After a second request made by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a judge denied a motion to have a criminal case against the governor dismissed, reported The Statesman.
Last August, Perry was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official. Perry’s legal team has been trying to get the case dismissed, but has failed each time. The most recent denial came from Judge Bert Richardson, a Republican judge in San Antonio.
According to the Statesman, Perry’s legal team filed a writ of habeas corpus, “a sign of the slow speed at which the case is churning through the criminal justice system.” Subsequently, the legal team filed an appeal to the denying ruling which could further gum up the process for this case.
Obviously, Perry’s legal team wants to bog down the case’s procession through the system because Perry is considering another presidential run in 2016. Perry has already spent $1 million in campaign money for his legal defense, which contends that he acted within the legal realm.
A petition filed by Perry’s defense reads that the “Texas Constitution imposes no limits on the governor’s right and duty to veto; he exercises unbounded discretion in exercising his veto power, subject only to the Legislature’s right to override that veto.”
Michael McCrum, the prosecutor in the Perry case replied to the petition saying that “The defendant argues he did not break the law. The state alleges he did. This is precisely why the justice system exists: to resolve these types of disputes.”
The case stems from Perry allegedly bullying a Democratic DA to resign from her job or lose a $7.5 million grant to the Texas’ Public Integrity Unit after the DA received a DWI conviction. How ironic: a governor allegedly abuses his power by threatening to cut funds to a group charged with ensuring public integrity.
Does Perry think he’s above the law? Many would say he does. However, with Perry’s legal team filing appeals and petitions, getting a conviction is going to be a tricky pursuit.
