Hidalgo said Hegar came to an incorrect conclusion by dividing Harris Countys 2022 short fiscal year budget by seven months and multiplying that number by 12 to get the annualized budget. The petition was filed Monday afternoon. 2023-01076; Aaron Adams v. Judge LaShawn Williams. Im going to guess hed run as a Democrat, but I cant say for sure at this time. Existing law said poll watchers were allowed at the former, but said nothing about the latter. Arturo G. MichelDecember 3, 2020 -- Mayor Sylvester Turner has selected a familiar name and a well-respected attorney to join the administration as the City's chief legal counsel and advisor. And of course there can always be election contests. Harris County Attorney January 11, 2021 VIA E-MAIL (opinion.committee@oag.texas.gov) Office of the Attorney General of Texas Attention: Opinion Committee . Respondents are directed to conduct the canvass of the November 2022 election as required by the Election Code. The agreement announced Monday does not remove the pause the Federal Highway Administration placed on the project in March 2021. 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. March 1, 2023 . You never know. Our hospital system will operate at a $45 million deficit, Hidalgo said. This includes legal research and drafting of legal documents for the purchase, sale, lease and operation of real estate including land title examinations, contracts, leases and concession agreements for parks and county buildings, roads and other public purposes. 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. An accurate and complete description of the vehicle (license plate, VIN number, year, make, model and color) that you own and desire returned. 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. (*). 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. Thats what I, a non-lawyer who has no responsibilities in these matters, would have done. Commissioners Court had previously authorized Menefee to file suit. In fact, the first time any concerns were raised occurred during a public meeting May 11 at the Election Committee Hearing by the Secretary of States Office. 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. The Brennan Center, Weil, and the Harris County Attorneys Office are seeking the injunction on behalf of Isabel Longoria, the Election Administrator for Harris County, Texas; and the Brennan Center and Weil are also representing Cathy Morgan, a volunteer election worker in Texas. Tami Pierce is representing herself with co-counsel, Paul Simpson. 2023-00964; Alexandra Mealer v. Lina Hidalgo. The group also filed a lawsuit in 2018 obtaining a similar court order in Harris County. The Harris County GOP on Fridaydroppedits lawsuit, filed on the day of last months primary runoff election, challenging the countys plan for counting ballots. Ron DeSantis is questioning the actions of State Attorney Monique Worrell over how she handled cases involving . Anyone who ran into a problem at one location could have gone to another. Judge Payne is represented by John Raley. Which makes this entire spectacle little more than a plea for attention and a waste of everyones time. Theft, Personal Jeff Peters, a member of the Stop TxDOT I-45, said backers consistently have bullied people into accepting their design with the threat of doing nothing if they do not get their way. The Chron story, from a bit later in the day, has more details.
Letter from the US Attorneys Office? Speak with Oberheiden, P.C. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. Advise and represent clients in courts, before government agencies, and in private legal matters. 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. 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. It does not make the records confidential (where it would be illegal to disclose the information); it just means the government is not required to disclose the information, Aleshire said. Until then, we wait.
Harris County Attorney Vacation Letter - US Legal Forms Metro is probably as eager as anyone to get this going, as their MetroNext plans depend on various items in the I-45 rebuild. Several of them are considering election contests..
Another state attorney is facing scrutiny from DeSantis The Harris County Attorneys office on Thursday said it is looking into allegations a grass-roots group knocked on doors in Sunnyside and attempted to get residents to sign affidavits verifying the identities of registered voters living at their addresses. 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. off Incorporation services, Texas Attorneys - Vacations - Harris County, Identity 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. Often times, if there are urgent matters, they will be addressed in the letter as well. Menefees office asked the EPA to stop any new standard concrete batch plant permits from being issued until the investigation is finished, he said. The travel time alone for the attorneys will be in the thousands when ZOOM meetings are not allowed! We have the knowledge and skills to get results. 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. Just to review the timeline a bit, the federal order to halt I-45 construction did indeed come one year ago, a couple of weeks after Harris County sued TxDOT over many of the previously expressed concerns about the project. Its just illogical to me, and this is a part of the story that nobody talks about.. https://mailchi.mp/3860a20fae8b/we-need-your-help?e=cf7bb2b770&fbclid=IwAR3bf6Pdu4mhPHiTnPDtpzT361sMx5VyDAxSnUXy7qM7EbTLGfZabSUiT4w, Clubs in Action PAC (@CIAHTX) 8:32 PM 27 February 2023. To say the least, that is a massive, massive upending of the regular democratic order. Verify that the Texas Attorney Vacation Form youre considering is appropriate for your state. 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. Not much else to say at this time for 2024, but I will note that at least some of the Democratic judges whose election is being challenged by a sore loser are raising funds for their legal defense. Please update the original post to include this information. Ogg 161,659 19,356 48,489 242,159
This is often a good strategy, but it comes with some caveats. The board passed the rule April 13 after a failed vote the month prior. A public meeting has been scheduled later this month for residents to weigh in on a plant thats been proposed in Simonton, asmall citywest of Houston in rural Fort Bend County. This affects no one accused of the most minor, nonviolent offenses who would be stuck in jail because they arent able to pay.. The Bell County attorney confirmed last week that a court order there had not been challenged by the Attorney Generals Office or another party. Service, Contact After an evidentiary hearing, the district court granted the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining the defendants from enforcing and prosecuting under the provisions. Judges cant take pro bono help to defend selves. This is all bullshit and should be seen as such. 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. Even for a few weeks. Who is the county attorney Harris County? . The motion for a preliminary injunction inLongoria v. Paxtonishere. On January 7, 2021, I filed with the Harris County Clerk's Office an affidavit disclosing my . Just like what happened in Bell County (won by Greg Abbott 59.04% to 39.52%, in case you were curious), which the AG has accepted as fact. Former officer Gerald Goines led a raid on the home, which police believed to. The law has drawn multiple lawsuits in addition toLongoria v. Paxton. Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. (Except for Steve Radack, who still has a nice chunk of change in his account.) Press J to jump to the feed. Because I have nothing better to say, here are a couple of tweets from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee: . But the Republicans opposed that at every turn. One reason for the expected slow count Tuesday is the Harris County Republican Partys decision to break with the countys ballot delivery plan, according to Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria. Also, reports from the field on Election Day about paper issues were very much coming from Democratic sites. The Republicans picked the judges with some of the smallest accounts. 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. Fortunately, we know how to handle these types in fact, many of our clients have been shocked to learn that their investigations have been closed with zero civil or criminal liability. Cagles July report showed over a million bucks on hand. 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 information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. 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. That evening, in quick succession, Paxtons office filed its writ of mandamus asking the Texas Supreme Court to vacate or reverse the court order, and the Supreme Court responded by staying that order, saying votes cast after 7 p.m. should be segregated, without specifying whether they must be excluded from the final count. Theres apparently some talk of a compromise, which would need to happen soon, but Ill believe it when I see it. I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. 2023-00937; Matthew Dexter v. Judge Genesis Draper. House announced he would bring such a proposal to the board last week. The pause, approved unanimously by Commissioners Court at a special meeting Monday, instructs County Attorney Christian Menefee to seek a stay on the lawsuit in federal court as he negotiates with TxDOT to resolve differences between the changes the county seeks to the project and the current plan. This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel indicated there could be more election contests to come. I want to send a message to the Harris County elections administrator, Taylor said. S.B. Planning Pack, Home 1 provision no later than February 14, 2022. Think about sending the document to your legal counsel to make certain all things are completed properly. of Business, Corporate I am willing to consider a pause, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. 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. Later in the day, we got this. We have a ways to go before this is truly settled. The Bail Bond Board adopted this rule after hearing directly from the families of victims of violent crimes, community organizers, and law enforcement. 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. Houston, Texas, U.S. Kim Ogg is an American lawyer.
We need more Barbara Jordans in politics (Opinion) City of Houston and Harris County Statements on EPA Order for Union Pacific Contamination Cleanup, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Responds to Texas Comptroller, Harris County Attorney Announces Legal Action Against Landfill Expansion. Thats one of many reasons why I plan to do everything I can to protect public health.. If it was just mismanagement, it was just gross incompetence, wouldnt one think that the lack of paper would apply equally and uniformly across the map, so that there would be roughly an equivalent number of Democratic stronghold precinct neighborhoods as well as Republican precinct stronghold neighborhoods? Taylor said. There will be a lot more litigation over the rest of that law to come. The county attorneys office did not respond to a request for more information about the requests, including who submitted them. 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. 1 makes it a crime for public officials or election officials to encourage voters to request a mail ballot application, even if the person would be eligible to vote by mail. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Adding huge swaths of concrete is the opposite of what Houston needs, Houstonian Joy Fairchild said during a public hearing for TxDOTsUnified Transportation Program. She said she was shocked by the opinion. 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. 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 National Voter Registration Act of 1993, known as the motor voter act, bars election officials from performing most voter roll maintenance activities within 90 days of a federal election. On rebuttal, Pettit argued that sanctionable solicitation is not limited to criminal inducement. 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. Oftentimes, a demand letter outlining your debts owed is enough to get debtors to pay up. CLUBS IN ACTION is trying to raise 95K to donate to them. 2023-301111; Will Archer v. Judge James Horwitz. Paxton and one of the district attorneys (Shawn Dick of Williamson County) appealed. Such requests have been used by activists all over the country as a way to audit election results. Voting, Board 1) that makes it a crime for election officials and election workers to encourage voters to vote by mail, whether or not those voters are eligible under Texas law to do so. & Resolutions, Corporate 14 Cause No. This case was always about reducing youth nicotine addiction in our communities.
Niles attorneys order five candidates to stop using village symbols to 4. Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk
Why Would I Get A Letter From Harris County Attorney Thanks! I dont know when we as a society will act to protect people from gun violence, but we cannot act quickly enough. Amendments, Corporate Houston furniture magnate Jim Mattress Mack McIngvalehas filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Elections Administrators office accusing it of refusing to turn over public records related to theNovember 2022 election, adding to an array of GOP litigationaimed at the countys elections process. From the inbox, sent to me by former HD133 candidate Sandra Moore: Below is a list of the judges and electeds being sued by the Republicans. The clerk told me I had wrote a bad check for $16.00 and with Attorny Fee's it's now $86.00 shocked to hear the charge..I asked for details on the check she said she can't not give me that info only as to the business name who sent check to them. The injunction applies to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and local county prosecutors in Harris, Travis and Williamson counties. 8 Cause No. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. I really dont think thats too much to ask. Mealer 356,684 621,482 0 188,512
Campos and the Texas Signal have more. Hidalgo 612,111 1,095,479 101,400 36,568
and help keep the future of the Houston Press, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. 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. Schools also are required to notify parents when a student has close contact with someone who tests positive for the virus. 2023-01067; Dan Spjut v. Judge Juanita Jackson. Violators are subject to a fine between $300 -$500, can be taken to court, as well as have a warrant issued for their arrest for breaking Chapter 28 of Houston's code of ordinances. right-of-way is an excellent plan but we can't even fix the existing bike trail along White Oak Bayou which the Harris County . Specials, Start By all accounts, there were maybe 20-25 sites that have paper issues. Letter from the US Attorneys Office? They also ensure Harris Countys compliance with environmental regulations; represents the county in state administrative hearings; and coordinates with federal, state, and local stakeholders on environmental legislation, rules, and policies affecting the county and its citizens. I dont know if we will get Constable/JP redistricting, but there are always some interesting primary contests here, and even with the same maps we could have interesting November races in Precincts 4 and 5. Second, the lawyer will start identifying their objectives and lining up what evidence theyll need to win their case. This is an official form from the Harris County, Texas District Clerks Office, which complies with all applicable laws and statutes. See here for the background. And that might be the safe investment for him to make. I appreciate that Mayor Turner, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, Judge Hidalgo, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia, County Attorney Menefee, and everyone Im forgetting eventually had to say Yes to a sincere and meaningful counteroffer. local news and culture, Faith Bugenhagen Several other provisions of SB 1 have been challenged ina half-dozenlawsuitsby civil rights groups and theBiden administrations Justice Department,includingbans on 24-hour and drive-thru voting, ID requirements for mail-in ballots andprotections for partisan poll watchers. 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. 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. If that does not happen, the county will resume the suit and well let the courts decide.. 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. 12(lost to Judge Genesis Draper), Brian Staley, former candidate forHarris County Civil County Court at Law No. Despite the GOPs criticism, at least 40 Republican judges are choosing to participate in the countys plan. The policy was prompted by a Commissioners Court resolution urging the board members to adopt rules regulating the minimum fee that a bondsman must collect to secure a defendants release on violent charges. Judge Sepolio is represented by John Raley. The amount of evidence theyd need to provide to come close to justifying such an ask, I cant even begin to comprehend. We are investigating this issue and exploring legal options to protect residents and prevent this from happening again, the County Attorneys office said in a statement, adding it is working closely with the Harris County Elections Administrators office to fully understand what happened. Briones 819,495 331,782 0 667,234
Somebody has to be in the kitchen, or else were all on the menu, he said during a Dec. 8 panel discussion with federal highway officials and local opponents. You now know everything I know. Its actually not clear from the story how many ballots were talking about. Free preview Harris County Attorney Letter, Why Would You Get A Letter From The County Attorney, Harris County District Court Vacation Letter, Living Judge Fleischer is represented by John Raley. I dont see the appeals being successful, but maybe theres some technical point of law on which they can get a rehearing. The information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. But the states highest civil court also ordered Harris County to determine whether those late-cast ballots would affect the outcome of any races and kept alive Attorney General Ken Paxtons challenge to counting them. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor, Alan Rosen, Constable Precinct 1 A decision by a dissenting [opinion] of the court, while sometimes correct, Ariens said, is not as helpful as a decision from a majority of the court., But getting the temporary restraining order granted in the first place puts San Antonio and Bexar County in a stronger position, he said, as it allowed the city to get a mask mandate in place in public schools and public facilities. The main argument was that this provision of SB1 criminalizes speech on the basis of its content and the viewpoint expressed, since Longoria could talk all day about not voting by mail but risked arrest if she said the opposite. As a bail agent for the corporate surety Allegheny Casualty Co., she also worries that the new rule will put her at odds with the insurance company which she fears could violate customer privacy. 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. Did you witness something? Menefee. As a reminder and a general principle, never believe a word Andy Taylor says. 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.
Harris Co. DA asks for documents on City Hall spending, payments to 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. Please read our complete disclaimer here. 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. A-Z, Form If the past is any guide, the local governments are unlikely to prevail in court, said University of Texas School of Law Adjunct Professor Randall Erben.