Twin Victories On Appeal
January 26, 2010In a 72-hour period in January 2010, the firm won mandamus victories from the Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court in an election-related case. The case involved a race for Harris County District Clerk. A dispute arose between competing claimants for one party's nomination to run in the general election. The trial court signed an injunction order, ruling that the candidate could not be on the ballot because he had already filed for a different office and had missed the deadline for withdrawing from that race. The candidate filed mandamus papers on Monday, January 18. He raised a statutory question about the Texas Election Code’s filing and withdrawal deadline scheme. The Court of Appeals ordered a response filed the next day.
Beck Redden partner David Gunn was hired to defend against the mandamus. In under 24 hours, Gunn and associate Chad Flores filed responsive papers in the appellate court. The court issued a favorable ruling before the sun went down. (Ruling attached) Although the other side sought Supreme Court review, the Court denied mandamus on the morning of Thursday, January 21.