It had been a few weeks since his lawyers filed any paperwork, so I guess they were getting twitchy.
Corndogs make bad news go down easier
As the race for president shapes up, former Gov. Rick Perry is imploring a state appeals court to take quick action in the criminal case against him.
In his latest court filing, Perry said a decision is important not only for him but for his successor, Gov. Greg Abbott.
Perry believes that “time is of the essence because of the forthcoming conclusion of the legislative session and the corresponding minimal time frame afforded to Gov. Abbott to determine in which circumstances, if any, he can exercise his constitutional right to veto items of appropriation,” Perry’s legal team wrote.
[…]
In the most recent motion with the 3rd Court, filed Friday, Perry’s lawyers asked for expedited action without oral argument.
“I believe the issues are clear, and the setting of oral argument would unnecessarily delay matters,” Perry’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee of Houston, said Monday.
Oral argument was suggested as appropriate by the special prosecutor in the case, Michael McCrum of San Antonio. He said the complexity of the case warrants it and that argument would likely involve a discussion of the “limits – and abuses – of power in our representative democracy and how it can be regulated.”
Perry’s legal team said there’s no need for “the type of open-ended philosophical discussion” that it says McCrum is proposing.
If oral argument is necessary, “Gov. Perry implores the court to expedite this case and set that argument for the very earliest possible date,” Perry’s team said.
Team Perry had filed a motion to dismiss with the 3rd Court of Appeals on February 26. I guess maybe they were getting a bit impatient. Obviously, he wants to have this matter behind him before officially launching his Presidential campaign. The calendar is not his friend right now.
Read the March 27 brief filed by the prosecution. Prosecutor Mike McCrum claims that government employees are not protected by the 1st Amendment. McCrum’s zeal to weaken 1st Amendment free speech protections go way to far. I agree with Perry’s attorneys that the prosecution’s view of the 1st Amendment is “frighteningly narrow”.