Posted on 01/03/2006 11:02:58 PM PST by NormsRevenge
AUSTIN, Texas - Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is trying to bully his way through the court system to further his own political ambitions, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle said in court documents that the Republican is "attempting to leapfrog" over the usual court procedures by asking the state's highest criminal court to dismiss all charges against him or to order a trial right away.
DeLay was forced to step aside as majority leader after he was indicted on money laundering and conspiracy charges in September.
He has been pressing the state's highest criminal court to address the charges quickly because he wants to regain his post before his colleagues call for new leadership elections later this month.
The case has been on hold while prosecutors appeal a judge's dismissal of some of the charges.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has not decided whether to take the case but last week asked prosecutors to file briefs making their arguments.
DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said the case affects voters in DeLay's Houston-area congressional district and Republican members of Congress who elected DeLay as majority leader.
"A county prosecutor has thrown a monkey wrench into the functioning of the United States Congress, and that's something that needs to be resolved," DeGuerin said.
If the justices decline to intervene, DeLay will have to wait for the lower 3rd Court of Appeals to rule, which could take months.
Delay has a right to a speedy trial. He is being denied it after all this time. Earle is just messing with Delay's rights, and trying to screw up Delay's re-election chances.
I bet the whole thing will be dropped after Earle ensures that the GOP House nominates someone else to be the whip. The rats are just sick psychopaths who can't run on issues, they have to resort to tricks and screwing up people's lives and jobs instead. The rats cannot sink low enough to cause chaos, anything goes for those morons.
If the Dems can't have their way (win elections), they will screw up the party (Congress) for everyone.
Wonder how he's gonna git past the big "corruption" scandle, or if he'll even be touched by it?
Sure hopin for some mortified Demonicrats!!!
Hell in Texas, if they don't like the way things are going they just run to a different state...sounds like Texas has a serious lib problems. I thought you guys shot first and asked questions later.
(Sigh.) No, those days have passed, at least most of the time. The Dems are a minority here as they are in Congress but just like in Congress they still try to rule as a minority. They will either abuse the rules, try to change them, go to court, or all of the above, while throwing a temper tantrum all the way.
What would happen if Delay were to drop the motion to dismiss the conspiracy charge? Could he avoid the appeal delay by so doing? If the allegations don't constitute a violation of the law, I would think he could allow them to go for trial and request a directed verdict on that charge. If anything, I would think such a directed verdict might help convince a jury that the prosecutor was untrustworthy.
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