The Texas Supreme Court stayed proceedings in a civil lawsuit filed against Republican activist Steven Hotze, amid his attempt to block claims over the alleged attack of a man targeted in a voter fraud conspiracy theory, until a criminal case against him can be resolved.
The Supreme Court granted an emergency motion Jan. 17 asked for by Hotze, and directed parties in the lawsuit to file responses in the court by Feb. 18. The Supreme Court order effectively blocked the start of a Harris County civil trial, which had been scheduled for Feb. 17, according to court records.
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Last month, Hotze’s attorney, Jared Woodfill, asked both the Supreme Court and a federal judge to temporarily block the lawsuit from going forward. In motions to both courts, Woodfill claimed that Lopez’s attorneys were working in concert with Harris County prosecutors to go after Hotze. He questioned whether Hotze’s rights against self-incrimination were violated by the civil lawyers sharing depositions with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Woodfill argued that any civil actions against Hotze should be stayed until the criminal case against him is resolved.
The Supreme Court’s court stay order didn’t address any of Woodfill’s claims, and instead directed Lopez’s attorneys to file a response to Woodfill. No rulings have been made in the appeal Hotze made to the federal court.
A motion hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning in Harris County’s civil district court was canceled. Hotze is scheduled to appear in criminal court on Feb. 14 for a status conference. No trial date has been set.
See here for the previous update. I hope, I really hope, that the Supreme Court is just feeling the need to get some ducks lined up in a case that will surely be back on their doorstep in the future, possibly multiple times before it’s finally resolved. Whatever they do rule, I would like to see the criminal case get moving, because that’s some justice that deserves to happen as well. This jerk needs to be held accountable, the sooner the better, please and thank you.
The Texas Supreme Court has a much higher lever than the Federal Supreme Court in interpreting the law to suit its political beliefs.