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. Not to my knowledge anyways. The project also connects to trails for running and biking, adds air monitoring in certain areas, adds features aimed at encouraging transit use and commits to stormwater design changes sought by the Harris County Flood Control District. Brian Douglas Walters. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. Will do! 2023-00925; Michelle Fraga v. Judge Christine Weems. 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. In the interim, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Garcia, who both were outspoken about the need for changes to the design, were reelected. 2023-01066; Dan Simons v. Judge Sedrick Walker. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. Bruce Bain is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. The Harris County Bail Bond Board, on its second attempt, passed a rule that made the ten percent minimum a requirement, and in response a bail bond company owner filed a lawsuit to stop it. The petition is filed in Harris County, but the case will be heard by a judge from outside the county, according to Menefees office. Menefee said Harris County had received more than three dozen requests to inspect ballots since Paxton issued his opinion. Another type of letter that can be issued from the United States Attorneys Office is a target letter.. Forms, Real Estate 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. Verify that the Texas Attorney Vacation Form youre considering is appropriate for your state. Clerk Burgess is represented by Neal Manne. Along those lines, I note two potential future Constable candidates: Don Dinh, a Deputy Constable in Precinct 1 since 2020 who was for 24 years before that a sergeant in the Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Constables office, filed a designation of treasurer to run for Constable in Precinct 5. Icsezen did so. The Harris County GOP reacted angrily to this and sent a letter to Ken Paxton demanding he take action or else we have no confidence that the Attorney General will uphold any of our election laws. UPDATE: Heres a later version of the story about the GOPs lawsuit over the results delivery process. Wayne Dolcefino, a media consultant and former TV journalist. 14 Cause No. Handbook, DUI During the election CIA knocked on 300,000 doors. Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel indicated there could be more election contests to come. Morgan testified that she was concerned the law applied even to volunteers like her, given that her role is formally certified by county election offices. January 2022 reports are here, July 2022 reports are here. That is a sacred act, and were going to fight to protect it.. Recent bills proposed in the state legislature largely floundered. Members of the Texas Transportation Commission, however, stopped short of imposing a deadline or considering shelving the project, as they have in the past when removing the $9 billion plan from the states short-range plan was a possibility. Work demands keep most lawyers in private practice from frequent or lengthy vacations. 2023-00927; Bruce Bain v. Judge Corey Sepolio. 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. LLC, Internet First of all, the individual will have the guidance and information they need to begin negotiating a settlement rather than immediately preparing for court. 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. The initial request for a temporary restraining order was denied on Friday, and there will be a hearing for a temporary injunction on May 6. Nothing else of great interest in this group Id expect both Ed Gonzalez and Christian Menefee to start posting bigger numbers soon. Privacy | My read on this Ive sent some questions to the Harris County Attorneys office to get clarification is that Elections Admin Longoria would like a ruling from the court to settle the question of what exactly she is and is not allowed to do, given that as things stand right now saying the wrong thing could get her arrested. 16 Cause No. for Deed, Promissory Its your own damn fault you didnt vote! She cited the example of barratry, where lawyers unlawfully solicit clients for profit. 2023-00937; Matthew Dexter v. Judge Genesis Draper. Under state law, ballots should be delivered by either the election judge or an election clerk designated by that judge. Instead, the legislature and the Governor have made it a crime to do so.. 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. None of the affidavits led to county elections officials removing any names from the voter rolls. Heres a Twitter thread from Chron reporter Emily Foxhall with more quotes. We appreciate your patience and look forward to speaking with you soon. Gonna give talking a try. And, yet, thats not the way its breaking.. Andy Taylor, general counsel for the Harris County GOP, is representing Lunceford. 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. But, the judge noted, Longoria and Morgan do not work for the state. A week is a lifetime in politics and this can radically change, but if the governor wasnt hurt by what happened with the electric grid and the winter storm in February and for the most part, he seems to have not been hurt by it its probably the same kind of calculations here when it comes to the masking order and mandatory versus voluntary vaccinations, Taylor said. In a statement Tuesday, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefees office said: The requests for these documents were handled the same as any other requests for documents related to ongoing litigation against the county. The mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. Its not clear to me where things are procedurally with this litigation and remember, there are a bunch of other cases as well but in this matter the Fifth Circuit wanted to get some clarity on state law before doing whatever it has on its docket to do. The only reason we know any of this is because Paxton put out a whiny press release complaining about his inability to get a Montgomery County grand jury to give him what he wanted. Judge Jones is represented by Oliver Brown. who have previously worked at the U.S. Attorneys Office. This is often a good strategy, but it comes with some caveats. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. The Harris County Elections Administrators office debuted the plan in the May 7 election deputizing law enforcement officials and full-time county staffers to deliver ballots from the polling location to the countys central counting station. Last year, TCEQ approved an amendment that included exemptions for emission limitations for concrete batch plants, in response to an application to construct a plant by a Fort Worth concrete company. Under Hegars calculations, Heaps annualized budget would have been about $48.9 million over 12 months nearly $2.3 million more than the $46.7 million figure calculated by the county. 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. There is no valid justification for such a one-sided restriction on speech.. If you can do better than I did, or if the webpage eventually fixes itself, let me know. 21 Cause No. Disclaimer | This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. But hey, lawsuits are time- and resource-intensive, and they often end in settlements anyway, so why not give this a try. The lawsuit follows the approval by the Harris County Bail Bond Board to require bondsmen to take in 10 percent or more of the surety bond minimum set by a judge or magistrate to make it more difficult for violent offenders to leave jail and go on to commit more crime. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 17 Cause No. Voters who were in line by 7 p.m. were able to vote normally, while those who arrived between 7 and 8 p.m. were allowed to cast provisional ballots. Second, the lawyer will start identifying their objectives and lining up what evidence theyll need to win their case. I have a hard time believing that this couldnt have been litigated before Tuesday afternoon, however. This election took countless hours of work not only by county employees, but by election judges and workers from both parties. 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? Local Republican party officials argued the countys ballot transport protocol violated state election law. 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. 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. Our hospital system will operate at a $45 million deficit, Hidalgo said. They elicit strong backlash from residents who often already know what its like to live by one. 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. What could the letter waiting for me be about? 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. The guardian of the person is authorized to make decisions about health care, living arrangements, and similar matters, but has no authority to expend funds. 95% Success Rate. 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 petition also acknowledges the county has provided some of the requested documents. With fewer people needing bail bonds because fewer people were being assessed bail, bail bond companies saw their revenues decline and so they looked for new customers by lowering their fees so as to entice those who were still being required to pay bail but couldnt afford their fees. So our perspective is that those provisional ballots are no different than any other provisional ballots they are to be counted.. The Business Records Affidavit is a legal mechanism through which the recipient authenticates the documents provided for use in future legal proceedings. And completely out of the blue. Briones 819,495 331,782 0 667,234 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. Ms. Wyatt is represented by Neal Manne. 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. Doing nothing is identical to telling the other lawyer take me to court.. House announced he would bring such a proposal to the board last week. Another type of letter that can be issued from the United States Attorneys Office is a target letter.. The decision prompted the three Democrats on Harris County Commissioners Court to go into an executive session to discuss with the county attorneys office whether they have legal options to compel the two missing commissioners to attend. The resulting ability to anticipate the governments case strategy gives us a critical edge over firms that lack this capability. Agreements, Sale Keith Ingram, the secretary of states director of elections, told lawmakers in the hearing he disagreed with that interpretation and believed Harris Countys plan violated the law. 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. Center, Small Can you imagine what the Republican response to this would be if it were a Democrat complaining about voting location problems? The information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. In Independence Heights, the first city incorporated by Black residents in Texas, the project proposes drainage improvements to alleviate persistent flooding in the area. What hes doing is not helping in furtherance of coping with the disaster, Menefee said. The concrete plants are subject to permits that aim to limit pollution in the form of particulate matter and crystalline silica which have been linked to respiratory diseases and cancer but independent testing of concrete facilities by the complaints authors indicate that pollution levels exceed health-based limits. This practice group works closely with The State of Texas in Mental Health commitment. The San Antonio Report consulted another expert with a similar opinion. Their presence allows us to view a case from both points of view the defense and the prosecution. So yeah, this is the guy who wants unlimited power to prosecute election fraud which, evidence would suggest hes not very good at and is now sending out the howler monkeys against the Court of Criminal Appeals in order to get his way. If granted, the mask mandate would remain in place until trial or until the decision was appealed. I would be very careful about that, Ingram responded. This practice group provides general legal services covering law enforcement, public works, community services, road and building construction, park site planning and development, vendor selection and contract development, agreement preparation for design and engineering services, real property transactions, inter-local agreements with other governmental jurisdictions, Public Information Act requirements, open meetings requirements, and the application of state and federal laws and regulations related to HIV/AIDS programs, the medical examiner, parks and library operations, disaster planning, and emergency management services. Mark Goldberg Assistant District Attorney | Harris County District Attorney's Office. Harris County Attorneys Office1019 Congress, 15th FloorHouston, TX 77002, Harris County Attorney's Office Staff Directory. 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.. The Texas Attorney Generals office is attempting a last-minute intervention to toss out 2,000 provisional ballots before a Harris County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday to certify the November election. 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. The votes that were cast during that time period pursuant to a court order are still perfectly legal. I have no interest in prioritizing those needs over anyone elses. Take the form to the post office. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee gave the following statement in response: "Comptroller Hegar's statement is false. The night also could be politically turbulent as a dispute plays out over one line in the states election code. UPDATE: The Trib story also references 2,000 ballots, which does not help clear up my confusion. 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. No wonder hes having a hard time retaining staff. Our practice is focused on debt collection remedies. I dont know when we as a society will act to protect people from gun violence, but we cannot act quickly enough. Federal and state laws requires ballots be securely stored for 22 months after an election, in part to preserve them for recounts or challenges to election results. A county attorney tried to send me mail through USPS the other day when I wasn't home. 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. . 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. It is scary to receive a letter from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Judge Lawton-Evans is represented by Anthony Drumheller. It is an omnibus law, containing the provision challenged inLongoria v. Paxtonas well as restrictions on other aspects of voting and elections. of Attorney, Personal To Access County Clerk's Forms: (click here Downloadable Clerk's Office Forms) For suggestions or comments regarding this site please email us at webcomments@hctx.net. 1 Cause No. 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. Design specifics of the future I-45 interchange with Interstate 10 that accommodate Metros planned. Here @JudgeGenesis Draper. The election code does not speak to the delivery other than the presiding judge must turn over those election records to our election office. 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. Its just illogical to me, and this is a part of the story that nobody talks about.. UPDATE: Later in the day I found this Statesman story, which added a few details. The Election Administrators office notified Republican election judges they could opt in to the countys plan if they wished, and at least 31 of them did so. He urged the county to proceed with the lawsuit, rather than relent. They saw it as a chance to win long-sought relief for people who have suffered from batch plants. Whats more, the Republican Party of Texas membership voted overwhelmingly at its statewide convention in June to make more election reforms its No. This court is a sham and a disgrace, and the only way forward is to pack it with judges that will actually apply the law. 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. To put it another way, good luck proving intent. That would require dividing the short fiscal year by 16 pay periods and multiplying that by 26 to cover the whole year, she said.