Texas County Republicans Petition Judges on DeLay CaseI’m no lawyer, but I don’t think this is the way the system works.
In a couple of weeks, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether Tom DeLay must remain on the ballot in Texas’ 22nd District. Both parties are submitting their briefs, and there might a number of amicus briefs from third parties (like, for instance, the Texas Attorney General). But Harris County Republicans are taking a more direct approach — they’ve posted a petition on their website, which they say “will be delivered directly to the 5th Circuit.”
It’s not clear what that means, and the party’s website doesn’t explain. The judges would not be able to accept a petition unless it came in the form of an amicus brief. My calls to the Party for explanation were not returned. The Harris County Republican Party seems to be the only one of the four county Republican committees in DeLay’s district to take this tack.
The short petition calls the decision by Judge Sam Sparks to keep DeLay on the ballot a “travesty of justice.”
James Bopp, counsel for the Texas Republicans on the case, hadn’t heard of the petition before I called and wouldn’t comment further. Chad Dunn, who’s representing the Democrats, called it “an act of desperation.”
via Brazos River
Update: An eagle-eyed TPMm reader writes in to point out that this looks like an excellent means for the party to collect voter information. So is this brilliant or bone-headed? Or both?
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