Tag Archives: Kim Ogg

Judge Hidalgo celebrates her win

Winning is sweet. Victory laps are even sweeter. Fresh off a narrow reelection that was anything but assured, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday held a news conference to praise colleagues, thank supporters and call out some members of … Continue reading

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State and county election result relationships, part 3: Other county races

Part One Part Two Last time we looked at judicial races, which for all of the complaints about not knowing the candidates and just going by partisan labels have produced a consistent range of outcomes over the years. Some people … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Investigating abortions is Houston’s “lowest priority”

So says Mayor Turner, and I’m glad to hear it. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Thursday that investigating abortions under the state’s near-total ban is the city’s “lowest priority” when it comes to crime. Turner said the city would continue to … Continue reading

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Buzbee blames the NFL for Watson’s short suspension

Surely you expected that Tony Buzbee would have something to say about all this. For the first woman to sue former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson —and nearly all those who followed suit — the legal process is over. They settled … Continue reading

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Charges against Judge Jordan dropped

That was quick. Just four days after being indicted and arrested, Harris County misdemeanor court Judge Darrell Jordan saw an official oppression charge against him dropped. Fort Bend County prosecutors on Friday announced they were dropping the misdemeanor charge against … Continue reading

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More on Jordan and Dolcefino

Dolcefino speaks. Former TV reporter Wayne Dolcefino has called for the resignation of Harris County misdemeanor Judge Darrell Jordan, alleging a personal vendetta led the jurist to wrongly hold him in contempt of court in 2020. Dolcefino’s demand came after … Continue reading

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Jordan and Dolcefino

I have questions about this. Darrell William Jordan, a Harris County misdemeanor court judge, on Monday was arrested and charged with of official oppression, according to court records. Jordan is accused of using his office to unlawfully arrest and detain … Continue reading

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DAs are not going to be able to avoid enforcing anti-abortion laws

I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not how it works. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, local prosecutors in several of the largest Texas counties vowed not to file criminal charges in abortion-related cases, seemingly offering hope … Continue reading

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What is going on at CrimeStoppers?

Whatever it is, I’m not sure how to stop it. “Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.” That message, along with the promise of a reward, has appeared for decades at the end of news reports … Continue reading

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Some DAs refuse to enforce Abbott’s anti-trans order

More like this, please. District attorneys in five of the largest counties in Texas on Thursday announced that they will not comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) and state attorney general Ken Paxton’s (R) directive that state agencies begin investigating … Continue reading

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We don’t really need more prosecutors on the bench

Ugh. On a winter afternoon nine months into the pandemic, Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg held a Zoom meeting with felony judges and prosecutors to discuss the backlog of cases caused by COVID-19 shutdowns at the downtown Houston courthouse. … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Aguirre indicted

Gotta admit, I had thought this happened long ago. A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre on an assault charge after he was accused of running a man off the road and pointing to a … Continue reading

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Abbott admits he can’t enforce his mask mandate ban

So what are we even doing here? Just make your mandate and move on. Gov. Greg Abbott has been embroiled in court battles with Texas cities, counties and public schools that have defied his ban on local mask mandates. But … Continue reading

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The Alvarado filibuster

Wear comfortable shoes, Senator. The GOP voting restrictions push that left the Texas House scrambling to round up absent Democrats also shut down work in the Texas Senate on Wednesday evening as state Sen. Carol Alvarado launched into a filibuster … Continue reading

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Republicans take aim at bail reform

Lots of bad ideas in here. Members of the Texas Senate Committee on Jurisprudence held their first hearing this week over Senate Bill 21, a controversial bail reform bill backed by Republicans. The purpose of the bill according to its … Continue reading

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Do not give Ken Paxton any more power

Seriously, WTF? A new bill would give Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton greater prosecutorial authority over abuse-of-office charges — the very crime for which the FBI is reportedly investigating the state’s top attorney. The bill, proposed by state Sen. Paul … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Sheriff 2020 and 2016

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Behold your 2020 vote champion in Harris … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: County Attorney 2020 and 2016

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney The office of County Attorney gets less attention than … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: District Attorney 2020 and 2016

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities We move on now to the county executive office races for … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Harris County Election Security Task Force

I hadn’t realized that this was a thing, but it was and I’m glad it was. A task force formed to ensure the security of the November election in Texas’ biggest county has found no evidence of wrongdoing after finishing … Continue reading

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A closer look at the Aguirre/Hotze debacle

This WaPo story was pointed out in the comments here, and it’s worth your time to read. I should note that while the Houston Chronicle has not (at least so far) identified the air conditioning repairman that Aguirre attacked, this … Continue reading

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Aguirre’s arraignment

The latest update on the Aguirre/Hotze fever-dream “vote fraud” case. An ex-Houston police officer on Friday swore he is “done” with private investigations after being arrested and charged with assaulting an air conditioning repairman he claimed was involved in a … Continue reading

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Hotze spews some BS

That could be a perennial headline, like a pinned tweet, but here it’s for a specific purpose. Conservative activist Steven Hotze said Wednesday he does not know if the former Houston police captain he hired to investigate voter fraud really … Continue reading

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The real danger of unhinged conspiracy theories

Because sometimes malevolent people act them out, with potentially deadly consequences for others. An air conditioning repairman was driving in south Houston around 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 19 when a black SUV rammed the back of his truck. When he … Continue reading

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“Natasha Ruiz” indicted

At long last, an update to the weirdest local election story of the year. A grand jury has indicted two Houston residents on election fraud charges, accusing them of orchestrating a phony candidacy of a woman that forced longtime state … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Endorsement watch: Ed and Kim

This is an easy call. Anyone who has been led by personal experience or the events of the past year to conclude that cops are callous and jaded hasn’t meant Ed Gonzalez. The compassionate approach of this 51-year-old homicide detective-turned-city … Continue reading

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Poll: Michael Moore claims large lead in Commissioners Court race

From Keir Murray: Like Dallas County did over a decade ago, Harris County Commissioners Court poised to flip from 4-1 Republican to 4-1 Democrat in just two election cycles. @mmooretx strongly positioned to win Pct. 3. Trump trailing by 14 … Continue reading

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July 2020 campaign finance reports: Harris County

You can always count on January and July for campaign finance reports. This roundup is going to be a little funky, because all of the candidates filed eight-day reports for the March primary, and a few also filed 30-day and … Continue reading

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More and better police data, please

Like this. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement will ask nearly 2,000 Texas law enforcement agencies to resubmit information legislators intended be used to analyze whether police were treating minority motorists differently — but which turned out to be worthless … Continue reading

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Kaylynn Williford

Goodbye, and good riddance. The head prosecutor for Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s trial division resigned Monday after posting a meme on Facebook last week that equated protesters who remove Confederate statutes with Nazis. The meme posted by the … Continue reading

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Meanwhile, the jail is filling up again

We really need to do something about this. The Harris County Jail population has been steadily rising since late April and is now approaching its pre-pandemic capacity despite early efforts to curb crowding, according to the sheriff’s office. With an … Continue reading

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DA dismisses charges against most protesters

Good. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday dismissed almost 800 cases filed against protesters arrested during the George Floyd demonstrations last week in Houston. In total, prosecutors dropped 796 charges filed against 654 protesters, District Attorney Kim Ogg … Continue reading

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Dutton’s colleagues ask for investigation of Natasha Ruiz

Hey, look, it’s actual election news! Nearly the entire Harris County Democratic legislative delegation has asked the county attorney and district attorney to open a criminal investigation into the candidacy of a Texas House candidate whose existence was called into … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More on Abbott’s stay-in-jail order

Here’s that more detailed Chron story I referenced yesterday. I’m just going to quote the newer information about Greg Abbott’s executive order that attempts to basically stop most releases of inmates from the jail regardless of the coronavirus situation. The … Continue reading

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