And in response to the recent Court of Criminal Appeals case holding that the Texas Attorney General has no independent authority to prosecute criminal offenses created in the Election Code, they also sued the Harris, Travis, and Williamson County district attorneys to challenge the criminal penalties imposed by the anti-solicitation provision. Nile Copeland is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. In 2017, the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature evenamended state lawto specify 22 months, updating state standards to mirror federal requirements. A temporary guardianship may be created without notice to the ward if the court has probable cause to believe that the incapacitated minor or adult person requires the immediate appointment of a guardian, without a formal doctors letter or hearing. 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. If the case moves quickly, and the Texas Supreme Court vacates the temporary restraining order, chaos could ensue, Taylor said. Contact, how to subpoena hospital record in massachusetts without attorney, how to get the forms of us citizen notarization power of attorney, at what point in home buying process hire attorney, what kind of attorney do do i need to get vender contracts, parent has evoked power of attorney what to do, where can i get power of attorney near me, how to obtain a court appointed attorney from jail imn morgan county, al, why would i receive a letter from harris county attorney. That widening, which requires the destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses adjacent to the freeway, has drawn scorn and accusations that highway officials are perpetuating decades of carving freeways through low-income and minority communities to the detriment of those neighborhoods. In a 4-1 vote, the court authorized County Attorney Christian Menefee to pursue a lawsuit against the comptrollers office. Paxtons opinion, experts say, does not appropriately address the potential criminal exposure. . 21 Cause No. Tenant, More Real Nothing else of great interest in this group Id expect both Ed Gonzalez and Christian Menefee to start posting bigger numbers soon. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. 12 Cause No. The litigation exception typically is upheld by courts, so McIngvales lawsuit is unlikely to produce the requested records, he said. 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. They are scaring people into creating this system that isnt even legal.. 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. That short fiscal year has made it difficult to make year-to-year funding comparisons, and has resulted in the county and the comptrollers office using different methods to analyze whether the constables funding has increased or decreased. She said she was shocked by the opinion. Joe Danna, Sheriff 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. Standards for Court Approval ofAttorney Fees, - Automatic Continuance for Care of New Chil. On rebuttal, Pettit argued that sanctionable solicitation is not limited to criminal inducement. Those against the project often note it will result in the demolition of more than 1,000 residences, nearly 350 businesses and a handful of schools and churches. The reality is that if communication is ignored, the party who received the letter can be fairly certain that they will end up in court. We have never agreed that these ballots can be part of the final election results, and this afternoon were going to ask that the Texas Supreme Court rule that these late-cast votes should be excluded as Texas law requires.. Who is the county attorney Harris County? Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. The opinion has already impacted elections administrators across the state, who told Votebeat that theyve seen an onslaught of requests since Paxton released it. 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). The Harris County Democratic Party is NOT doing anything to assist the 22 electeds. Andy Taylor, general counsel for the Harris County GOP, is representing Lunceford. Remember, if you are not working you are not getting paid but the office bills continue nevertheless. I dont know how likely that is, but it never hurts to talk. She is 1 of 17 elected Harris County Dem. Oh, and if this is one of the final straws that leads to Constable precinct redistricting, I wont complain. 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. For anyone who thinks that its hysterical to imagine Longoria or Morgan being prosecuted for these actions, Rob Icsezen and Dana DeBeauvoir would like to have a word with you. 2504 Rusk St. #110 Similarly, Morgan argued in the filing that her work as a voter registrar particularly around the University of Texas in Austin will be hampered if she can no longer proactively suggest that eligible but unaware voters request an application to vote by mail as she has in the past.. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. 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. Like flies to garbage, though, you know theyll be back for more. packages, Easy Order Some lawyers travel the country, or even the world, to participate in trials, depositions, arbitrations, and business deals. The Harris County Elections Administrators office maintains the Secretary of States office knew about the strategy and raised no objections when they implemented the ballot delivery plan during the May 7 election. That link takes you here, and while the in-person fundraiser mentioned there is now over, the Donate link remains. Our hospital system will operate at a $45 million deficit, Hidalgo said. Attorney, Terms of 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. You never know. Tuesday, as part of a public hearing on the states long-range plans, opponents opted for leave it, telling the Texas Department of Transportation to drop the 1-45 widening off its list. Harris County will continue to follow Texas law, not the Attorney Generals opinion.. The mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. Menefee said he is undecided but leaning toward filing suit; he said the county would seek a temporary restraining order preventing the state from enforcing Abbotts July 29 executive order prohibiting local governments from issuing local COVID-19 restrictions. Amendments, Corporate Estate, Public 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 ban on sending unsolicited mail-voting applications was one of many provisions containedinSenate Bill 1, the sweeping GOP voting law that was passed Sept. 1during the Legislatures second special session. At the same convention where the state GOP adopted the new legislative priorities, more than 8,000 delegates also approved a resolution rejecting the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election and declaring that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.. 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. It is an omnibus law, containing the provision challenged inLongoria v. Paxtonas well as restrictions on other aspects of voting and elections. The problem is none of the justifications hes providing make any sense.. The motion filed today requests a preliminary injunction against the S.B. Im disappointed to see another losing candidate challenging the results of their election. Conduct research and analysis of legal problems. 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. 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. 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. The letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. Clerk Hudspeth is represented by Neal Manne. 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. 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. DA is technically a state office for smaller counties, the DA can cover several of them at once so Id normally expect to see them on the Texas Ethics Commission site. 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. 17 Cause No. Our election workers should not have to fear being criminally prosecuted because the attorney general wants to play politics and try to rewrite laws, Menefee said. The 5th U.S. I believe that I was wrongfully terminated, and I am seeking compensation for the damages that I have incurred as a result of my wrongful termination. Jack Cagle (SPAC), County Commissioner, Precinct 4 It will only work when communication between the parties is good enough for them to engage in a discussion without arguments, no serious power imbalance between the parties exist, and full transparency of financial matters is available. 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. It created a 20-day window of early voting in the late 1980s and expanded it dramatically in the early 1990s to include more locations like shopping malls and grocery stores. 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. 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. The Bell County attorney confirmed last week that a court order there had not been challenged by the Attorney Generals Office or another party. Agreements, Bill of Free preview Harris County Attorney Letter, Why Would You Get A Letter From The County Attorney, Harris County District Court Vacation Letter, Living Clubs In Action raising legal $ for judges. Its the motion for preliminary injunction, filed on Tuesday the 28th, for which I received a press release from the Harris County Attorneys office, which in turn led me to find the linked article from the Brennan Center (and this Twitter thread), that is trying to make something happen more quickly. Templates, Name In December, a motion was filed to get a temporary injunction against the provision of that law 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. However, the hyperlink for that case didnt work when I tried it, and searching for the case via that number returned no results. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. . Tom Ramsey, County Commissioner, Precinct 3 9 Cause No. The deals, however, also give TxDOT room to consider alternatives that reduce the number of homes and businesses displaced, but also do not hold them to any specific reductions. Shell have plenty of time to build that treasury back up; she did a pretty good job of that this cycle, so Id expect to see her total tick up in short order. 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. My office will be involved in the case every step of the way to ensure peoples votes are protected.. That would include increasing penalties for those who violate election laws even inadvertently, reducing early voting days and restricting mail-in balloting to only the military, the disabled and people who will be out of the county during the entirety of early voting. As the Harris County Attorney, Christian D. Menefee is the chief civil lawyer for the largest county in Texas. Attorney Fee Standards effective June 1, 2019. . The information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. All public case information is still available to everyone, once they login, and can be viewed FREE of charge. 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. I just was looking and several firms advise against even signing for these things. Hidalgo 612,111 1,095,479 101,400 36,568 See here for the background. Each affidavit alleges that numerous registered voters in Harris County do not reside at the addresses listed on their voter registration records, as required by state election law. The proceedings are pending. Winning it will be another matter. Vips Support Documents and Useful Resource Links . No results found. This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. There are apparently 2,100 provisional Election Day ballots in question, out of 2,555 total E-Day provisionals and 2,420 that included a vote in this race. It comes as no surprise, then, to discover that most lawyers (58 per cent) get between 20 and 25 days of paid holiday (excluding bank holidays) a year, while the bulk of the rest (33 per cent) get between 26 and 30 days. Morales-Doyle supported that approach, noting that every criminal solicitation statute that he is aware of applies only to solicitation of criminal conduct. Harris County District Clerk - Web - https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com or by US mail - Harris County District Clerk, PO Box 4651, Houston, Tx 77210-4651 Criminal history/Background checks information-involving arrests made by any law enforcement agency within Harris County visit their website. 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. On January 7, 2021, I filed with the Harris County Clerk's Office an affidavit disclosing my . Civil Ad Litem . Disclaimer | As a result, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, even though fewer than 115,000 ballots had been cast. Please update if/when you open the letter. On the one hand, I have faith that local political leaders who have been vocal in their opposition to TxDOTs previous plans have done their best to get as good a deal as they can. 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. Cindy Siegel, chairwoman of the Harris County GOP, said officials are impeding on the democratic process. She is the Harris County District Attorney in Texas and assumed office in 2017. The EPAs civil rights compliance arm announced the investigation last Wednesday. In video footage recorded Sunday and reviewed by the Houston Chronicle Thursday, a man carrying the clipboard explains to the resident: What they told us to do is get a yes or no to confirm whether everybody is here. Judge Peeples has set an initial status conference for today, Tuesday December 13, at 3:00 p.m. This will be an important case, and Im glad to see its progressing, said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. This isnt a lawsuit, its an investigation. Seriously, this was a fine performance by the Elections Office. Sylvester Turner, Mayor Mayor Sylvester Turner serves as the Executive Officer of the City. This is the state house district in which I ran back in 2018 and 2020. You can read the Chron story here and their explainer about election contests here. Another type of letter that can be issued from the United States Attorneys Office is a target letter.. In no uncertain terms, the secretary of states office which isrun by a Republicanappointed by Gov. 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. There is no perfect design, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. The Texas Election Network website which has minimal information about the organization and does not disclose its leadership lists five objectives, including clean voter rolls and fraud-free absentee ballots. In a primary election, each polling location has one judge from each party overseeing their own partys voting process. Agreements, Sale 12(lost to Judge Genesis Draper), Brian Staley, former candidate forHarris County Civil County Court at Law No. 8 Cause No. Lets see what happens in May. All About Bail Bonds owner Sunya Claiborne, plaintiff in the lawsuit, contends that her business is at stake because the minimum charge requirement is classic price fixing and a per se antitrust violation without any grant of state authority to displace competition, according to court documents. 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. Trust, Living Doesnt exactly fill you with pride and confidence in our justice system, does it? Matthew Dexter is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. The county and Claibornes lawyers are expected later on Friday to debate whether a temporary restraining order and injunction should be granted. Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. Thats not how a democratic society works. of Attorney, Personal 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. 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. The original hearing was in the 269th Civil Court, and the second hearing was to have been on May 6. 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. Paxtons office did not respond to specific questions about why he disagreed with Bitters conclusion, nor did he respond to requests for comment. If you need to write a similar letter. We expect TxDOT to uphold its end of this historic agreement, and not only to evaluate the impacts over the next year but to agree to and fund real solutions that address concerns about displacement, pollution, flooding and impacts on the public transportation network, said Harris County Pct. If the state cut early voting to just one week, as Hall has proposed, it would affect up to 6.5 million Texans thats how many voted in the first two weeks in 2020. The office also includes the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library, which is a public library that serves the legal information needs of self-represented litigants, legal professionals, the judiciary, and County and other governmental officials. As noted recently, the Supreme Court never responded to the initial writ, so I assume this was just a matter of the local GOP deciding it wasnt worth the effort to continue. Trust, Living Highway construction and expansion interrupt lives, displace people from their homes and businesses, and decimate generational wealth, especially in communities of color.. 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. An investigator with the AGs Election Integrity Unit spoke to Icsezen in December of 2020, and apparently concluded that this was basically a misunderstanding of an unclear law, and did not warrant further action. Marilyn and Tenesha have pro bono attorneys but the others are not allowed to be represented pro bono due to conflicts of interest. Mark Goldberg is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. And even the states witness Keith Ingram, the Texas secretary of states director of elections indicated the threat of prosecution loomed over election officials. Instead, the court did not issue an opinion and election night ballot countingproceeded uneventfullyat NRG Arena. Templates, Name Please complete an event and/or meeting request in its entirety using the link(s) below. . As a reminder, and as you can see from the report released by the Elections Office on the 18th, DaSean Jones netted 360 votes from the provisional ballots cast on Election Day. The contests being filed request that the more than one million votes cast in Harris County be voided and the county hold another election for the races being challenged (e.g., Harris County Judge, 189thDistrict Court, 180thDistrict Court, etc.). Most of the new details are similar to requestsTurner made in August 2021, and correspond with requests county officials raised more than a year ago, which state highway officials said they could not approve because they locked TxDOT into commitments on side ventures that werenot included in the project. This is often a good strategy, but it comes with some caveats. The Harris County Attorneys Office whose attorneys were unaware of the judges ruling until the order was uploaded Monday to the Harris County District Clerks Office defended the Bail Bond Board against the lawsuit. 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. The story refers to 2,000 provisional ballots. Paxtons office sought input from the secretary of states office prior to issuing the decision, which was requested by state Sen. Kelly Hancock and state Rep. Matt Krause, both Republicans. 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. See here and here for the background. I am requesting that the Harris County Elections Administrator take the actions required by the Texas Election Code.. The election has been certified by Commissioners Court, which if nothing else avoids the drama of any further delays. There are a couple of stories all rolled into this, so my apologies for any confusion. Who Should T.H. James Slattery, senior staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said for the average voter, the organizations name, badge and paperwork could convey a sense of an official visit by the government without explicitly doing so. Well see what the Court says. Area residents had fought the companys application, which was rejected on the grounds that it didnt adequately study the impacts of pollutants. 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. In an interview Tuesday, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said that about 2,100 provisional ballots cast after 7 p.m. Election Day should be counted. 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. EPA stepping in signaled a shift in that fight for residents who have little more than emotional appeals on their side, and what help they can get from frustrated government representatives. Hiring a lawyer after receiving a letter is an excellent option. The letters of guardianship provide an expiration date on their face, one year plus 120 days after the anniversary date. For additional information please review our WHD knocked on about 1500. Let me just show you what that second linked file says: The case underlying these certified questions is a pre-enforcement challenge to two recently enacted provisions of the Texas Election Code: section 276.016(a) (the anti-solicitation provision) and section 31.129 (the civil-liability provision) as applied to the anti-solicitation provision. My school is a party school but I'm a commuter student, from a different state in fact. Respondents are directed to conduct the canvass of the November 2022 election as required by the Election Code. 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. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee Tuesday denied Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's announcement that county officials are attempting to resolve the defunding claims Hegar made earlier this . Planning, Wills A-Z, Form 2023-00964; Alexandra Mealer v. Lina Hidalgo. According to the petition filed Monday night,Wayne Dolcefino, a media consultant and former TV journalist,submitted multiple requests for public information on behalf of the Gallery Furniture owner, who was a major donor supporting Republican candidates including County Judge LinaHidalgos opponent Alexandra del Moral Mealer. Such requests have been used by activists all over the country as a way to audit election results. See here for the background.