A win and a loss in court for Texas good government

The win? A federal judge has blocked any vote purge based on the highly inaccurate list of alleged non-voters released by play-acting Secretary of State nominee David Whitley.

Judge Fred Biery's action also puts other restraints on county election officials.

And, it's yet another case of fiscal-minded Texas Rethuglican conservatives wasting our money in court.

The loss? The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has declared part of the Open Meetings Act unconstitutional.

The portion of the law at hand?

"A member or group of members of a governmental body commits an offense if the member or group of members knowingly conspires to circumvent this chapter by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the purpose of secret deliberations in violation of this chapter." 

The specific case involved Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal, who was indicted for violating TOMA along with two county commissioners, when they allegedly negotiated details of a county road bond outside of a public meeting.

The CCA said it was too vague to stand constitutional muster.

First, does this stuff happen, besides what Doyal et al allegedly did? Hellz yes.

At contentious local government meetings, I have "wandered" into a men's bathroom if multiple members of a city council or school board did so at the same time during a break in a meeting. Or afterward before leaving city hall or the school district headquarters. You never know.

It's easier to do this, but easier to leave a trail if you're suspected of doing it, by cellphone today.

And shock me that Sharon Keller wrote the majority opinion.

State Sen. Kirk Watson is right that the Legislature needs to remedy this. But, our Lege "needs to" remedy all sorts of shit that it doesn't actually remedy.

And, while Doyel's own counsel is pooh-poohing worry, saying the scope of the ruling is limited, I disagree, in part for reasons noted. I really don't see how you de-vaguify the ruling without writing up 20 or more paragraphs of chapter and verse "for instances," which in turn will then be used by violators of the spirit of the TOMA to get themselves off the hook.

I don't know if it wouldn't be better, if CCA denies a rehearing and the Texas Supreme Court refuses to review the CCA's ruling on state constitutional grounds, which is itself a longshot, for the Lege to keep the vagueness and make the penalties civil instead of criminal and hope that passes muster.