July 22, 2008
Judge rules for Davis in ballot access case

Good.


Democrat Wendy Davis is eligible to run against state Sen. KimBrimer, R-Fort Worth, in November, according to a civil court ruling.

When asked if Brimer planned to appeal the ruling, his lawyer, Nick Acuff, said "I think so."

Outside the courtroom, Davis said she was confident the ruling will stand through appeals.

"I'm very very confident in the law and I'm very confident, that regardless of the appellate level that hears this case, we are legally on the ballot," she said.

[...]

Judge Tom Lowe ruled in favor of Davis' eligibility based on two different criteria. He said that Davis' second filing for the Texas Senate (done on Jan. 2) was completely free of conflict because Joel Burns had been sworn in as city councilman the day before. This ruling is the first concrete declaration of whether Burns' unscheduled swearing-in at home was official. Fort Worth city attorneys have declined to say.

Lowe then said that even if Burns' first swearing-in wasn't official, meaning that Davis held her city council seat for a week following her filing to run for a higher office, it didn't matter.

"Davis's holding office for those additional seven days was de minimus and does not render her ineligible to seek election," Lowe wrote.


Brimer had filed suit earlier this month, in what I thought was a fairly risky move. I think he's got to appeal, but to my non-lawyerly eyes, this doesn't look good for him. Here's more on the hearing itself. I hope we can put this behind us now and get on with the business oif the election.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 22, 2008 to Election 2008
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