It also doesnt matter whether the regular Republicans support this madness or not. So it doesnt speak to who has to drive to meet the other person to do so, Longoria said. Bennett 0 1,022 0 14,527 This one was filed on December 10, and if there was any news coverage of it I am not able to find it. 2023-00841; Tami Pierce v. Judge DaSean Jones. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee Tuesday denied Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegars announcement that county officials are attempting to resolve the defunding claims Hegar made earlier this month. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Responds to Texas Records, Annual Forms and Templates - Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library All parties were put on notice that the votes would be counted.. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Judge Peeples was the jurist who ruled that the abortion bounty hunter law SB8 violated the state constitution last December, though he did not issue a statewide injunction against it. All requests must be in writing. This is the state house district in which I ran back in 2018 and 2020. The state is expected to quickly appeal the ruling. Estimated tocost at least $9.7 billion, the project would rebuild I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, adding two managed lanes in each direction. That would not be a cheap race as things stand now, as you can see. That left a mere 750 or so alternatives, including ones that would have been very close by. Nor does it require that election officials start soliciting applications to vote by mail it simply prevents the imposition of criminal and civil penalties against officials for encouraging people to vote by mail if they are eligible to do so, Rodriguez wrote. It could all be a moot point by then anyway.. Following a testy three-hour hearing earlier in the day, Federal District Judge Xavier Rodriguez temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the rule against Harris Countys election administrator until the rest of a lawsuit plays out. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. See here for the background. Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston Agreements, Letter Im disappointed to see another losing candidate challenging the results of their election. Forms, Independent Wayne Dolcefino, a media consultant and former TV journalist. So many things to say, so Ill bullet-point it: This is different from the ridiculous election contest filed in HD135 by a candidate that lost by 15 points and over 6,000 votes. 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. See here for more on that, and here for the response letter, which also observes that the people who want to get the I-45 project going dont represent those who will be affected by it. I did not see any news items related to this, so what you see here is all I know. 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. 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 mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. With voters walking into polling places and ballots set to arrive at NRG Arena in a few hours, Harris Countys Republican Party has challenged the process election officials will use to transfer ballots from locations to the central counting center, citing concerns with handing the machines over to anyone but precinct judges. In order to better protect court documents, we now require you to have a registered login with our site. Contractors, Confidentiality Harris County assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies. Eventually, Will Thompson of the Texas attorney generals office told Rodriguez that the provision was meant to limit official encouragement of voting by mail, indicating the state preferred people vote in person even if they qualify to vote by mail. Judge Andrews is represented by John Raley. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. The injunction applies to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and local county prosecutors in Harris, Travis and Williamson counties. 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. Customer Service provides assistance related to criminal, civil and family cases (causes). Well see him in court.. Federal and state law require that ballots be kept secure for 22 months after an election to allow for recounts and challenges a time frame Texas counties have had set in place for decades. At aMay 11 hearingwith the state House Elections Committee, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria argued the countys ballot delivery plan utilizing law enforcement officers and deputized staffers is in compliance with Texas law. The challenged provision makes it a state jail felony for election officials to solicit the submission of an application to vote by mail if the voter did not request it. Voting, Board Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department; Harris County Pretrial Services ; HC AZ; Court Agenda; County Directory; 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. I do hope the County Attorneys Office keeps an eye on this activity, because we know its ill-intentioned bullshit and it deserves to be closely scrutinized. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. CIA plans to hold a fundraiser, hopefully on Feb 19. Highway construction and expansion interrupt lives, displace people from their homes and businesses, and decimate generational wealth, especially in communities of color.. Mirza said in the case four years ago, Paxtons office did not ask the Texas Supreme Court to intervene. The debate over law-enforcement funding in Harris County stems from the countys decision to shift its fiscal year and budgeting schedule to start in October instead of March. 4. And Id bet none of those county judges suffer for any of it politically, either. To vote by mail in the primary, Texas voters must request mail ballot applications between January 1, 2022, and February 18, 2022. Judges cant take pro bono help to defend selves. Thus far, the Harris County Attorneys Office has identified filings by (and we expect more filings to be made today): These filings are in addition to previously announced contests by: Below is the statement from the County Attorney released this morning: This is a shameful attempt by a group of losing candidates who couldnt win the hearts and minds of Harris County voters and are now throwing nonsensical legal theories at the wall to see what sticks. Expect a response from the team within48 hoursof your requested date. 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. Paxtons office did not respond to specific questions about why he disagreed with Bitters conclusion, nor did he respond to requests for comment. Garcia 33,177 8,498 0 54,177 Mr. Take the form to the post office. Ellis 40,800 443,116 0 3,543,358 Another type of letter that can be issued from the United States Attorneys Office is a target letter.. Harris County Attorney said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's claims that Harris County officials are finding a resolution to defunding law enforcement complaints are false. Wyatt 1,950 2,110 0 2,258 But due to a change in state law, you only have until March 8 to make a contribution. Mark Herman, Constable Precinct 4 So lets think about this instead: . Taylor alleged 80 percent of polling places with paper shortages on Nov. 8 were in areas considered Republican strongholds. But we dont plan to let him abuse his power. Harris County Attorney Denies the County is Resolving Texas Comptroller Of those, Shah said, 66 were rejected because they did not meet statutory requirements and contained incomplete information.. Check out the subscription page by clicking Buy Now. Things are moving in what seems to be a positive direction, said J. Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. Liens, Real The Harris County Attorneys Office fights for the interests of Harris County through the civil justice system to preserve access to clean air and water; ensure safe, healthy neighborhoods; protect consumers against fraud, exploitation, and other bad acts; and defend voting rights. Update: I'm being summoned to the county court to defend myself for reckless driving charges. 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. Greg Abbott recommended keeping the current waiting period. S.B. Thats not how a democratic society works. As the story notes, Bell County had similar issues with some polling locations and also got a court order allowing locations to remain open until 8 PM, which the AGs office has not opposed. 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 district court already determined, this law is unconstitutional and prevents election officials from encouraging people to vote by mail, including our seniors, our neighbors with disabilities, and our active-duty service members. Nile Copeland is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. There is no perfect design, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. She offered examples of voters she no longer felt she could help navigate the vote-by-mail process. As the City's chief administrator and official representative, the Mayor is responsible for the general management of the City and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced. Verify that the Texas Attorney Vacation Form youre considering is appropriate for your state. Taylor accused Harris County Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum, who took over the office starting in August, of intentionally causing ballot paper shortages in Republican-leaning neighborhoods. Judge Lunceford previously served on the bench, so I trust she understands the seriousness of asking a court to disregard the votes of over a million residents across Harris County, Menefee said. She said she was shocked by the opinion. services, For Small I suppose if this happens the next thing well hear about is Angela Paxton driving them away, probably as they hunch down in the back seat of her SUV, for the safety of the suburbs. I have personally been told by persons actually residing at these addresses that the challenged voter does not reside at that address and is not only temporarily absent from that address with an intent to return, the affidavits read. Mark Montgomery is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. 2023-01052; Sartaj Bal v. Judge Toria Finch. 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. From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: @TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges., Austin Statesman (@statesman) 9:30 AM 6 February 2022. 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. Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 1:54 PM. 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. Notes, Premarital 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.. 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.. 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. 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. The judge said his order does not affect any voting procedures, change the vote-by-mail process or affect voting deadlines or eligibility. 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. There are a couple of stories all rolled into this, so my apologies for any confusion. In his orders, hell suspend two to three laws specifically by name, and then hell say any other laws that could allow a local official to do something inconsistent with what Im doing, Menefee said. Menu It has a chilling effect, Rodriguez said while questioning a state attorney Friday morning. Disclaimer | It is highly likely that a lawsuit will result. However, the hyperlink for that case didnt work when I tried it, and searching for the case via that number returned no results. This is utterly chaotic. Here are the questions the 5th Circuit asked the Texas Supremes to answer: https://ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/22/22-50110.0.pdf, Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) 2:45 PM 23 March 2022. In Tarrant County, volunteers with a conservative group occupied a room in the elections office for weeks this summer, examining 300,000 ballots from the March 2020 primary, which were made available by the county 22 months after the election. it will not end well for you in the long run. Oh, and if this is one of the final straws that leads to Constable precinct redistricting, I wont complain. 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. USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. Feb. 18 is the last day for counties to receive applications for mail-in ballots for the March 1 primary. Erin Lunceford is represented by Andy Taylor. 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. See here for the background, and here for a copy of the ruling. I am willing to consider a pause, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. The judge hearing the case is in San Antonio which complicates matters re time to get there and back for hearings. What hes doing is not helping in furtherance of coping with the disaster, Menefee said. NEW I, along with @LinaHidalgoTX and @LongoriaTx, requested that the DOJ do everything in its power to ensure that despite the impacts of SB1 and the high percentage of mail ballot rejections, every eligible voter has their vote counted in our elections in Harris County. Hegar said in a statement that the county will be barred from increasing property tax collections plus revenue from properties added to the tax roll last year until it resolves the discrepancy. Thank you for your help! On defining solicitation, because a felony criminal prosecution is possible, Justice Jane Bland asked if the state should limit its meaning to the penal codes definition, which would restrict the term to situations where a public official induces someone to commit a criminal act. The office provides legal counsel to Harris County government, elected officials, and employees, and represents them in civil lawsuits. We wont allow any group to engage in illegal conduct to try and remove registered voters off the rolls.. 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. 7 Cause No. See here and here for the background. He may or may not seek to run for something else do remember that the minute he says something to that effect hell have to resign, so all we would have before then is speculation but either way I wont be surprised to see some competition for the Precinct 1 slot. The Press has more. Thank you for your help! My guess is a subpoena. Amendments, Corporate Heres a Twitter thread from Chron reporter Emily Foxhall with more quotes. Thats how it is for the judges. 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. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. 2023-00958; Rory Olsen v. Judge Jason Cox. Texas AG Paxton disputes appointments of Harris County elections - KPRC The USPS rede livery form states that it was both a letter and certified mail. Doesnt exactly fill you with pride and confidence in our justice system, does it? 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. This action was taken in response to the Office of the Texas . Dan Spjut is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. 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. Though planned for nearly 20 years, concerns intensified five years ago, when groups such as Air Alliance Houston, LINKHouston and Stop TxDOT I-45 organized toargue highway officials should focus more on improving transitand avoid any additional freeway widening. Will Archer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. 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. Privacy | Employment law attorneys advise the county, its departments, and its officials regarding proposed policies, procedures, and legal obligations and provide training for management and newly elected officials. Harris Countys decision to allow volunteers to transport election records including voted ballots to the countys Central Count location on Election Night is incompatible with the Texas Election Code and violates well-established chain of custody protocols spelled out under Texas law, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson Sam Taylor said in a statement on Friday. 15 Cause No. So our perspective is that those provisional ballots are no different than any other provisional ballots they are to be counted..
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letter from harris county attorney