Texas

Texas Sues Feds Over Voter ID; Says 'Colorblind' Policy Bans Racial Breakdown Of Voter Data

Ryan J. Reilly | January 23, 2012, 3:30PM

The state of Texas said Monday that it can't provide voter data allowing the federal government to evaluate whether its voter ID law is discriminatory because they don't track racial and ethnic data in order to "facilitate a colorblind electoral process."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced on Monday Texas was suing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in an effort to "fast-track" its authority to enforce a voter ID law the state claims would "help deter and detect election fraud."

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Texas Redistricting

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Texas Redistricting Case

Ryan J. Reilly | January 9, 2012, 5:00PM

The Supreme Court in Washington, DC

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a case that could have big legal consequences in Texas this election year as well as portend an uncertain future for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The justices seemed to struggle with how to handle a case focusing on Texas redistricting given the tight time constrains and the need to implement some map for the 2012 election. At issue is whether a panel of federal judges in San Antonio had gone too far when they drew up interim redistricting maps before a separate panel of judges had ruled on whether the original maps drawn by the legislature were discriminatory. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act the burden of proof is on Texas to prove that their redistricting maps were not discriminatory, because of the state's history of racial discrimination.

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Joe Arpaio

Attorney For Family of Dead Military Veteran Blasts Joe Arpaio's Trip to Iowa

Nick R. Martin | December 28, 2011, 11:38AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a lot of problems on his plate right now, not the least of which are two ongoing investigations surrounding a Latino military veteran who died after a brief stay in his officers' custody.

So it begs the question: How could the Arizona sheriff find time to jet to Iowa this week for two days of campaigning on behalf of presidential hopeful Rick Perry?

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Rick Perry

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Help Comes With Baggage, But Rick Perry Doesn't Mind

Nick R. Martin | December 27, 2011, 5:25PM

As the final days of campaigning wind down in Iowa, Rick Perry is betting that an Arizona politician who's currently the target of civil and criminal investigations will be one of his last hopes to win over caucus goers.

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Death Penalty

Report: Death Sentences At Lowest Level In Decades

David Taintor | December 15, 2011, 2:44PM

The world watched, transfixed, as Georgia man Troy Davis headed for execution by lethal injection in September, with many calling the execution unjust. A Republican debate audience that same month cheered loudly as Texas Gov. Rick Perry defended his state's record of executing more death row inmates than any other governor in modern times. But death penalty opponents might breathe a sigh of relief today.

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Rick Perry

Election Lawyer: Supreme Court Hearing Texas Redistricting Case Shows Their Partisanship

Ryan J. Reilly | December 12, 2011, 1:20PM

Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)

The nine (or is it eight?) members of the Supreme Court are set to decide whether redistricting maps drawn by a federal court (after separate maps signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry were found to be discriminatory) can go into effect.

The Supreme Court's one paragraph order on Friday placed a stay on the implementation of the maps, tossing Texas's congressional and state legislature elections into chaos. Political observers and participants in the case are still trying to figure out exactly what it means for the election timeline. A hearing is set for Jan. 9.

Gerry Hebert, an election lawyer in D.C. who is working for intervenors in the redistricting case, told TPM that the Supreme Court's decision shows that they're "just another governmental institution in Washington that's highly partisan."

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Voting Rights Act

DOJ: Texas Has Provided 'Incomplete' Information In Probe Of Rick Perry Signed Voter ID Law

Ryan J. Reilly | November 16, 2011, 5:45PM

Governor Rick Perry (R-TX)

Texas provided "incomplete" information that does not enable federal officials to determine whether their proposed voter ID law would be discriminatory, the Justice Department said in a letter Wednesday.

Essentially, the letter from DOJ Civil Rights Division Voting Section Chief T. Christian Herren Jr. restarts the clock on when the Department has to make a decision about whether the law signed by Gov. Rick Perry complies with the Voting Rights Act. They have 60 days from when Texas sends them complete information.

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Eric Holder

Court Orders Trial Over Texas Redistricting Plan Signed By Rick Perry

Ryan J. Reilly | November 8, 2011, 1:15PM

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)

A panel of judges in Washington, D.C. has ordered that there should be a trial on the Texas redistricting maps signed by Gov. Rick Perry, denying the state's request to approve the maps DOJ argues limit the power of Hispanic voters.

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Texas

Texas GOPer Apologizes For Saying 'Don't Try to Jew Them Down'

Jillian Rayfield | November 4, 2011, 10:52AM

State Rep. Larry Taylor (R-TX)

Republican State Rep. Larry Taylor of Texas has apologized for saying "don't try to Jew them down" in a hearing about insurance claims after Hurricane Ike.

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Rick Perry

Feds: Rick Perry-Signed Texas Redistricting Plan Reduces Voting Power Of 479,704 Hispanics

Ryan J. Reilly | October 26, 2011, 6:00AM

Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)

There is "ample circumstantial evidence" that the congressional and state representative redistricting maps signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry had not only the effect but the intent of limiting the voting power of Hispanic voters, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing late Tuesday.

DOJ is seeking to block the maps, filing to deny Texas' request for summary judgement in a case involving allegations that state officials tried to limit the voter power of Hispanic voters in violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Federal lawyers contended in the newest filing that there is "ample circumstantial evidence of a discriminatory purpose with regard to both the State House and Congressional plans" and that in the new maps nearly half a million fewer Hispanics would live in districts where they would have the ability to elect a candidate of their choosing.

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Rick Perry

Judges Say Texas Can't Move Forward With Redistricting Plans The Feds Say Are Discriminatory

Ryan J. Reilly | September 30, 2011, 2:30PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) holds a copy of his book

A panel of three federal judges ordered Texas not to move forward with redistricting plans for both congressional and state legislative seats until they are approved in court.

Justice Department lawyers have declared in court that they believe the congressional and statehouse redistricting plans signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry have been adopted at least in part for the purpose of "diminishing the ability of citizens of the United States, on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, to elect their preferred candidates."

They've argued that regardless of intent, the plans would have the effect of diminishing the ability of Hispanic voters to pick their preferred candidates.

A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio ruled that Texas should wait until the courts rule on the legality of the maps. In San Antonio, the panel of judges has heard testimony about the maps but hasn't ruled on their legality, while the D.C. panel -- charged with deciding whether to preclear the maps -- won't hold hearings for a month, according to the Texas Tribune. The court in San Antonio is handling a separate suit filed by opponents of the plan, while court in D.C. is handling the suit involving the Justice Department.

"According to the Texas Election Code, any changes that must be made in the county election precinct boundaries 'to give effect to a redistricting plan' must be finalized by October 1, 2011," the judges wrote, according to the Texas Tribune. "Because the redistricting plans have not been precleared ... all persons or entities that would otherwise have a duty under Section 42.032 of the Texas Election Code are relieved of those duties until further order of the Court."

DOJ

DOJ Has More Questions On Rick Perry's Voter ID Law

Ryan J. Reilly | September 23, 2011, 5:55PM

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry during the Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the Black Hawk County Republican Party in Waterloo, Iowa on August 14, 2011.

Updated: Sept. 23, 2011, 6:54PM

The Justice Department hasn't yet precleared a voter ID law signed by Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R). In a Friday letter officials wrote that they need to know more about how the state would alert voters to the changes to the law.

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Justice Department

DOJ: Rick Perry's Texas Redistricting Plan Purposefully Discriminated Against Minorities

Ryan J. Reilly | September 23, 2011, 5:40PM

The Justice Department said late Friday that based on their preliminary investigation, a congressional redistricting map signed into law by Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry appears to have been "adopted, at least in part, for the purpose of diminishing the ability of citizens of the United States, on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, to elect their preferred candidates of choice to Congress."

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Rick Perry

What DOJ Tossing Texas' Redistricting Plan Means For Rick Perry

Ryan J. Reilly | September 20, 2011, 6:30AM

As if Rick Perry needed another reason to dislike the federal government.

The Justice Department's decision to oppose the redistricting plan Perry signed as Governor of Texas is raising questions over whether he and state Republicans tried to dilute the voter power of Latinos by gerrymandering them into particular districts.

DOJ's opening serve sets the scene for a major court battle over how the lines will be drawn in the Lone Star state. Federal attorneys are expected to offer more details of their objections in a filing Tuesday and in federal court in D.C. on Wednesday.

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Rick Perry

DOJ: Rick Perry's Texas Congressional Redistricting Map Violates Voting Rights Act

Ryan J. Reilly | September 19, 2011, 2:57PM

Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)

Updated: September 19, 2011, 4:27PM

The Justice Department said Monday that Texas' state House and congressional redistricting plans didn't comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting power to the growing Latino population in the state.

Officials with DOJ's Civil Rights Division said the proposed redistricting plan for the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the state Senate complied with the Voting Rights Act, but indicated they had concerns with the state House plan and the plan for congressional redistricting.

The federal government "[denied] that the proposed Congressional plan, as compared with the benchmark, maintains or increases the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice in each district protected by Section 5," DOJ lawyers write in a filing. "Defendants deny that the proposed Congressional plan complies with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."

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Rick Perry

Coalition: Perry's Voter ID Law Intentionally Discriminates Against Minorities

Ryan J. Reilly | September 13, 2011, 5:15PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A photo voter ID law signed by Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is unnecessary, unfair, restrictive and intentionally discriminates against African-American and Latino voters, a coalition of civil rights groups will argue in a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday.

Groups in the coalition want DOJ's Civil Rights Division to oppose preclearance of Texas's photo voter identification law under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asian American Justice Center, Southwest Workers Union, a statewide Hispanic organization and Demos say the state failed to prove that the law was enacted for a nondiscriminatory purpose and that it will have no discriminatory effect on minorities.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry Sent Letter On Immigration To Wrong Agency

Ryan J. Reilly | August 31, 2011, 11:25AM

Three days before he entered the presidential race, Rick Perry sent a letter asking for $350 million in federal money to reimburse Texas for the cost of jailing illegal immigrants. To the wrong department.

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Rick Perry

Top Perry Patron Has Ties To DeLay Redistricting Scandal

Susan Crabtree | August 26, 2011, 5:24PM

While the East Coast braces itself for the ravages of Hurricane Irene this weekend, a tempest of another kind will be building in Texas.

Texas Gov. Ricky Perry is attending a Christian "call to action" retreat for top donors at the Texas Hill Country ranch of one of his biggest patrons and political supporters, prominent San Antonio doctor and hospital-bed magnate James Leininger.

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Rick Perry

Bank Of America Exec Offers To 'Help' Perry Out -- Bank Claims It Was Just About Friendly Policy Advice

Jillian Rayfield | August 19, 2011, 5:11PM

After a Bank Of America director was caught on camera telling Rick Perry "we will help you out," the bank put out a statement explaining that the offer "was about following up on the substance of the speech about job creation and economic growth."

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Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller: Rick Perry Needs To Address His Ties To Stealth Jihadists

Jillian Rayfield | August 17, 2011, 11:31AM

Pamela Geller, blogger for Atlas Shrugs

Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller has accused TX Gov. Rick Perry of being the pro-Sharia "Fifth Column" presidential candidate -- but still says she'd support him if she had to "with every breath of my body."

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Abortion

Texas Legislature Passes Bill Mandating Pre-Abortion Sonograms

Jon Terbush | May 6, 2011, 3:47PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

The Texas legislature passed a bill on Thursday requiring doctors to conduct a sonogram before performing an abortion, and to describe to the woman seeking an abortion what the sonogram shows before moving ahead with the procedure.

The bill, which passed the Texas House on Thursday by a 94-41 vote, forces doctors to perform a sonogram at least 24 hours before performing an abortion, and to show the resulting images to a woman if she requests to view them. And even if the woman declines to view the sonogram, the bill mandates that she must still listen to the doctor describe the images before going ahead with the abortion.

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Rick Perry

Perry's Office Tells Blocked Journo: Gov Uses Account 'As He Likes'

Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 10:07AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Dallas Morning News reporter Tom Benning has his answer as to why he's being blocked from following Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Twitter. Sort of.

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Rick Perry

Is Rick Perry Blocking Journalists From Following Him On Twitter?

Eric Lach | February 28, 2011, 4:48PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A reporter at The Dallas Morning News says he's been blocked from following Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter account -- and he's not the only one.

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Rick Perry

Texas Gov. Perry Open To U.S. Military Going Into Mexico

Eric Lach | November 18, 2010, 1:09PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has long criticized the federal government on border security. He's firmly in the camp that argues that the border needs to be "secured" before any kind of immigration reform can be legislated. On MSNBC this morning, Perry blamed "the federal government's abject failure" to provide troops and equipment to "defeat this drug cartel threat" for the recent deaths of American citizens near the border. When host Chuck Todd then asked Perry if the U.S. military should cross the border to help Mexico combat drug cartels, Perry said "we have to have use every aspect of law enforcement that we have, including the military."

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Lake Pirates

Gov. Perry: Those Who Doubt Tiffany Hartley's Lake Pirates Story 'Ought To Be Ashamed'

Eric Lach | October 6, 2010, 3:11PM

Texas Gov. Rick Perry

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is getting involved in the case of a man reportedly killed by "lake pirates" while jet skiing on a body of water that straddles the Mexico-Texas border. Perry told the Associated Press that he has asked Mexican President Felipe Calderon to call him within 48 hours to discuss the search for David Hartley. Perry said if Hartley is not located by then, "we're not looking hard enough."

Tiffany Hartley says that she and her husband were jet skiing and taking pictures on the Mexican side of the lake last Thursday, when they were attacked by people in three boats. David was reportedly shot in the head, and Tiffany, unable to lift his body onto her jet ski, fled for her safety. Neither David nor his jet ski have been located. Hartley's family has been vocally calling on the governments of both Mexico and the U.S. to step up their efforts. The incident happened in Mexican waters, and the local sheriff has declined an invitation to assist in the search "because it's dangerous."

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Rick Perry

Report: Rick Perry Gave $16M In State Money To Firms Backed By Donors

Rachel Slajda | October 4, 2010, 10:56AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

The Dallas Morning News came out with a story this weekend that Texas Gov. Rick Perry used the state's Emerging Technology Fund to funnel some $16 million to firms that were backed by major donors to his campaign.

Created in 2005, Perry pushed for the fund, which is meant to encourage the development of new technology and attract researchers to the state. The grants -- which have totaled $173 million since the fund's creation -- are overseen by the governor's office and must be approved by the governor himself.

The lieutenant governor and speaker of the state house must also sign off, the News reports, but they wait for governor's go-ahead before doing so.

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Rick Perry

PAC To Gov. Perry: 'Face Texans Like A Man'

Ryan J. Reilly | August 23, 2010, 6:01PM

Texas governor Rick Perry.

An full-page advertisement set to run in several Texas newspapers on Tuesday labels Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) a "coward" for refusing to debate his Democratic opponent and not meeting with editorial boards.

"We think it speaks for itself," said Cliff Walker, the PAC Director for Back To Basics, the group running the ad. "We know it's bold language."

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Secession

Tea Partier Suggests Secession As Antidote to 'Tyranny Of National Government'

Zachary Roth | February 19, 2010, 3:00PM

Tea party in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009

A North Carolina Tea Party group is promoting the idea of secession as a solution to the "tyranny of national government."

The email newsletter of North Carolina Freedom Project contains an item entitled by "Solutions to the tyranny of national government." The item proposes two such solutions. The first, described as "incremental," involves embracing "tentherism" -- the bogus belief, espoused lately by some on the far right, that many of the powers of the federal government are unconstitutional.

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Rick Perry

If At First You Don't Secede ... Sue The EPA: Texas Guv Uses Climate-Gate Emails To Take On Feds

Zachary Roth | February 18, 2010, 11:41AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is suing the Environmental Protection Agency in a bid to stop it from regulating global warming pollution. The centerpiece of his argument? Those leaked "Climate-Gate" emails.

Last year, the governor -- who faces a contested GOP primary race, which includes a Tea-Party-backed candidate who has lately caught fire -- raised the threat of seceding from the union. And on Tuesday, he opened a new front in his quest to tout his conservative bona fides.

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Rick Perry

Perry Appointee In No Rush To Wade Back Into Willingham Case

Zachary Roth | November 10, 2009, 4:23PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

The Texas prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Perry to chair a state forensics commission won't say when, if ever, his panel will hear from an arson expert who had been scheduled to testify about a flawed arson investigation that may have led to the death of an innocent man.

Asked, during a state Senate hearing, about when the Texas Forensic Science Commission would hear from nationally recognized expert Craig Beyler, John Bradley declined to give a specific answer.

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Cameron Todd Willingham

Perry: Death Penalty's Working Fine!

Zachary Roth | October 21, 2009, 10:01AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A little thing like being shown to have probably executed an innocent man isn't going to get in the way of continuing to put people to death, if Texas governor Rick Perry has anything to do with it.

Said Perry yesterday:

Our process works, and I don't see anything out there that would merit calling for a moratorium on the Texas death penalty. It's fair and appropriate, and we will continue with it.

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Rick Perry

Arson Expert: Perry's "Conflict" Hurts Panel's Credibility

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 10:10AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A nationally known arson expert who had been scheduled to testify before a Texas panel probing an investigation that may have led to the death of an innocent man has slammed Governor Rick Perry's handling of the case.

In an email to an official for the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Craig Beyler called for the appointment of the panel members ousted by Perry last month, and the resignation of the new members that Perry appointed in their place. And he said that Perry, a Republican, should recuse himself from making appointments to the panel because -- having signed off on the execution despite a last minute bid from the convicted man's lawyer for a postponement -- the governor has a "conflict of interest."

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Rick Perry

Defending Himself, Perry Attacks Executed Man As "Monster"

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 11:03AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Texas governor Rick Perry has defended his handling of a death penalty case that may have led to the execution of an innocent man -- and launched an extraordinary attack on the dead man himself.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Perry yesterday called Cameron Todd Wilingham a "monster," a "bad man," and "a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that she wouldn't have those kids."

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Cameron Todd Willingham

Evidence Builds That Perry's Office Pressured Panel On Willingham Probe

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Things are looking worse and worse for Texas governor Rick Perry, accused of stifling a state panel's probe into that flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett, the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has now told the Houston Chronicle that lawyers for Perry told him the case was inappropriate, and that the hiring of a nationally known fire expert was a "waste of state money."

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Cameron Todd Willingham

Former Panel Chair Says Perry's Office Pressured Him On Death Penalty Probe

Zachary Roth | October 12, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

It's starting to look more and more like Texas governor Rick Perry orchestrated an effort to thwart a state probe into an arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett -- the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, who Perry declined to reappoint last month -- is now saying that Perry's aides tried to pressure him over the direction of the inquiry his panel was conducting into the steps that led to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for arson. Perry, as governor, signed off on the execution, despite clear evidence that the investigation was flawed.

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Death Penalty

Lawyers Group Urged Perry To Keep Ousted Chair Of Panel Probing Death Penalty Case

Zachary Roth | October 8, 2009, 12:22PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Remember that move by Texas governor Rick Perry to not to reappoint the chair of a panel looking into a flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man? Well it's looking dodgier than ever.

Last week, Perry announced he would not reappoint Chair Sam Bassett and two other members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which is looking into the probe that led to the execution of Cameron Willingham -- despite strong evidence that he may have been innocent. The panel members terms had expired.

Perry himself, as governor, had signed off on the 2004 execution, leading critics to charge that the decision on Bassett -- who had appeared to push for an aggressive inquiry into missteps in the original probe -- was an attempt by the governor to short-circuit an effort that could have been politically damaging as he faces a tough re-election campaign.

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Death Penalty

Texas Governor Stymieing Panel Probing Flawed Death Penalty Case?

Zachary Roth | October 2, 2009, 12:35PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Even by the standards of Texas's enthusiasm for state-sanctioned killing, this is pretty shocking...

A Texas scientific panel has been looking into possible missteps in a criminal investigation of a 1991 arson case which led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. A recent New Yorker story about the case laid out compelling evidence that Willingham may well have been wrongly put to death.

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