anyone heard of the 'forgiveness law' in Texas?

[lavenderdiva]

Tonight, I was watching A&E's 'City Confidential', about a little town in north west Texas-- the city where Larry McMurtry lives. In it, the sheriff was accused of raping one of the women in the town. He wasn't indicted by the grand jury in the town, but the woman later brought federal charges, and he was found guilty. However, the town kept him on as sheriff, and he was later reelected to that same position. The sheriff was on the show talking about something called the 'forgiveness law' in Texas, and that it was unique. He stated that if an elected official was indicted or convicted of something in Texas, and then was later elected to an office in Texas, that the laws of Texas 'forgave' that official of the deed, and it was as if it never happened???? WTF?

Of course, Tom Delay immediately came to mind. Do we really have to live through this too? Anybody know anything about this?

[acmejack]

1. Diva, I will ask my Sister in a bit

She is a member of the Tx bar and I will talk to her in a few minutes. I will PM you the answer when I know it.

[lavenderdiva]

2. thank you, acmejack! I look forward to her answer.... n/t

[Texaroo]

3. I found some info on this....

From what I could tell, federal charges and convictions are not relevant to rules governing Texas law enforcement officials. There was a case in 1994 in Hidalgo County, where the sheriff was convicted on federal charges, and the appropriate Texas Commission on Law Enforcement rule stated that such a convistion had no bearing on term of office EVEN IF THE SHERIFF WAS SERVING TIME IN FEDERAL PRISON.

Sounds like one of those states' rights quirks, probably a leftover from the Civil Rights era, I would guess (when you could lynch someone and get away with it). This IS the South.

[ceile]

4. Do you mean Civil War era? n/t

[Texaroo]

8. Nope - I mean the 1960's.

George Wallace had a bunch of support in this state, and no one was interested in having the feds come in to challenge a good ol' boy local sheriff if he happened to look the other way when a few "good citizens" took out a "troublemaker." So codes and rules STILL reflect that attitude.

Sad, incredible, but true...

[lavenderdiva]

5. that's just incredible, Texaroo...

I guess we have this to look forward to, if Delay succeeds in his reelection efforts, and even if Ronnie Earle's prosecution is successful!

[GOPisEvil]

6. Ronnie is prosecuting under state law, though.

[lavenderdiva]

7. so if Delay is convicted, and also wins the election,

the 'forgiveness law' wouldn't apply to him because the conviction is based on the state prosecuting, not the feds? If so, that would be good news....

[Texaroo]

9. Uhhh, no, not quite...

If DeLay is convicted under state law, he can still serve. In fact, unless he voluntarily resigns, he would have to be expelled from Congress (like an impeachment). It would require a 2/3's vote, and it is a very rare occurrence (only twice since the Civil War, most recently, James Traficant after his conviction on bribery charges in 2002).

I seriously doubt DeLay, even if convicted, would be expelled. He will still whine about how unjust laws and corrupt courts were unfair to him, and he'll be able to convince enough dopes in his District to keep him the GOP nominee for a few cycles, if he wants.

We gotta beat him - not hope he fades away on his own.

[lavenderdiva]

10. thank you for that explanation...

you are right, 'We gotta beat him'. I'm still not so sure that the Repubs here in Harris county don't believe all the crap that Delay is spewing about the Dems being out to get him, and how he is a victim. He is a whiner.

I don't think he has the following in Congress that he had before, as they are also worried about losing their seats. So I don't know how a vote on his expulsion would read. I'm sure a lot goes on behind the scenes, but at least, on the surface, they seem to be keeping their distance.

[Texaroo]

11. He just serves up the pork..

Ask his supporters, and they point to the "gum'mint" projects (like the South Texas Corridor, NASA, etc.) that DeLay has "brought" us. He gladly takes credit.

What amazes me is that these are the same people who condemn government spending and taxes. So with the typical royal flourishes of hypocrisy, they re-elect someone who is corrupt and proven unethical (but "Christian"), who is one of the chief architects of the current spending craze (but earmarks his own projects), who wants to trample individual rights (Schiavo) while "standing up for the little guy, etc.

I hope Nick turns all that against his base. The best thing that would happen would be for Jack Abramoff to wind up and start spewing dates and locations and what he received. Tom is now saying that he met with other lobbyists "far more times" than with Abramoff. I say we look into just what THEY got for their efforts and bucks...

[cosmik debris]

12. Here are some facts (?)

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/opinions.php?id=C20_17_11

I don't know how this applies to Wichita Falls County, but as you can see the law was changed some time around 1995.

Here is the relevant quote from the story in the Brownsville Herald

"Ruiz’s indictment came just months after the federal conviction of Hidalgo County Sheriff Brig Marmolejo on federal bribery and racketeering charges. Marmolejo was sentenced to seven years in prison for taking money from a jailed drug trafficker in return for special favors, including conjugal visits and special food orders.

The case led to a change in state law. Even after his conviction, the sheriff refused to resign his position. In the middle of an election cycle, Marmolejo’s own Democratic Party sued in an effort to remove him from office so the party could find another candidate in time for the November 1994 elections. The 13th Court of Appeals — which at the time included Cameron County’s own Gilberto Hinojosa — ruled that the conviction of an elected official does not automatically vacate the position. In its next session the Texas Legislature passed a law providing for automatic removal of a public official convicted of a felony. The act was called the “Brig Bill.”"

[lavenderdiva]

13. thanks, cosmik debris!

that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? It sounds like the 'brig bill' does get the felons out of office, whether they want to go or not, after they have been convicted of a felony. Thanks for digging that up! :hi: