letter from harris county attorney

Theres clearly a difference of interpretation of the law here, and if that cant be resolved on its own then a courtroom is the proper venue. Nothing else of great interest in this group Id expect both Ed Gonzalez and Christian Menefee to start posting bigger numbers soon. Metro is probably as eager as anyone to get this going, as their MetroNext plans depend on various items in the I-45 rebuild. There is no justification for denying the public information about a controversy just because it involves litigation, Aleshire said. The county attorneys probe is based on a complaint from at least one Sunnyside resident who said two men came to her home and asked questions they said were to confirm the identities of registered voters who live at that address. Judge Draper is represented by John Raley. Paxton and one of the district attorneys (Shawn Dick of Williamson County) appealed. Life comes at you fast. 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. Others rub shoulders with business leaders, politicians, sports figures, and even celebrities. The story refers to 2,000 provisional ballots. County Attorney > Newsroom Once it has a foothold, the momentum only goes in one direction. The county attorneys office did not respond to a request for more information about the requests, including who submitted them. Icsezen did so. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM 17 February 2022. an LLC, Incorporate I would quibble with the assertion that Abbott took swift action as you know, Ive been marveling at how long it took him to respond. Agreements, LLC See here (scroll down) for the background. See here for the background. See here for the background. Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel indicated there could be more election contests to come. At this point, we do not anticipate that it impacts the outcome of any races, Harris County First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne said. The citys press release is here. The office also provides legal advice to county officials and employees. & Resolutions, Corporate I dont know if the drafters of this opinion have a firm grasp on how ballot security and ballot processing is done at the county level, he said. Liens, Real 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. 2023-00925; Michelle Fraga v. Judge Christine Weems. Neighborhoods with batch plants lack deed restrictions and zoning to protect them, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said. Step 3: If payment is not received within sixty . Matthew Dexter is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Planning Pack, Home 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. I cant tell if this is just using a round number because exact figures are confusing or if this is the exact figure. 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. 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. That would require dividing the short fiscal year by 16 pay periods and multiplying that by 26 to cover the whole year, she said. Standards and Procedures . Its going to be Republican versus Republican, Renteria said. And now you know what I know. If you can do better than I did, or if the webpage eventually fixes itself, let me know. Upon receiving a sworn statement challenging a voters residence, election officials must send a Notice of Address Confirmation to the voter in question. The Real Estate Practice Group handles legal matters regarding the Countys acquisitions and sales of real property. Change, Waiver And Id bet none of those county judges suffer for any of it politically, either. I received a letter from the local district Attorney office - Avvo Texas law disqualifies the judges in a county from presiding over an election contest filed in that county. Forms, Real Estate Contact, who do court appointed attorney work for in michigan, where file florida department of revenue power of attorney, for power of attorney who is the principal and who is the agent, find out how many cases an attorney has won, how to get an out of state power of attorney for car registration tennessee, texas durable power of attorney form 2019 which statute, what k8nd of registered mail letters come from the state attorney, why would i get a letter from harris county attorney. As a bail agent for the corporate surety Allegheny Casualty Co., she also worries that the new rule will put her at odds with the insurance company which she fears could violate customer privacy. Standards for Court Approval ofAttorney Fees. They are trying to make it as difficult as possible, and talking people out (of driving ballots themselves) by warning them there will be long lines, Siegel said. Who is the county attorney Harris County? 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. 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. 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.. PDF RQ-0395-KP - Office of the Attorney General Its just the Big Lie in a slightly sanitized package. Clubs In Action raising legal $ for judges. Still, others have been pleasantly surprised when what was once an existential threat is transformed into a manageable inconvenience. That left a mere 750 or so alternatives, including ones that would have been very close by. Ellis 40,800 443,116 0 3,543,358 Residents in Aldine recently packed a room to tell TCEQ not to approve another new plant only to find out that the deadline had already passed to ask the state agency to escalate the dispute to the next level. 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. A-Z, Form Minutes, Corporate Hopefully, well find out soon. Agreements, Letter 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. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg during a press conference Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Houston. I am seeking legal representation in a civil case that I plan to file against my former employer. For suggestions or comments regarding this site please email us at Public Information Requests - Houston I thought the price fixing argument was weak and as such Im not surprised at this outcome. TCEQ later passed the amendment and approved the companys application after what it called a clerical error.. Like flies to garbage, though, you know theyll be back for more. There is no reason for them to bluff. She is the first woman to be elected County Judge and only the second to be elected to the Commissioners Court. Public servants have moved on. Texas Supreme Court justices questioned during oral argument if they should answer certified questions from a federal appeals court about challenges to an election law that created penalties for soliciting voters to use mail-in ballots. A cadet class will be at risk.. You could have voted elsewhere! 19 Cause No. Guide, Incorporation 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. Will, All If I trusted them before I have no reason not to trust them now. Tenant, More Real Real Estate, Last Republican, Democrat, or Independent no eligible voter should have their ballot thrown out because the Attorney General cant accept the results of Harris County elections.. I stop mid-sentence sometimes at town halls. Pay by card or PayPal to finish making an account. Judges cant take pro bono help to defend selves. Texas has allowed voters 65 and older to vote absentee without needing an excuse since 1975. Houston ISDs board of trustees already is expected to vote Thursday on a mask mandate proposed by Superintendent Millard House II. That included an 88-year-old voter whom Morgan would typically call at the start of every year to remind her that she has to reapply for mail-in ballots. Is it limited to demanding submission of an application for mail-in ballots (whether or not the applicant qualifies) or does it broadly cover the kinds of comments Plaintiffs stated that they wish to make: telling those who are elderly or disabled, for example, that they have the opportunity to apply for mail-in ballots? Judge Hidalgo is represented by Neal Manne. 8 Cause No. 2023-00930; Mark Goldberg v. Judge Erika Ramirez. Nationwide Federal Defense, Compliance and Litigation. Both parties had the opportunity to ask questions, review the chain of custody document, and raise issues. 2023-00932; Chris Daniel v. Marilyn Burgess. Adding to the confusion, Hegar and the county are separately at odds over Heaps current budget, which was adopted by the Democratic-controlled Commissioners Court last fall. Adding huge swaths of concrete is the opposite of what Houston needs, Houstonian Joy Fairchild said during a public hearing for TxDOTsUnified Transportation Program. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. Cagle 64,225 186,970 0 5,056 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. Thats the best I can do. Could be anything from a subpoena to an envelope of glitter. This is how I learned how little was in their campaign accounts. FDAMS Application . Their complaints, filed with the EPA earlier this year, said TCEQ failed to provide information in Spanish and insufficiently protected communities of color who live in areas where concrete facilities are predominantly located. 7 Cause No. Rodriguez also rejected Paxtons claim that granting the injunction would interfere with the orderly operation of Texas elections. CIA plans to hold a fundraiser, hopefully on Feb 19. The petition is filed in Harris County, but the case will be heard by a judge from outside the county, according to Menefees office. 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. 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. Please update the original post to include this information. Divorce, Separation Todays decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over election officials trying to help voters.. 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. 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. A legal opinion released by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week will almost certainly throw county elections offices into chaos after November, experts say, exposing election clerks to possible criminal charges and materially reducing the security of every ballot cast in the state. S.B. Planning Pack, Home Create your US Legal Forms account now and get a lot more samples. Menefee. University of Texas - Austin Texas A&M University - College Station Texas Super Lawyers, Avvo and Board Certification - Family Law (2003-8) Texas State Bar A Guide to Texas Child Support Law. Its just chaos intended to give a boost to Big Lie enthusiasts, and as the story notes later on, its potentially a conflict of interest for Paxton since he himself is on the ballot this year, and everyone agrees its likely to be a close race. The mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. 12(lost to Judge Genesis Draper), Brian Staley, former candidate forHarris County Civil County Court at Law No. Texas has a primary election on March 1, 2022. I'm only ever in the county my college is in for school alone. 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. The Harris County Elections Administrators Office received a flood of affidavits this summer challenging the eligibility of thousands of registered voters throughout the county, accusing them of not living at the addresses listed on registration records. The motion for a preliminary injunction inLongoria v. Paxtonishere. Second, the lawyer will start identifying their objectives and lining up what evidence theyll need to win their case. 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. 2023-00934; Brian Staley v. Judge Monica Singh. The 5th U.S. See here and here for some background. It seems like the intent was to keep I-45 on the TxDOT project list for at least a little longer, to see if an agreement among all the parties can be reached. Thats what I, a non-lawyer who has no responsibilities in these matters, would have done. Sherman Eagleton, Constable Precinct 3 Heap 0 69,735 18,880 68,808 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. Please read the Administrative Order below: - Prohibiting Recording of Remote Proceedings, Emergency Public Helath and Safetly Conditions, NEW!!! Though there is concern about the projects impacts in Midtown, Third Ward and Eado, the most vocal opposition to the project emanates from north of downtown where TxDOT proposes to add two managed lanes in each direction to I-45. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Friday accused Harris County of defunding law enforcement,rekindling a feudfrom last fallin which Republican state officialsthreatened to blockthe countys annual budget. The letter, a response to a letter sent by seven Houston-area Congressman urging Buttigieg to not impede the project, was drafted by Stop TxDOT I-45, which formed to oppose the project, along with Air Alliance Houston and 14 environmental, community or left-leaning groups. All parties were put on notice that the votes would be counted.. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 4:44 PM 17 February 2022. . If it was just mismanagement, it was just gross incompetence, wouldnt one think that the lack of paper would apply equally and uniformly across the map, so that there would be roughly an equivalent number of Democratic stronghold precinct neighborhoods as well as Republican precinct stronghold neighborhoods? Taylor said. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. Directive, Power 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. I dont know how likely that is, but it never hurts to talk. Corporations, 50% off Thank you for your help! Abbott may win in court, but that doesnt mean hell get his way, at least not right away. The right to free speech and the right to vote are vital to democracy, and S.B. Tatum, your day of reckoning has just started.. Stan Stanart is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. During a Wednesday hearing before the court, the foremost issue that appeared to concern the justices was whether they should provide an advisory opinion to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at all. Speaking Engagement- Use this link to request the County Attorney speak to an audience at an event. Anyone who ran into a problem at one location could have gone to another. 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. Clerk Hudspeth is represented by Neal Manne. . Estate, Public Morales-Doyle supported that approach, noting that every criminal solicitation statute that he is aware of applies only to solicitation of criminal conduct. Determining how a proposed downtown connection for the Hardy Toll Road will enter the area near Buffalo Bayou and cross a remade I-10. Our practice is focused on debt collection remedies. These losing candidates are finally laying bare what we all know to be true for them, its not about improving elections or making sure our elections are secure, its about playing games with our democratic systems and refusing to accept the will of the voters.. For additional information please review our Houston, Texas, U.S. Kim Ogg is an American lawyer. However, a handful of candidates in tight races may consider legal challenges over election results. He urged the county to proceed with the lawsuit, rather than relent. USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. 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. 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. Kyle Scott is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Not satisfied with the new voting restrictions put in place less than a year ago, the Texas Republican Party is plowing ahead with yet new measures that would reduce the number of early voting days and end the practice of allowing any senior to vote by mail without an excuse. I did not get around to doing the 30-day and 8-day reports from 2022, so what you see here in these reports is not contiguous for those who were on last Novembers ballot. This is the state house district in which I ran back in 2018 and 2020. Adrian Garcia, County Commissioner, Precinct 2 Greg Abbotts order prohibiting local COVID-19 restrictions. Gonna give talking a try. who have previously worked at the U.S. Attorneys Office. The Harris County Attorneys Office determined that the board can do more than that and Commissioners Court passed a resolution urging its members to adopt rules regulating the minimum that a bondsman must collect to secure a defendants release from jail. Judge Payne is represented by John Raley. Among them: I think the next steps are sitting down in a room and working out all the details, Metro board Chairman Sanjay Ramabhadran said of the work ahead. This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. Forms, Small 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. Christian Menefee, Harris County Attorney Letter from the US Attorneys Office? Speak with Oberheiden, P.C. What gives us perspective are the lawyers in our firm who left behind successful careers as federal prosecutors to come and work for us. Judge Cox is represented by Cris Feldman. They were discouraged because the lines were long, or because they were told theyd have to wait.. 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. The USPS redelivery form states that it was both a letter and certified mail. Menefee 36,826 30,700 0 193,291 In all, the Elections Administrators Office received 115 affidavits, according to Leah Shah, a spokesperson for the elections office. for Deed, Promissory My question for you all, is this pretty much done deal that I'm getting fined and going to jail? Texas should be encouraging election officials to provide voters all the information they need to participate in elections. No matter how you get there, bullshit still walks. We use cookies to improve security, personalize the user experience, enhance our marketing activities (including cooperating with our marketing partners) and for other business use. The litigation exception typically is upheld by courts, so McIngvales lawsuit is unlikely to produce the requested records, he said. (That lawsuit is now on hold as negotiations continue.) In 2021, Harris County became the first governmental entity in Texas to file suit against JUUL. Doesnt exactly fill you with pride and confidence in our justice system, does it? Be that as it may, the point about the counties just not moving to undo what they have ordered is an interesting point. And in their lawsuit, they flat out misrepresent the countys plans to the court, making several statements that they know are demonstrably false., (Longorias) office successfully used constables in the May 7 election, and the GOP had no problem at that time, said Odus Evbagharu, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party. We have 26-pay-period accounting and Comptroller Hegar should know that, the judge said. Trust, Living I was invited to this meeting because of the effort to create and carry out block walking events. Attorney General Ken Paxton is distorting the law to fuel conspiracy theories, encouraging reckless behavior that erodes public trust in our democratic process, Menefee said in a statement. Privacy Policy and our Accessibility Statement. 1) 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. WHD knocked on about 1500. If the facts as stated above are accurate, then this really is another case of political math being used in place of, well, math. 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. Still the only voter ID anyone should need. Bruce Bain is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. More than 1 million Texans used vote-by-mail during the 2020 presidential election and more than 850,000 of those ballots came from people 65 and older, according to the Texas Division of Elections. Rory Olsen is represented by Jared Woodfill. 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. Agreements, Corporate 12 Cause No. 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. No results found. You now know everything I know. The security controls exist for a good reason, he said, and undermining them has serious implications. 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. The letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. It does not make the records confidential (where it would be illegal to disclose the information); it just means the government is not required to disclose the information, Aleshire said. I really dont think thats too much to ask. Meeting Request Use this link to request a meeting with the County Attorney. 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. Federal law limits the types of requests that the U.S. Attorneys Office can make and the scope of the documentation that it can request. 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. Theres apparently some talk of a compromise, which would need to happen soon, but Ill believe it when I see it. Looking on the Electronic Filings search, I think this case is number 22-1044. Jerry Garcia, Constable Precinct 2 "Hello Freind, My name is John Odagu, County Attorney for your county. 1 Cause No. Pick a favored file format to save the document (.pdf or .docx). 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. Opponents argue the projects design further divides communities it crosses, exacerbating decades of freeway expansion that has worsened air quality and safe street access for those neighborhoods in order to deliver faster car and truck trips for suburban commuters.



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