Well Ain’t That Just Real Special
Anywhere else in Texas, you get indicted for a crime and tried for a crime in the county where the crime occurred.
Not so in Texas where Republicans in the Lege just voted themselves some real special rules. A new designation for elected representatives just passed the Texas House.
The vote for House Bill 1690 follows similar action in the Senate, which has signed off on giving lawmakers and other top-level state officials even more leeway in determining where they would face prosecution for abusing their positions.
If they go on a law-breaking frenzy in Austin, they want to be indicted and tried by their own District Attorney in their own county. You know, their golfing buddy. They are the only Texans who get this special treatment. Life is very special for the special people.
It is likely that this came about due to the newly elected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is a double-geared lightning sleezeball. This guy is low enough to steal an expensive writing implement at the body scanning machine and get fined for criminal securities fraud.
His buddy and business partner is the District Attorney in Paxton’s home county, Collin (think Fort Worth). Right after Ken got fined for securities fraud, Ken conducted “an investigation” of himself. Shockingly, after a completely detailed and exhaustive investigation, Ken found that Ken was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Texans slept better that night.
The district attorney in my county has never ever investigated anybody accused of Republican political mischief, even though we gave him living proof of one of them voting in two states.
The Republicans in the Texas Lege just handed themselves a Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Thanks to AlaninAustin for the heads up.
Looks like a clear violation of the 14th Amendment-equal protection under the law clause-that the activist wingnut Scotus used to appoint dumbass dubya Potus.
1Does this new law grandfather in the ability for Jimmy Rickie Perry to cherry-pick his prosecutor, judge and jury, too?
2It’s the Golden Rule in action. If you have the gold, you make the rules.
3Well, I dare say … that really is special special!!
4Hey, doofus, say hello to the Supreme Court! This really is 14th Amendment stuff!
5… But some are more equal than others.
6Texas =Animal Farm
Valid question, daChipster. The Accused Felon may be able to slither out of it yet.
7The word “privilege” derives from “private law.”
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=privilege
8Oh, Juanita, you need to come north occasionally. There is a difference between Tarrant (Ft. Worth) county and Collin (Plano) county. At least geographically, if not politically.
9Collin County everywhere!
10Can anybody out there tell me whether a higher authority can stop this kind of corruption and abuse? Maybe it has to be taken to a federal court?
11@Rhea….. The only ‘higher authority” to this B.S. is THE VOTER. We have to vote these crooks out of office.
JMHO.
12When dumbass dubya was Goobernor they gave korporate amerika the same gift. Get sued(if at all possible in Texas) have trial in korporate headquarters city where you can find a sympathetic jury.
13Sorry TX but you have no one to blame but yourselves because you keep voting in the trash you get instead of sweeping it out the door like you should. You deserve better than what you are getting. Get off your butts and pay attention who your voting for. If you don’t then this is what you get. Shame on you for not doing your job.
14Just about the time I start to think that Texan Rethuglicans have reached their Prime Level of Douche, one of them proves me wrong and they up their game.
Darn.
15@Miemaw: and the odds of most Texans voting any Republican out of office would be…?
@AFM, the ones who keep voting for these trash do NOT deserve better. The ones in the same districts who vote AGAINST the trash do, but they’re screwed unless they move somewhere with a halfway sensible majority of voters.
16ACLU where are you?
17I’m not smart enough to speak for Bubba, but I can see him filing one of them motions the next time he has an out of county defendant, citing this law and the 14th Amendement, et alia, as he might say.
18Ray in Jerrytown beat me to it, but it sure is “Animal Farm in Austin” time now.
Orwell knew of what he wrote.
Totalitarian governments of every stripe take steps to protect and immunize themselves first and foremost, in many different ways. Watch for their next moves.
Did they exclude the few remaining Democrats from this cushy legey self-protection scheme?
19(Y’all thought up suitable armband insignia, or are you gonna let them do it for us?)
Gosh, my wife and I have lived out of state now for about 4 years and we have been planning to return to retire. However, it looks like the political situation has gotten so much worse than when we left, it has us pondering on whether or not it would be better to stay here (South Carolina) or return to Texas. We were both brought up in Texas..so we were used to some the milder idiocy of state government there. Not sure if we can stomach what’s going on there now and the recent past however.
20NS