letter from harris county attorney
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. 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. The petition also acknowledges the county has provided some of the requested documents. PPP/Emilys List, July 2: Biden 48, Trump 46, UT-Tyler/DMN, July 12: Biden 48, Trump 43, Morning Consult, July 28: Biden 47, Trump 45, Morning Consult, August 3: Biden 47, Trump 46, 2023 Off the Kuff | Powered by WordPress, Name Raised Spent Loans On Hand There is nothing more reliable in this world than the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for. Comptroller Hegar misapplied the law, bungled the math, and is acting outside of his legal . 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. Design specifics of the future I-45 interchange with Interstate 10 that accommodate Metros planned. There will be a lot more litigation over the rest of that law to come. In the event that the Harris County Elections Office ever needs to contact you directly, our staff will have county ID badges to prove their identity, and/or paperwork with the logo or official seal of the office included, the release states. Jack Morman did not have a report filed or Id have included him as well. On the other side of that, you can see that Judge Hidalgo left it all on the field. The amended complaint was filed on Monday, December 27. However, he is leading by 449 votes, so if you threw out all of the E-Day provisionals, he would still be ahead by 89 votes in his race. 2504 Rusk St. #110 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. Regarding the temporary restraining order request getting rejected, Kevin Pennell the plaintiffs lawyer said in an email Friday he had no comment. The maximum that a judge can receive from a PAC is $5000, so that is the goal for each judge and for Lina. Time and again, the TCEQ has approved permits for additional plants in these very same neighborhoods, and failed to ensure that the pollution that comes out of these plants does not harm human health and the environment, Menefee said. Sandlin 38,580 28,502 0 79,998 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. 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? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Unless you're tempted to ignore a summons/subpoena/etc. Please give a few bucks if you can and help them all out. James Lombardino is represented by Jared Woodfill. UPDATE: Its 10:30 PM, more than a third of the Tuesday votes have been counted, and I see nothing on Twitter or in my inbox to indicate that SCOTx has issued a ruling. See here for the background. What horrible crime could OP have committed to receive an envelope full of glitter? For months, election administrators in Texas and across the country have been fielding records requests from activists intent on re-examining every ballot cast in every election since November 2020 or, in some cases, even earlier. 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. Corporations, 50% 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. 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. 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. Most letters will include a section labeled Definitions that instructs the recipient about how to interpret keywords within the text of the requests. Please complete an event and/or meeting request in its entirety using the link(s) below. They elicit strong backlash from residents who often already know what its like to live by one. State attorneys said that the law did not apply to volunteers like Morgan and argued the government can prohibit interactions between local election officials and voters without running afoul of the First Amendment. Those details are not the only obstacles to construction, which officials will consider moving from 2024 to 2027 later this month in the regions four-year transportation plan. The same way that the Secretary of State is deputizing these people in his office to speak on behalf of the Secretary of State on statutory matters, to perform his statutory duties, the elections administrator is deputizing individuals to carry out duties and responsibilities and functions that are otherwise prescribed to be discharged by the elections administrator, Birnberg said. Those challenges are awaiting a summer trial. 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. 21 Cause No. Letter from the US Attorneys Office? Not only would the back-and-forth cause further confusion among parents of schoolchildren, but leaders of Bexar, Dallas, and Harris counties could simply refuse to stop requiring masks. Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk Carla Wyatt, County Treasurer, Alexandra Mealer, County Judge 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. Interpret laws, rulings, and regulations for individuals and businesses. This one was filed on December 10, and if there was any news coverage of it I am not able to find it. No results found. 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 Republicans did warn us theyd be sore losers. (lost to Judge Manpreet Monica Singh), Mark Goldberg, former candidate forHarris County Criminal Court at Law No. 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. 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. For now, at least. Hopefully, well find out soon. The proceedings are pending. . There may be an opinion in the future that addresses that question.. The SOS raised no concerns, legal or otherwise, with the program. On its own motion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has certified the following questions to the Court: (1) Whether Volunteer Deputy Registrars are public officials under the Texas Election Code; (2) Whether the speech Plaintiffs allege that they intend to engage in constitutes solicitation within the context of Texas Election Code 276.016(a)(1). Although the ballots were processed, Harris County now intends to include them in the final vote canvass, Christopher Hilton, chief of the Attorney Generals office general litigation division said Monday. I'm a college student making a commute across state lines (to the county the attorney is from) and I have no criminal record or charges in my name. If I read this literally as a layman, I think Im required to provide ballots the day after an election before the results have even been canvassed, said Chris Davis, elections director in Williamson County, who said such a release would make it impossible for counties to confidently conduct recounts that would stand up to legal scrutiny. Tenant, More Real To put it another way, good luck proving intent. Judge Peeples is based in San Antonio, and was appointed by the Honorable Susan Brown, the Presiding Judge of the Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas. We made a good step the last time, but we are not there yet, State Sen. Bob Hall, a Republican from Edgewood, said about last years election reforms packages that reduced early voting hours in places like Harris County and put new restrictions on mail-in voting. Although the scope of Rodriguezs preliminary injunction is limited, the judge dealt the first legal blow to new elections restrictions and voting changes Republican lawmakers enacted last year. County election officials around the state are already reporting getting a bunch of requests, some of which appear to be part of a coordinated effort. 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. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Responds to Texas This one will be heard in a courtroom. Nothing else of great interest in this group Id expect both Ed Gonzalez and Christian Menefee to start posting bigger numbers soon. Attorneys. The agreement outlines plans for widening the freeway by adding two managed lanes in each direction from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, along with various frontage road and interchange alterations. I dont know when they plan on ruling, but at some point it just doesnt matter. Reporter Edward McKinley and plaintiffs attorney Sean Morales-Doyle have good Twitter threads with more details, so go check them out. 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. We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. 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. Update: I'm being summoned to the county court to defend myself for reckless driving charges. Theres some risk here for Harris County as well, as the opponents of this project arent likely to be happy with half a loaf. Forms, Small 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. Tatum, your day of reckoning has just started.. One of his top staffers ran against Judge Hidalgo in the 2022 Dem primary, and I imagine there will be some kind of response to that. 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. 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. PDF RQ-0395-KP - Office of the Attorney General 1 Cause No. 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. None of that will stop the Fifth Circuit from doing what the Republicans ask them to do since thats what they believe their job is, but at least he tried. Greg Abbotts executive order prohibiting local authorities from issuing COVID-19 restrictions, such as mask and vaccine mandates. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 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. Highway construction and expansion interrupt lives, displace people from their homes and businesses, and decimate generational wealth, especially in communities of color.. Work demands keep most lawyers in private practice from frequent or lengthy vacations. Even at the highest end of the estimate of locations that had issues, more than 90% of them did not. Judge Jackson is represented by John Raley. 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. Given that Harris County voters cast more than 1.1 million ballots overall, the 2,000 provisional ballots have little chance of changing most election outcomes. She cited the example of barratry, where lawyers unlawfully solicit clients for profit. Im pretty sure this is not what antitrust law was intended for, but what do I know? It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. By the time this runs in the morning well know what the official canvass says, and from there well see if an election challenge will follow. Opponents of TxDOTs design, finalized in 2019, said they needed to review specifics of the two agreements, but remained opposed to some of the fundamental features included in the plans. Its not like voters were told they couldnt vote or that they had to go home. This is all bullshit and should be seen as such. Its your own damn fault you didnt vote! I for one dont see any difference between the two. I dont think TxDOT will pull I-45 widening off their list, and if Im right then I still dont know what happens next. The county attorneys office did not respond to a request for more information about the requests, including who submitted them. In the past, the responsibility of transporting the ballots to the counting station has fallen to these election judges, the final task at the end of their 15-hour day. Cindy Siegel, chairwoman of the Harris County GOP, said officials are impeding on the democratic process. Hiring or retaining a lawyer is simply too expensive. The story refers to 2,000 provisional ballots. If you need to write a similar letter. It doesnt need to make sense. The Harris County Attorney's 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. This is not some sort of radical rebellion, he said. Menefee. 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. Customer Service. Everyone who has closely read the law agrees the ballots are confidential: the Secretary of States Office, counties across the state, and his own office just a month ago. 1, Longoria, Morgan, and other election officials and election workers across Texas can be imprisoned for a minimum of six months and fined up to $10,000 if they encourage a voter to apply for a mail ballot application. 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. Yet, the way the (Texas Public Information Act) is written, no one except those involved in the underlying lawsuit can get access to the public information.. 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. Judge Jones is represented by Oliver Brown. Taylor alleged 80 percent of polling places with paper shortages on Nov. 8 were in areas considered Republican strongholds. Moreover, Harris County is not responsible for the content nor endorses any site which has a link from this page. Oh, and if this is one of the final straws that leads to Constable precinct redistricting, I wont complain. See here and here for some background about the litigation that allowed polling locations to remain open until 8 PM. In the letter to the attorney general's office, Bitter, the general counsel for the secretary of state's 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. Agreements, Corporate To get some of those benefits, officials first have to iron out technical issue that not only affect the$10 billion rebuild of I-45and the downtown freeway system, but numerous other mobility projects that cross it. 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. A new Texas law that keeps local election officials from encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots likely violates the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled late Friday. I doubt theres an agreement that satisfies everyone, but there are definitely options that do a better job of minimizing harm and promoting equity. The letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. I'm a college student making a commute across state lines (to the county the attorney is from) and I have no criminal record or charges in my name. She conceded gracefully and went on with her life. Texas should be encouraging election officials to provide voters all the information they need to participate in elections. But with blessing of local, state and federal elected officials, it is likely TxDOT and the FHWA could come to a separate agreement and work could proceed, people involved in the deal said. The election code does not speak to the delivery other than the presiding judge must turn over those election records to our election office. 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. Hegar,a Republican,said he hopes Heap and county officials can resolve the situation themselves long before Harris County begins budget deliberations for fiscal year 2024. He also predicted that county officials would once again use a convoluted approach to argue they had not reduced Heaps funding. Copyright 2022 Attorney-FAQ.com | version 5.1.20 (commit d0adbc) Laravel v 8.83.26 | (PHP v8.1.16), Home (current) | 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. It could also ask voters to approve the funding reduction in a referendum, Hegar said. Letter from the US Attorneys Office? Speak with Oberheiden, P.C. TCEQ later passed the amendment and approved the companys application after what it called a clerical error.. Given the speed of the appellate process, expect it to be a long time before the next update. This practice group files lawsuits for collecting fines, taxes, judgments, workers compensation, property damage, contract, and other monies owed to Harris County. But well see what happens. The other challenge is regarding State Representative District 135, which will be heard in the State House of Representatives. Lawyers take business trips if they have to, but time spent traveling is often time spent not billing (or billed at half-rates), which can reduce your income. Even in the case of the loser who lost to DaSean Jones by 449 votes, its extremely hard to imagine there could have been enough people who encountered problems and could not vote anywhere else and would have voted for the loser to make a difference. Name Change, Buy/Sell At the same time, party leaders are threatening GOP state lawmakers who control the Texas Legislature with increased sanctions if they dont support the platform, including potentially spending tens of thousands of dollars directly to oppose them in future primaries. Isabel Longoria, the Harris County Elections Administrator, and Cathy Morgan, a Volunteer Deputy Registrar serving in Williams and Travis counties, sued the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, to enjoin enforcement of the civil liability provision, as applied to the anti-solicitation provision. 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. Dan Simons is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Hegars claim is a repeat of a fight thatalready played outbetween the comptroller and Harris County last August. Verify that the Texas Attorney Vacation Form youre considering is appropriate for your state. When it comes to voting by mail, I have to be very careful with my words, Longoria said from the witness stand. The case, Paxton v. Longoria, concerns a First-Amendment issue over how provisions in Senate Bill 1, a 2021 law, could lead to civil penalties and or criminal prosecution of county election administrators and volunteer deputy registrars. 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. As a reminder and a general principle, never believe a word Andy Taylor says. 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. Because the Harris and Travis County district attorneys did not appeal, only Longorias challenge to the civil penalty permitted by the civil-liability provision and the Volunteer Deputy Registrars challenge to the criminal liability imposed under the anti-solicitation provision were at issue in the appeal. Around the same time, Harris County sued TxDOT, saying the designs did not adequately address the impacts of noise and pollution in some communities, notably the North Side and Independence Heights. 8(lost to Judge Erika Ramirez), Bruce Bain, former candidate for the269th District Court(lost to Judge Cory Sepolio), Michelle Fraga, former candidate for the281st District Court(lost to Judge Christine Weems), Elizabeth Buss, former candidate for theHarris County Criminal Court at Law No.