letter from harris county attorney letter from harris county attorney

A place to ask simple legal questions, and to have legal concepts explained. How TxDOT will rebuild Interstate 69 beneath Metropolitan Transit Authoritys Red Line light rail in Midtown while keeping the trains moving as much as possible. Nevertheless, the requests contained in civil investigative demands and grand jury subpoenas often exceed the appropriate boundaries of what can be asked for. As a reminder and a general principle, never believe a word Andy Taylor says. The General Counsel Practice Group provides legal advice to the Countys elected and appointed officials, and employees. Name Change, Buy/Sell We should be looking for ways to support these public servants rather than constantly undermining the hard work it takes to run an election in the third largest county in the country, added County Attorney Menefee. By all accounts, there were maybe 20-25 sites that have paper issues. 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 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. Turner signed the citys agreement Monday, after it was signed by TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. Judge Hidalgo is represented by Neal Manne. Harris County assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies. Litigators travel more than corporate attorneys. Estate, Public The remedy, if they somehow win on these laughable claims, would be to redo the entire damn election. The letters stem from the investigation into the 2019 drug raid of a small home on Harding Street in south Houston. The citys press release is here. Works with law enforcement officers in the investigation of criminal cases. Up until March, the board primarily approved and renewed bail bondsman licenses. . 1 provision no later than February 14, 2022. As the motion filed today argues, this provision violates the First Amendment and undermines election officials and election workers ability to perform their duties. The criminal division prosecutes criminal cases. People also can comment online, via phone or at local TxDOT offices. Cagles July report showed over a million bucks on hand. The affidavits are linked to efforts by a conservative grass-roots organization called the Texas Election Network, which earlier this year attempted to get Sunnyside residents to sign forms verifying the identities of registered voters living at their addresses. I dont think TxDOT will pull I-45 widening off their list, and if Im right then I still dont know what happens next. Elizabeth Buss is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Dont ask me when that is likely to happen. Wayne Dolcefino, a media consultant and former TV journalist. It comes as no surprise, then, to discover that most lawyers (58 per cent) get between 20 and 25 days of paid holiday (excluding bank holidays) a year, while the bulk of the rest (33 per cent) get between 26 and 30 days. Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston On balance, with the improvements I think you have an excellent project that will move forward and move the greater good.. The Bell County attorney confirmed last week that a court order there had not been challenged by the Attorney Generals Office or another party. 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. If you are appointed a Power of Attorney, you have a duty to act in the best interest of the person in question, ensuring their financial security and prevent undoing the original agreement.Jul 14, 2017. 5 Cause No. I am disappointed that the Fifth Circuit has undone the preliminary injunction that protected Administrator (Isabel) Longorias First Amendment rights, Menefee said in a written statement. The bondsmen would also have to report how the premium was paid and who paid it. But, the judge noted, Longoria and Morgan do not work for the state. Michelle Fraga is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. One thing thats clear from the high number of mail-in ballot applications being rejected is that our election officials should be empowered to explain the process and encourage folks to apply to vote by mail if eligible. Political science and law experts agree that the local governments mask mandates have an unfavorable path forward, ending with the Texas Supreme Court; all nine justices are Republicans and have shown little appetite for ruling against the governor. Theres absolutely no justification for this state and federal law are clear, and nothing has changed about them. Handling of the voted ballots themselves opens up the possibility of accidental or intentional damage or misplacement that could call into question the election after the fact.. The bottom line is that the plaintiffs have asked for a temporary injunction against the provision of that law 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. You now know everything I know. Youre talking about school districts that are following CDC guidelines on masking. webcomments@hctx.net. 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 mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. 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. 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? Liens, Real Notes, Premarital An additional $10 collection fee will be added to each invoice referred to collections, as approved by Harris County Commissioners Court in September 2020. But really, this is all about making noise and trying to cast doubt on the election administrators office and government in general in Harris County. 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. In a Nov. 29 letter from FHWA Chief Counsel Andrew Rogers, federal officials said recent discussions represent a good start but set parameters for any design work to proceed. Weve seen this show before Comptroller Hegar misconstruing the law and playing political games to make headlines, Menefee tweeted. First of all, the individual will have the guidance and information they need to begin negotiating a settlement rather than immediately preparing for court. Disclaimer | Will, Advanced Even for a few weeks. As happened last fall, Hegar and County Administrator David Berry have used different methods to project out Heaps seven-month budget to a full year. It could all be a moot point by then anyway.. 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. 1 makes it a crime for public officials or election officials to encourage voters to request a mail ballot application, even if the person would be eligible to vote by mail. Danna 1,983 19,814 18,452 982 I think the Fifth Circuit is evaluating whether to put the injunction back in place while the rest of the initial lawsuit is litigated, but we are in the weeds here and I dont have certainty about that. This is a preliminary injunction, and whether it survives the Fifth Circuit or not there will be a trial on the merits later this year, and you can bank on it going all the way to SCOTUS. 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 first lawsuits filed against SB1 were filed in September, with Isabel Longoria a plaintiff in a complaint filed by MALDEF on behalf of a large group. In order to better protect court documents, we now require you to have a registered login with our site. If granted, the mask mandate would remain in place until trial or until the decision was appealed. Harris County Attorney's Office 1019 Congress, 15th Floor Houston, TX 77002 Office: 713-755-5101 Fax: 713-755-8924 Communications@harriscountytx.gov Harris County Attorney's Office Staff Directory For Media Inquiries Media Hotline: 832-544-8045 Communications@harriscountytx.gov To Report Price Gouging Click hereto file a report. Feb. 18 is the last day for counties to receive applications for mail-in ballots for the March 1 primary. We are investigating this issue and exploring legal options to protect residents and prevent this from happening again, the County Attorneys office said in a statement, adding it is working closely with the Harris County Elections Administrators office to fully understand what happened. I cannot begin to fathom the pain and loss they are experiencing. The Press has more. 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. It doesnt need to make sense. 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. In a Wednesday evening news release, the elections office warned residents against scammers it said pretended to be from the county elections and voter registration offices and attempted to collect sensitive personal information from voters. The other challenge is regarding State Representative District 135, which will be heard in the State House of Representatives. The group represents Harris County and numerous entities including the Harris County Appraisal Review Board, the Harris County Toll Road Authority, the Harris County Tax Office, the Harris County Sheriffs Office, the Harris County Constables, and the Harris County Fire Marshals Office. Templates, Name TCEQ later passed the amendment and approved the companys application after what it called a clerical error.. On the other side of that, you can see that Judge Hidalgo left it all on the field. Its good to be a Commissioner. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. I have $15 Million in Zimbabwe dollars locked in a safe. The state is expected to quickly appeal the ruling. I wont hold my breath for it. Will, All (3) Whether the Texas Attorney General is a proper official to enforce Texas Election Code 31.129. The Harris County GOPpushed backon the countys plan, arguing only election judges are allowed to transport ballots and instructing Republican election judges to drive ballots themselves. The restriction applies to any program intended to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters, including general mailings and door to door canvasses, according to the Justice Department. Gov. Local Republican party officials argued the countys ballot transport protocol violated state election law. Divorce, Separation 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. Respondents are ordered to provide the Court with a copy of the canvass results, including the separately tabulated later cast votes, as soon as they are available. Instead, hes basically taking this power and turning it into a mechanism to tie local officials hands. Under state law, ballots should be delivered by either the election judge or an election clerk designated by that judge. But we dont plan to let him abuse his power. It represents the publics interest by opposing the issuance and renewal of environmental permits if the permit would be detrimental to public health. Gonna give talking a try. We cant spend money to design and we cant spend money to do those things, Ryan said at the forum, which drew criticism because it was for paying guests only at an event sponsored by various engineering, construction and planning firms. The move came at the end of a whirlwind day where local officials in Dallas and San Antonio prevailed at least temporarily in their own legal challenges to the governors order. Standards for Court Approval ofAttorney Fees. Clerk Hudspeth is represented by Neal Manne. No one wants all this hard work to go to waste. 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. The men gave her an official-looking affidavit form and asked her to sign it attesting to the residents at the address under penalty of perjury.. A hearing is scheduled Monday morning; lawyers representing San Antonio, Bexar County, will ask to extend the temporary restraining order into a temporary injunction. Judge Draper is represented by John Raley. of Sale, Contract The proposed rule stemmed from concerns that defendants were being released on bail fees lower than the 10 percent and then being forced into payment plans. Trust, Living Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department; Harris County Pretrial Services ; HC AZ; Court Agenda; County Directory; Forms, Independent I guess its theoretically possible that of the provisional E-Day ballots that were specifically cast by people who got in line after 7 PM (because if you were already in line you were always allowed to vote), Jones had a net advantage of at least 450 over Pierce. Target letters inform the recipients that they are the target of a federal investigation, which means that the government intends to press civil or criminal charges against that person. Last time around, Hegar folded like a cheap suit after Harris County took the matter to court. 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. The proceedings are pending. 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. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday issued a mandatory mask order for Harris County schools and daycares, joining the chorus of elected officials in the Texas larges cities in defying Gov. The group also filed a lawsuit in 2018 obtaining a similar court order in Harris County. Court records filed Friday showed a bail bondsman sued Harris County as an attempt to stop the new rule, which would require agents like her to charge defendants jailed on violent offenses a 10 percent minimum to secure their freedom after an arrest. Paxton and one of the district attorneys (Shawn Dick of Williamson County) appealed. After closing the polls, election judges will hand off ballots to law enforcement officers and deputized county staffers, who will drive the equipment to the central counting station at NRG Arena on the judges behalf. 12 Cause No. As the story notes, the I-45 project is on pause while a complaint filed with the Federal Highway Administration over the projects effects on communities of color are investigated. All public case information is still available to everyone, once they login, and can be viewed FREE of charge. 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. 2023-01067; Dan Spjut v. Judge Juanita Jackson. See here for the background. It would be difficult to overstate our disappointment in the contents of these two (agreements), the closed-door manner in which they were created and signed, the lack of sufficient time for the public to read and respond to them, and the tone with which they were presented, the group said. Hiring a lawyer after receiving a letter is an excellent option. Houston, Texas, U.S. Kim Ogg is an American lawyer. 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. Democratic AGs file lawsuit to ease access to mifepristone, Former Land Commissioners oppose anti-Open Beaches bill, So it looks like that TEA takeover of HISD is going to happen, So about that DPS delay in notifying the victims of the credential stuffing attack, Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover Off the Kuff, Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, Ramblings of an HHSC Employee amidst chaos, They are Building a Wal-Mart on My Street. Matthew Masterson, who previously served as the Trump administrations top election security official and now is Microsofts director of information integrity, said that Paxtons opinion will make it impossible for election administrators to appropriately ensure that ballots are kept secure. 17 Cause No. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Their leadership has known about the Countys election day plans for some time, yet they waited until 6 hours before the polls close to now ask a court to throw the plans out the window and put residents votes at risk, Menefee said in a statement. I am writing to request your help with a matter that is very important to me. 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. 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. A Republican is going to win during the primary election. 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. There will be a lot more litigation over the rest of that law to come. The voted ballots are the core of the election process and the prohibition on disturbing the ballots (except in limited circumstances as permitted by the Election Code) preserves the integrity of the election itself, wrote Adam Bitter, general counsel for the office,in a letter obtained by Votebeatthrough a public records request. If you make a mistake, print out and complete application again (once youve registered an account every document you download is reusable). UPDATE: The HISD Board approved the mask mandate that Superintendent House requested. Todays decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over officials trying to help voters. For more information contact the Information & Public Service Department at 713-274-6390 or email ccoinfoFM@hccountyclerk.com. 2023-01076; Aaron Adams v. Judge LaShawn Williams. Oh, and if this is one of the final straws that leads to Constable precinct redistricting, I wont complain. 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. Once again, Comptroller Hegar has abused his authority, the county attorney said. 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. Dan Simons is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Theft, Personal Sean Morales-Doyle of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law submitted a brief that was in line with Pettit on the first and third questions, but had a nuanced distinction on the question of solicitations meaning. 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. The Environmental Practice Group enforces environmental laws and related County development regulations. While remaining supportive of parts of the project, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and city staff have suggested several changes to the project to eliminate some frontage road lanes, re-stitch neighborhoods divided by the freeway with better bike and pedestrian access, and increase commitments to community housing and flood control. The petition, which names Lunceford as the contestant and Craft as contestee, claims numerous violations of the Texas Election Code, including a failure to provide a sufficient amount of ballot paper to 25 polling locations. Check out how to write a Harris County attorney letter. Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. You have separation of powers.. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. In filing the form, bail agents ask deputies to take the defendant into custody, while they keep the defendants bail deposit and stop being responsible for the person in the eyes of the court. Harris County will continue to follow Texas law, not the Attorney Generals opinion.. A-Z, Form Todays decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over election officials trying to help voters.. 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 mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. Abbotts swift action to get a temporary restraining order lifted was expected, as the governor would not want to be seen as weak while school districts and local governments defy his executive order, said Jon Taylor, professor of political science and chair of the department of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Officials have defended the deals as the best way to change the project but still maintain the benefits that will come with it, including faster and safer commutes and the creation of two-way managed lanes that can improve transit in the I-45 corridor. 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. Technology, Power of I'm only ever in the county my college is in for school alone. Specials, Start That doesnt mean Ill agree with every decision they made, but I start out with the belief that they did their best to act in our interest. Verify that the Texas Attorney Vacation Form youre considering is appropriate for your state. Doesnt exactly fill you with pride and confidence in our justice system, does it? But I still dont have to like it. 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. 18 Cause No. The countys agreement can only be approved after a Commissioners Court meeting, scheduled for Thursday. As to who might file a contest, again well have to see. But no matter the ultimate outcome, Taylor said, Abbotts political standing will likely remain unaffected.