Craddick went too far in use of DPS, judge rules (Against Texs Killer D's

[WatchWhatISay]

www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/front/1989615

July 10, 2003, 11:49PM


Craddick went too far in use of DPS, judge rules
By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN -- Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick overstepped his authority by dispatching state troopers to search for Democratic state representatives who bolted in May to kill a redistricting bill, a state district judge ruled Thursday.

State District Judge Charles Campbell ruled that a state government code defining the role and limits of Texas Department of Public Safety officers superseded a House rule employed by Craddick to hunt down the legislators.

"Based on this judge's ruling, what (Craddick) did was illegal," said state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who sought a court ruling on whether it was legal for state troopers to be used in the search for the "Killer D's." "Basically what the judge is saying is exactly what the Killer D's had been saying all along -- the (DPS) needs to be chasing criminals and not doing the political work of the speaker," said Burnam, one of the Democrats who went to Ardmore.

In his ruling, Campbell, a former Democratic Texas Court of Criminal Appeals justice, said Craddick relied on a House rule that allows for the return of absent lawmakers, including arrests, by "the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose."

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[sonias]

1. I love Lon Burnam

Way to go Lon. Even though it has no practical effect on the redistricting fight going on right now, it's good for the people of Texas to know that the repukes were the ones breaking laws. It helps clear the Killer D's of being the lawbreakers. Like my Rep. Elliott Naishtatt likes to say "We broke no laws, we broke no rules all we did is break a quorum."

I encourage everyone to send Lon Burnham a thank you note for his incredibly hard work. He's going to be in the fight for his life in his next TX house race. The TX repukes have him as their number one target. His district is one of the poorest. He's fighting for all the people who can't speak for themselves. He represents house district 90 near Fort Worth. Fight for those who fight for us. Back them up, they need to hear our support.

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist90/burnam.htm
Capitol Office
Room EXT E2.708
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
[phone]
[phone] Fax District Office
1305 W. Magnolia, Ste C
Fort Worth, TX 76104
[phone]
[phone] Fax

Sonia

[WatchWhatISay]

3. Lon Burnham does definitely deserve our admiration.

The only Democrat that did not vote for Craddick, even though they all knew exactly what they were going to get.

You are right. They will make him their target, since he was the only one that couldn't be intimidated. They'll take every possible benefit away from his constituents that they can, and then blame Burnham for the loss and use that as a reason why he shouldn't be re-elected.

Pat this guy on the back (or slip a few bucks into his campaign pockets) whenever you can. He is one of the few that still works for us.

[Dover]

2. What, if any, consequences are there to this ruling for Craddick? n/t

...

[Judi Lynn]

4. Thank goodness!

Here's another story on the ruling:

(snip) Fort Worth judge rules in favor of Democrat flight
By Associated Press
July 11, 2003

FORT WORTH — The Texas Department of Public Safety lacks the legal authority to track down and arrest rebellious state lawmakers who break a quorum, a judge said Thursday.

Visiting state District Judge Charles Campbell in Austin ruled on a lawsuit filed last month by Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, one of 51 state House Democrats who fled to Oklahoma for four days in May to prevent a vote on a Republican-backed congressional redistricting plan.

After the lawmakers brought the chamber to a standstill by failing to show up May 12, state troopers went to their homes, to their family members’ offices — and even to a Galveston hospital neonatal unit where Rep. Craig Eiland’s newborn twins were under care.

Some DPS officers found the group that night in Ardmore, Okla., then acknowledged that they had no authority to bring them back. But Texas law "limits the role of DPS to enforcing the laws protecting the public safety and providing for the prevention and detection of crime," Campbell wrote in the ruling.

The judge said that law overrides a state House of Representatives rule allowing for absent members to be arrested by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by him. (snip/...)

http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_state/article/0,1874,ABIL_7974_2102101,00.html

[newyawker99]

5. WatchWhatISay

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NYer99
DU Moderator