Its your own damn fault you didnt vote! The file is going to be stored in two places: on your device and in the My Forms folder. Step 2: For a period of thirty (30) calendar days, collections prepares and mails a series of demand letters and may attempt contact by phone. Lets see what SCOTx says first and maybe that will clue me in. In at least one race, the provisional ballots could impact the outcome. Currently, Texas has two weeks of early voting before elections, though in 2020 Gov. Hidalgos opponent Alexandra del Moral Mealer. I was all set to have a peaceful weekend when I came across a press release from Commissioner Ellis office on Friday afternoon about this. Agreements, Bill In no uncertain terms, the secretary of states office which isrun by a Republicanappointed by Gov. 18 Cause No. 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. The USPS redelivery form states that it was both a letter and certified mail. Expect a response from the team within48 hoursof your requested date. Carla Wyatt, County Treasurer, Alexandra Mealer, County Judge I appreciate that Mayor Turner, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, Judge Hidalgo, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia, County Attorney Menefee, and everyone Im forgetting eventually had to say Yes to a sincere and meaningful counteroffer. 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. See here for the background. Menefees office asked the EPA to stop any new standard concrete batch plant permits from being issued until the investigation is finished, he said. The plaintiffs argue that the provisions violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments because the risk of criminal and civil liability chills speech that encourage[s] voters to lawfully vote by mail. Still, others have been pleasantly surprised when what was once an existential threat is transformed into a manageable inconvenience. Hilton declined to comment on why the office did not ask for the ruling sooner. Will, All Contractors, Confidentiality I think Harris County has the right response here. I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. Letter to Federal GovernmentGovernment Application LetterGovernment Opinion LetterLetter to a Government OfficialHillsborough County Letter of IntentLetter to County ClerkLetter to a Government AgencyBill Support LetterMontgomery County LetterCounty Court Letter. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. 2023-01076; Aaron Adams v. Judge LaShawn Williams. In 2021, Harris County became the first governmental entity in Texas to file suit against JUUL. Pay by card or PayPal to finish making an account. If you open up the floodgates and give anyone access to the ballots throughout that process, you have broken that chain of custody to the point where you would not be able to prove that this was the ballot a given voter cast, Masterson said. Please give a few bucks if you can and help them all out. 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. Local, state and federal leaders celebrated the EPAs decision to look at the discrimination claims Tuesday. 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. 2023-301111; Will Archer v. Judge James Horwitz. I still dont see any mention of a decision being handed down. Trust, Living That may be a bad feature of the law as it now exists, but it is the law and a district court is highly unlikely to deviate from the normal course of behavior. Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. So there you have it. Alexander Mealer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. And in response to the recent Court of Criminal Appeals case holding that the Texas Attorney General has no independent authority to prosecute criminal offenses created in the Election Code, they also sued the Harris, Travis, and Williamson County district attorneys to challenge the criminal penalties imposed by the anti-solicitation provision. JBCC Criminal Background Check, Training and Registration for Guardians, Houston Bar Association 2019-2020 Elder Law Handbook, Houston Bar Association Elder-Law-Handbook_in Spanish - Espanol, Personal Representative General Information Sheet, COVID-19 (CORONA VIRUS INFO) Probate Courts, First Emergency Order Regarding(COVID-19) State of Disaster2020, Harris County JudiciaryProbate Courts 2020, Harris County Judiciary Probate Courts 2021, Fifty-Fifth Emergency Order Regarding (COVID-19) State of Disaster 2022. Harris County Clerk's Office Commissioners Court Search Records Minutes The two new agreements, one between TxDOT and the city and another between TxDOT and Harris County, specify the commitments both sides are making. 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. Specials, Start Theres some risk here for Harris County as well, as the opponents of this project arent likely to be happy with half a loaf. Eagleton 51,665 23,158 119,650 59,159 Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice or gives rise to a solicitor/client relationship. Skepticism remains high among project opponents that TxDOT can be a willing participant. Harris County officials argued as much in a filing to the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday. See here and here for the background. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis. Change, Waiver Judge Hidalgo is represented by Neal Manne. I dont know why the change of court and I dont know if the second hearing was delayed or if it just took that long for a ruling, but here we are. I am a bot whose sole purpose is to improve the timeliness and accuracy of responses in this subreddit. The guardian of the person is authorized to make decisions about health care, living arrangements, and similar matters, but has no authority to expend funds. 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. In a primary election, each polling location has one judge from each party overseeing their own partys voting process. Still the only voter ID anyone should need. There is nothing more reliable in this world than the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for. On the one hand, I have faith that local political leaders who have been vocal in their opposition to TxDOTs previous plans have done their best to get as good a deal as they can. What gives us perspective are the lawyers in our firm who left behind successful careers as federal prosecutors to come and work for us. Liens, Real 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. 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. 13 Cause No. In 2017, the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature evenamended state lawto specify 22 months, updating state standards to mirror federal requirements. Theres already been a lot of time for talk, and I dont know how much latitude TxDOT has to give. Center, Small 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. Adrian Garcia, County Commissioner, Precinct 2 Im proud of this outcome settling our lawsuit against JUUL. Agreements, Corporate 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. Judge Andrews is represented by John Raley. No matter how you get there, bullshit still walks. Judge Sepolio is represented by John Raley. 2023-01202; Stan Stanart v. Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. This is important to us, said Huey German-Wilson, president of the Trinity and Houston Gardens Super Neighborhood, and now we have someone to hear us loud and clear, for the small Black and brown voices in communities that have not been heard.. Call 888-680-1745 for Central Intake with Dr. Nick Oberheiden Letters From The U.S. Attorney's Office Last Updated: 2023-02-04 Oberheiden, P.C. Of those, Shah said, 66 were rejected because they did not meet statutory requirements and contained incomplete information.. And facilities are often in communities of color not wealthy, white River Oaks making what has been happening clear environmental racism, state Sen. Borris Miles said. No wonder hes having a hard time retaining staff. Maybe you illegally downloaded a movie or song. 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. Forms, Independent Harris County voters are in for a long election night, with full election results in primary runoff races not expected until well into Wednesday. Filing this suit, in the same manner as several other jurisdictions, was I think a straightforward choice. For now, at least. 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. The remedy for having to vote late because of voting location problems is to extend voting hours to accommodate those that were affected. January 2022 reports are here, July 2022 reports are here. WHD knocked on about 1500. Nothing else of great interest in this group Id expect both Ed Gonzalez and Christian Menefee to start posting bigger numbers soon. of Incorporation, Shareholders Menefee said he is undecided but leaning toward filing suit; he said the county would seek a temporary restraining order preventing the state from enforcing Abbotts July 29 executive order prohibiting local governments from issuing local COVID-19 restrictions. 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. My Account, Forms in 2023-00930; Mark Goldberg v. Judge Erika Ramirez. She intends to offer competitive pricing of less than 10% of the face amount of the bond to consumers who desire to purchase a bail bond for themselves, or their loved ones charged with a designated offense and qualify for reduced payment terms, the lawsuit continued. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the subject of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency following complaints that the state agency violated civil rights laws in its permitting of concrete batch plants. This practice group files lawsuits for collecting fines, taxes, judgments, workers compensation, property damage, contract, and other monies owed to Harris County. At this point, we do not anticipate that it impacts the outcome of any races, Harris County First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne said. Were here today because the TCEQ failed to address these issues when it had the chance.. 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. Heap 0 69,735 18,880 68,808 Harris County assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies. Giving this much power to a governing minority is the problem here. The County Attorneys office, however, said it had no information that anyone had attempted to misrepresent themselves as public employees, which would be illegal. To put it another way, good luck proving intent. 2023-00964; Alexandra Mealer v. Lina Hidalgo. 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. I dont know when we as a society will act to protect people from gun violence, but we cannot act quickly enough. For the subject that I wanted to be thinking about yesterday, we start with this. Politicians at the news conference slammed the state environmental agency for valuing the needs of industryover the health of people. 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. Ingram said he didnt know the purpose of the provision. 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. They elicit strong backlash from residents who often already know what its like to live by one. Hopefully, well find out soon. Will do! Its a complicated story. Commissioners courtOfficeNameHarris County Commissioners Court JudgeLina HidalgoHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 1Rodney EllisHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 2Adrian GarciaHarris County Commissioners Court Precinct 3Tom Ramsey1 more row. Youre immunocompromised and you want to vote by mail or from your car because youre afraid of a deadly disease? 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. 2023-00955; James Lombardino v. Judge Audrie Lawton-Evans. The Harris County Attorneys 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. The bail board, as the lawsuit points out, is designed to oversee the bonding business in Harris County. They said that it took President Joe Biden a fellow Democrat winning the White House for federal regulators to put pressure on this issue in the conservative Lone Star State. See here and here for the background. State law requires four members of the court be present to set the property tax rate. The anti-solicitation provision makes it unlawful for a public official or election official while acting in an official capacity to knowingly . I did not see any news items related to this, so what you see here is all I know. Im disappointed to see another losing candidate challenging the results of their election. Im sure this group is totally on the up-and-up and will spend an equivalent amount of time canvassing in Baytown and Kingwood and the Villages. The Texas Secretary of States office has disagreed with her interpretation and urged the county to change its plan. We have a ways to go before this is truly settled. Judge Weems is represented by John Raley. And theres nothing in the law that prohibits them from being counted, Menefee said. Longoria is employed by Harris County, and Morgan is a volunteer registrar. As noted recently, the Supreme Court never responded to the initial writ, so I assume this was just a matter of the local GOP deciding it wasnt worth the effort to continue. Another type of letter that can be issued from the United States Attorneys Office is a target letter.. Doesnt exactly fill you with pride and confidence in our justice system, does it? UPDATE: The HISD Board approved the mask mandate that Superintendent House requested. 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. Our election workers should not have to fear being criminally prosecuted because the attorney general wants to play politics and try to rewrite laws, Menefee said. As things stand now, a whole lot of people will be mad at the outcome, whatever it is. I can't seem to place how this letter pertains to me at all. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee says the county is not releasing the ballots, arguing the opinion Paxton issued in the name of election integrity last week runs afoul of the law. Judge Fleischer is represented by John Raley. Keith Ingram, the secretary of states director of elections, told lawmakers in the hearing he disagreed with that interpretation and believed Harris Countys plan violated the law. None of the affidavits led to county elections officials removing any names from the voter rolls. LLC, Internet (3) Whether the Texas Attorney General is a proper official to enforce Texas Election Code 31.129. 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. That one would be heard in the House by a House committee, if Speaker Phelan for some reason doesnt toss it as a frivolous waste of time. The petition also acknowledges the county has provided some of the requested documents. Paxtons office did not respond to specific questions about why he disagreed with Bitters conclusion, nor did he respond to requests for comment. Instead, the legislature and the Governor have made it a crime to do so.. Radack 0 71,246 0 794,652, You still have time to donate to the Democratic judges legal fund, Phony Defunding Claims II: Electric Boogaloo, Houston furniture magnate Jim Mattress Mack McIngvale, November 2022 election, adding to an array of GOP litigation. 2023-00841; Tami Pierce v. Judge DaSean Jones. Operating Agreements, Employment The Press has more. 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. How much does a District Attorney make? Some of the projects cost comes from other non-TxDOT sources, while some of the money dedicated on the project will not be spent until later parts of the construction, likely to stretch beyond 2032. Judge Draper is represented by John Raley. 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. 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. In a statement, Menefee confirmed his office will file a lawsuit against Hegar. 5:00AM. 2 Cause No. Like a ritual murder involving tomato and cream cheese? The litigation exception typically is upheld by courts, so McIngvales lawsuit is unlikely to produce the requested records, he said. right-of-way is an excellent plan but we can't even fix the existing bike trail along White Oak Bayou which the Harris County . 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. Im going to guess hed run as a Democrat, but I cant say for sure at this time. Bandit signs are typically small and placed in large quantities along public spaces as esplanades. Texas has a primary election on March 1, 2022. 4. Speak with Oberheiden, P.C. 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. You really gonna claim that there were over two thousand of them, and all of them were going to vote for Erin Lunceford? Marilyn and Tenesha have pro bono attorneys but the others are not allowed to be represented pro bono due to conflicts of interest. Today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and the Harris County Attorneys Office moved for a preliminary injunctioninLongoria v. Paxton, their challenge to the provision in Texass restrictive voting law (S.B. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM 17 February 2022. So if I understand this correctly, the Elections Office could provide these documents on demand, but legally they dont have to until they get an opinion on it from the AGs office. Members of the Texas Transportation Commission, however, stopped short of imposing a deadline or considering shelving the project, as they have in the past when removing the $9 billion plan from the states short-range plan was a possibility. We expect TxDOT to uphold its end of this historic agreement, and not only to evaluate the impacts over the next year but to agree to and fund real solutions that address concerns about displacement, pollution, flooding and impacts on the public transportation network, said Harris County Pct. A-Z, Form Part of the new rule requires that bail bondsmen have to report the premium amount collected ahead of the defendants release. The lawsuit was brought by Harris County election administrator Isabel Longoria and Cathy Morgan, a volunteer deputy registrar who is appointed to help register voters in Travis and Williamson counties. Phil Sandlin, Constable Precinct 8, Teneshia Hudspeth, County Clerk Abbott is exceeding his authority under the state Disaster Act of 1975, Menefee argued, which the county attorney said allows the governor to suspend laws in only narrow circumstances. Area residents had fought the companys application, which was rejected on the grounds that it didnt adequately study the impacts of pollutants. Each of them should be deeply embarrassed and these claims should not be taken seriously by the public, said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. Update: I'm being summoned to the county court to defend myself for reckless driving charges. But hey, lawsuits are time- and resource-intensive, and they often end in settlements anyway, so why not give this a try. 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. The Harris County Democratic Party is NOT doing anything to assist the 22 electeds. The lawsuit, filed just hours before polls closed on Election Day, could have caused serious delays in counting ballots on May 24 had the Texas Supreme Court agreed with the Harris County GOP that the plan was unlawful. Houston, Texas Today, several losing Republican candidates filed election contests to void the more than 1 million votes cast in Harris Countys November 2022 election. The letters of guardianship provide an expiration date on their face, one year plus 120 days after the anniversary date. A Harris County Attorney's letter is a formal document that is typically used to notify an individual or business of impending legal action. Wyatt 1,950 2,110 0 2,258 There is a deadline of MARCH 8 to raise funds!! Steve Radack. 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). For a demand letter in Harris County, call on the attorneys at The Dushkin Law Firm. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. 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. Vips Support Documents and Useful Resource Links . Notes, Premarital Please read the Administrative Order below: - Prohibiting Recording of Remote Proceedings, Emergency Public Helath and Safetly Conditions, NEW!!! There is no justification for denying the public information about a controversy just because it involves litigation, Aleshire said. Step 3: If payment is not received within sixty . He urged the county to proceed with the lawsuit, rather than relent. He may or may not seek to run for something else do remember that the minute he says something to that effect hell have to resign, so all we would have before then is speculation but either way I wont be surprised to see some competition for the Precinct 1 slot. Burgess 940 14,710 5,207 5,403 Harris County Attorney January 11, 2021 VIA E-MAIL (opinion.committee@oag.texas.gov) Office of the Attorney General of Texas Attention: Opinion Committee . I point this out to say that barring something truly weird, Paxtons bad faith filing will not can not have any effect on any race. 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. This is how I learned how little was in their campaign accounts. In a statement, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said his office will keep a close eye on Luncefords election contest. 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. If their position is weak, they will hear about it early on and know the reasons why. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. Weve seen this show before Comptroller Hegar misconstruing the law and playing political games to make headlines, Menefee tweeted. We are ready to move forward together, said Texas Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan. I am seeking legal representation in a civil case that I plan to file against my former employer. "Hello Freind, My name is John Odagu, County Attorney for your county. 2023-00924; Elizabeth Buss v. Judge David Fleischer. 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. As a reminder and a general principle, never believe a word Andy Taylor says. 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. Instead, the court did not issue an opinion and election night ballot countingproceeded uneventfullyat NRG Arena. Luncefords opponent, Democrat Tamika Craft, won the election by 0.26 percent of the vote. Under state law, ballots should be delivered by either the election judge or an election clerk designated by that judge. From the inbox, sent to me by former HD133 candidate Sandra Moore: Below is a list of the judges and electeds being sued by the Republicans.