letter from harris county attorney

I am writing to request your help with a matter that is very important to me. it will not end well for you in the long run. By contrast, under Texas law, it isnota crime for a public official or election official todiscourageeligible voters to vote by mail, saidLiz Ryan,partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Please update if/when you open the letter. 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. Bruce Bain is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. His math is wrong. It doesnt make any sense outside of, obviously, cynical partisanship and these targeted actions against Harris County, the most diverse county in the state Mirza said. If you throw out all of the Election Day provisional ballots, DaSean Jones still leads by 89 votes. (S or C-Corps), Articles Ballots are kept in secure lock boxes for 60 days, and then transferred to another secure facility for the remainder of the waiting period in order tocomply withthe Civil Rights Act of 1960, a federal law which, in part, requires ballots be securely stored for 22 months. & Resolutions, Corporate 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. 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. Texas Attorney General Website (How to Request Public Information), Harris County Attorneys Office,1019 Congress,15th FloorHouston, TX 77002. 3 Cause No. 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. The ballots in question were cast during a one-hour period on Nov. 8. Look at how zealously they opposed all of the efforts to expand voting access in the pandemic, including the third week of early voting that Greg Abbott ordered. 17 Cause No. Interpret laws, rulings, and regulations for individuals and businesses. 2023-00924; Elizabeth Buss v. Judge David Fleischer. But we dont plan to let him abuse his power. It is highly likely that a lawsuit will result. Agreements, Sale Feb. 18 is the last day for counties to receive applications for mail-in ballots for the March 1 primary. 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. of Business, Corporate Judge Cox is represented by Cris Feldman. We wont allow any group to engage in illegal conduct to try and remove registered voters off the rolls.. Their decision was supported by Harris County Commissioners Court and leaders of both political parties, a statement from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee read. Mark Herman, Constable Precinct 4 The only other race that is close enough to be even theoretically affected by the provisional ballots is the County Criminal Court #3 race, where Porsha Brown trails by the even smaller margin of 267 votes. House announced he would bring such a proposal to the board last week. The state is expected to quickly appeal the ruling. Agreements, Letter Notes, Premarital Taylor alleged 80 percent of polling places with paper shortages on Nov. 8 were in areas considered Republican strongholds. 18 Cause No. I'm only ever in the county my college is in for school alone. The letters of guardianship provide an expiration date on their face, one year plus 120 days after the anniversary date. These election contests are frivolous attempts to overturn the votes of more than a million residents in the third largest county in the country. 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. judges sued to undo 22 election. This is one of the precise situations I have been most worried about this election people in shadowy volunteer groups who suggest in one way or another that they are acting under official authority questioning the eligibility of voters directly by knocking on their doors, Slattery said. The guardian of the estate has all rights and obligations to expend the wards funds, subject to prior court approval. 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. As the project has lingered, and faced opposition, some have argued it is forcing TxDOT to take a harder line, jeopardizing some of the gains. Itll become too much of a political annoyance for him, and it could end up costing him dearly. 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. Update: I'm being summoned to the county court to defend myself for reckless driving charges. UPDATE: The Trib story also references 2,000 ballots, which does not help clear up my confusion. 2023-01066; Dan Simons v. Judge Sedrick Walker. Chris Daniel is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Leave it doesnt sound so bad given the alternative. There is no valid justification for such a one-sided restriction on speech.. I have no interest in prioritizing those needs over anyone elses. 55th District Court Judge Latosha Payne ruled Aug. 9 against atemporary injunctionstemmed from civil litigation lodged in April against the Harris County Bail Bond Board that attempted to prevent the premium policy from taking effect. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Change, Waiver Forms, Independent Copyright 2022 Attorney-FAQ.com | version 5.1.20 (commit d0adbc) Laravel v 8.83.26 | (PHP v8.1.16), Home (current) | But, the judge noted, Longoria and Morgan do not work for the state. That means the ball is in the state governments court, he said, which will have to make a move if it wants to change the status quo before Monday.. Circuit Court of Appeals has put a temporary hold on a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of a rule that keeps local election officials from encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots, according to Harris County officials. DWI 2nd will get credit only for 2 for 1. Meeting Request Use this link to request a meeting with the County Attorney. Lawyers tend to squeeze in short vacations whenever they can. If you have a favorite or two among them and a few bucks to spare, Im sure theyd appreciate a contribution. The lawyers job is to protect the opposing partys interests Hiring a lawyer after receiving a letter is an excellent option. If not, well take the ones off that are not, and then they update their records.. I for one dont see any difference between the two. A court of law ordered Harris County to keep the polls to open for an additional hour on Election Day and people across our county cast their ballots during that time, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said in a statement. 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 letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. They also collaborate with the Harris County Senior Justice Assessment Center, a consortium of state and county agencies that review cases/offer services for elderly victims of abuse and exploitation. 6(lost to Judge Kelley Andrews), Matthew Dexter, former candidate forHarris County Criminal Court at Law No. As I said, I have no criminal record to speak of prior to this so I'm not sure what to think at this point. Think about sending the document to your legal counsel to make certain all things are completed properly. 2023-00925; Michelle Fraga v. Judge Christine Weems. Planning, Wills There is nothing more reliable in this world than the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for. As I said before, the obvious way to deal with delays in opening a given voting location is to push back the closing time for it. Googling around, I saw a news item from September about Juul settling with the state of Texas, which was part of a larger class action settlement, and a news item from December about a $1.7 billion settlement of over 5000 lawsuits nationwide. Phil Sandlin, Constable Precinct 8, Teneshia Hudspeth, County Clerk Liens, Real And, yet, thats not the way its breaking.. Thanks! 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. 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. Menefee said Paxtons opinion directly contradicts a separate opinion his office issued last month, as well as an opinion issued by the AGs office more than 30 years ago, which both concluded that ballots are confidential for 22 months following an election. Thats the best I can do. 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. See here for the background and here for the courts order. Im pretty sure this is not what antitrust law was intended for, but what do I know? of Directors, Bylaws I wont hold my breath for it. See here for the background. First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne wrote the Harris County Attorneys office was approving the agreement based on the understanding that the Texas Supreme Courts order does not prohibit the tabulating of those votes as long as the ballots themselves remain segregated., Kimberly Gdula, deputy chief of the Attorney Generals office general litigation division, signed off on the agreement in an email: The State is good with this., However, Sunday evening, two days before the commissioners court meeting to certify the election results, Hilton, the chief of the Attorney Generals office general litigation division, sent an email to the parties questioning the legal basis for including the provisional ballots cast after 7 p,m. 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. USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. The article is paywalled, but I got to see a Google doc copy of it. Texas should be encouraging election officials to provide voters all the information they need to participate in elections. . . There is no perfect design, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Morales-Doyle supported that approach, noting that every criminal solicitation statute that he is aware of applies only to solicitation of criminal conduct. The law has drawn multiple lawsuits in addition toLongoria v. Paxton. Judge Lina Hidalgo and the Harris County Commissioners Court are defunding the police.. 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. Harris County Attorney January 11, 2021 VIA E-MAIL ([email protected]) Office of the Attorney General of Texas Attention: Opinion Committee . But they could if they are willing to do so.. Estates, Forms If everybody agrees that the VDR is not a public official, so therefore has no standing, everybody agrees that Ms. Longoria has not indicated any intent to violate in Williamson County, and everybody agrees the attorney general has no enforcement authority , wheres the case or controversy?. Applications are frequently submitted to start up concrete batch plants in the Houston area. Letters have a maximum word . Each of those votes represents a Harris County resident who participated in our democratic process. I've been notified of misdemeanor charges through the mail (not certified) and served by process. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor, Alan Rosen, Constable Precinct 1 2023-00936; Mark Montgomery v. Judge Kelley Andrews. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis. The votes that were cast during that time period pursuant to a court order are still perfectly legal. In family law it is especially important to think a few steps ahead. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. Please update the original post to include this information. In a statement, Menefee confirmed his office will file a lawsuit against Hegar. Still, others have been pleasantly surprised when what was once an existential threat is transformed into a manageable inconvenience. 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. 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. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. See here and here for the background. Voting, Board The root cause of that debate, however, remains unresolved, Hegar said in the statement, referring to the defunding spat from last fall. The Harris County GOP argues the plan violates state law, so they are advising their partys election judges to drive the ballots to NRG themselves. Will, All 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. It is scary to receive a letter from the U.S. Attorneys Office. But in court over Zoom late Friday afternoon, Judge Cory Don Sepolio rejected a temporary restraining order request, allowing the rule to take effect. Were not taking the position that the Legislature is opposed to voting by mail, Thompson said. You can reach one of our senior attorneys seven days a week, including weekends. This is not some sort of radical rebellion, he said. They also ensure Harris Countys compliance with environmental regulations; represents the county in state administrative hearings; and coordinates with federal, state, and local stakeholders on environmental legislation, rules, and policies affecting the county and its citizens. 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. 2023-00952; Nile Copeland v. Judge Latosha Lewis Payne. Take the form to the post office. Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. According to emails shared with Chronicle, parties including the Texas Attorney Generals office, Harris County Attorneys office, Texas Civil Rights Project, Harris County Republican Party and Harris County Democratic Party all signed off an agreement on Nov. 11 for processing the provisional ballots. During the last month, weve had a lot of our candidates that were in very close races that have been talking to us wanting to know the information that weve accumulated and have reported, Siegel said. It has a chilling effect, Rodriguez said while questioning a state attorney Friday morning. Local Republican party officials argued the countys ballot transport protocol violated state election law. Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston Texas Republicans rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results and we dont care how many times the elites tell us we have to, said Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi, who was elected the leader of the party with no opposition. If a spouse has taken the time and money to retain a lawyer, it means they are serious.