House and Senate urging reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), set to expire at the end of this year . The county attorneys probe is based on a complaint from at least one Sunnyside resident who said two men came to her home and asked questions they said were to confirm the identities of registered voters who live at that address. This is utterly chaotic. Directive, Power We should be looking for ways to support these public servants rather than constantly undermining the hard work it takes to run an election in the third largest county in the country, added County Attorney Menefee. 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.. WHD knocked on about 1500. Nationwide Federal Defense, Compliance and Litigation. All requests must be in writing. There is no valid justification for such a one-sided restriction on speech.. Thank you for your help! Meeting Request Use this link to request a meeting with the County Attorney. This anti-solicitation provision of SB 1 not only makes it harder for these folks vote, but it criminalizes the constitutionally protected free speech of the Harris County Elections Administrator and violates the First Amendment., S.B. Determining how a proposed downtown connection for the Hardy Toll Road will enter the area near Buffalo Bayou and cross a remade I-10. It appears you forgot to include your location in the title or body of your post. You never know. Houston, Texas, U.S. Kim Ogg is an American lawyer. See here for the background, and here for a copy of the ruling. Thats the subject of the following email I got in my inbox yesterday, and I cant do any better than that for a post title. Sylvester Turner, Mayor Mayor Sylvester Turner serves as the Executive Officer of the City. As part of the canvass, respondents are ordered to separately identify in the vote tabulations the number of later cast votes for each candidate in each race and for or against each proposition, so that candidates, the parties, and this Court may ascertain whether the later cast votes would be outcome-determinative and so that the parties can assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted. who have previously worked at the U.S. Attorneys Office. TxDOT officials and supporters of the project, however, counter that benefits are built into the project that will mitigate the losses and leave many communities better off. Longoria and Morgan, however, told U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio that waiting until summer is not an option for a prohibition that will handcuff them in the weeks leading up to the March 1 Texas primaries. They asked Biery to rule no later than Feb. 14, noting that to cast a mail-in ballot in the primaries, voters must fill out and return an application between Jan. 1 and Feb. 18. The Compliance Practice Group specializes in lawsuits for debt collection and enforcement of laws that protect the interest of Harris County. Maybe Judge Hidalgo can call on the Sheriff to pick up the wayward Commissioners and haul them into the meeting room so that the legal requirement of at least four members being present can be met? Forms, Independent I have no context to guess how long it may take, though Id expect that if the state doesnt like what the EPA says well get a lawsuit afterwards. On Election Night, the Texas Organizing Project, Texas Civil Rights Project and ACLU of Texas obtained a court order from a judge requiring all Harris County polling locations to extend voting hours until 8 p.m. after the groups argued in a lawsuit that late openings at some polling locations prevented some residents from voting. The mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. Christian Menefee, Harris County Attorney Just for the comedy value, Id like to see this scenario play out. He would almost surely run as a Dem in this heavily Democratic precinct. Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. 2023-00958; Rory Olsen v. Judge Jason Cox. Upon receiving a sworn statement challenging a voters residence, election officials must send a Notice of Address Confirmation to the voter in question. of Directors, Bylaws Im fine with this approach if theres a path to meeting the needs of the many people and groups that have been objecting to the design of this project, then sure, lets go for it but I wouldnt get my hopes up too much. Phil Sandlin, Constable Precinct 8, Teneshia Hudspeth, County Clerk Abbotts swift action to get a temporary restraining order lifted was expected, as the governor would not want to be seen as weak while school districts and local governments defy his executive order, said Jon Taylor, professor of political science and chair of the department of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. 2023-00937; Matthew Dexter v. Judge Genesis Draper. There is nothing more reliable in this world than the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for. Check out how to write a Harris County attorney letter. Not satisfied with the new voting restrictions put in place less than a year ago, the Texas Republican Party is plowing ahead with yet new measures that would reduce the number of early voting days and end the practice of allowing any senior to vote by mail without an excuse. 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. Sherman Eagleton, Constable Precinct 3 Estate, Public Instead, Hidalgo said, the comptroller should have calculated on the basis of pay periods rather than the number of months. Theres already been a lot of time for talk, and I dont know how much latitude TxDOT has to give. Oftentimes, a demand letter outlining your debts owed is enough to get debtors to pay up. Check out how to write a Harris County attorney letter. 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. Ms. Wyatt is represented by Neal Manne. 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. See here and here for some background. 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. Longoria said her office was now taking a passive approach to voter outreach in regard to voting by mail, with staffers gingerly weighing their words while answering voters questions about their options. The original hearing was in the 269th Civil Court, and the second hearing was to have been on May 6. Nearly 70% of voters cast their ballots during the early voting period, but Mealer only cites issues on Election Day itself. Theres some risk here for Harris County as well, as the opponents of this project arent likely to be happy with half a loaf. Works with law enforcement officers in the investigation of criminal cases. Expect a response from the team within48 hoursof your requested date. 6 Cause No. In the meantime, we have a small victory, for now, against SB1. If Hegars goal was to make headlines while insulting the basic intelligence of Harris County residents, I guess he achieved that. 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. See here for the background. Now you can just go somewhere else. 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. Target letters inform the recipients that they are the target of a federal investigation, which means that the government intends to press civil or criminal charges against that person. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Responds to Texas