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Indictment against Rick Perry (2014-Present)
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| Rick Perry Former Governor of Texas |
| Status |
| Next court date |
- For more, read our full profile of Rick Perry and coverage of Rick Perry's 2016 presidential campaign.
On August 15, 2014, a grand jury in Travis County indicted former Governor of Texas Rick Perry on two felony charges: coercion of a public official and abuse of official capacity.
The first charge was dropped in July 2015. On February 24, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the second and final charge against Perry.[1]
Overview
In April 2013, Perry (R) had asked for the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg (D) following her drunk driving arrest. Lehmberg refused to resign. Perry then threatened to veto a bill that funded the Public Integrity Unit, an investigative division that Lehmberg's office ran.[2]
Following a complaint filed by a nonprofit watchdog group, Perry was indicted on August 15, 2014. He was charged with coercion of a public official and abuse of official capacity.[3]
On July 24, 2015, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin upheld the abuse of power count against Perry but rejected the second criminal count alleging that the former governor coerced a public servant.[4] The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the final indictment charge against Perry on February 24, 2016, ending the case against him.[5]
Background to the indictment
In April 2013, Lehmberg pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. Then-Governor Perry asked Lehmberg to step down, and she refused. Perry then threatened to veto a bill that funded the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors division that Lehmberg's office ran.[6]
The special prosecutor, Michael McCrum, alleged that Perry—and the Texas Republican Party in general—had a previous history of conflicts with the Public Integrity Unit and that Perry attempted to use Lehmberg's drunken driving arrest as leverage to influence the unit.[7]
The Public Integrity Unit has prosecuted high-profile Texas Republicans such as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rep. Tom DeLay.[7] Many state Republicans also distrusted the institution because it was based in relatively-liberal Travis County, home of the Texas capital
city of Austin. The New York Times noted that "transferring the unit’s funding and functions out of the Travis County district attorney’s office to another entity, such as the state attorney general’s office, has been a recurring plank in the state Republican platform."[7]
From its foundation in the 1980s to 2013, the Public Integrity Unit prosecuted 15 Democratic and six Republican public officials.[7]
June 2013, lawsuit filed against Perry
The nonprofit government watchdog group, Texans for Public Justice, filed a complaint against Perry in June 2013. The grand jury was tasked with determining if Perry's threats to withhold $7.5 million in state funds from the county's Public Integrity Unit were legal political maneuvering or breaches of state law. Critics accused the governor of attempting to damage the unit through reduced funding. His supporters said the charges were an effort to criminalize politics.[8] Jurors began their deliberations in April, following the appointment of McCrum as special prosecutor.[9]
Perry suggested that he would withhold funds for the unit, which investigates corruption in Austin and other cities in Travis County, Texas, if District Attorney Lehmberg did not resign. The governor suggested that funding should be withheld because Lehmberg had lost the public's trust following an April 2013 arrest for drunk driving. Lehmberg refused to leave her position, and Perry vetoed the funding from the state's biennial budget.[10]
According to the Los Angeles Times, Lehmberg had "clashed with Republicans over her aggressive oversight" as well as her department's investigation of alleged financial improprieties involving some of the governor's close allies.[9]
Perry defended his actions by citing the constitutional ability of the governor to veto appropriations. Perry himself said, "I wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto and I'll continue to defend this lawful action of my executive authority as governor" and argued that the indictments were politically motivated during an August 16 press conference. He promised to pursue "every legal avenue" in fighting both charges.[11][9] Perry's camp accused the Travis County district attorney's office of political motives, with one of his attorneys calling the prosecution a "political abuse of the court system."[3] Tony Buzbee, the lead attorney in Perry's defense, referred to the indictment as "banana republic politics."[12]
| April 2013: Travis County DA Lehmberg arrested |
| May 2013: Perry calls for Lehmberg's resignation, threatens veto |
| June 2013: Texans for Public Justice group files complaint against Perry |
| April 2014: Grand jury hearings begin |
| August 15, 2014: Perry indicted on two felony charges |
| August 16, 2014: Perry defends veto as lawful action of exec. authority |
| August 25, 2014: Perry's attorneys file for writ of habeas corpus |
| July 24, 2015: Appeals court rejects coercion charge |
| August 28, 2015: Prosecutor appeals rejection |
| November 18, 2015: Oral arguments set to begin |
| February 24, 2016: Final charge dropped against Perry |
Legal analysts questioned whether Perry's actions went beyond the limits of legal political maneuvering. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, argued that Perry never possessed the $7.5 million in state funds, a necessary prerequisite for a legitimate claim of misuse of state resources. Jonathan Turley of the George Washington University School of Law also suggested that a conviction for influencing Lehmberg's actions through public threats would criminalize acts and comments from public officials.[13]
August 2014, Perry indicted, writ of habeas corpus filed
On August 15, 2014, Perry was indicted on felony charges of coercion of a public official and abuse of official capacity.[3]
Perry's attorneys filed an application for a pretrial writ of habeas corpus with the Travis County District Court on August 25, 2014. This filing sought to block prosecution of the governor based on the failings of the state statutes cited by the grand jury. The writ alleges that:[14]
- Section 36.03(a)(1) of the Texas Penal Code, which deals with coercion of a public official, does not clearly define the line between legal and illegal conduct.
- Sections 36.03(a)(1) and Section 39.02(a), which deals with abuse of official capacity, were applied too broadly regardless of the constitutionality of those codes.
- The facts presented against Perry by the state do not demonstrate a violation of either state law.
July 2015, Court dismisses coercion charge
On July 24, 2015, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin upheld the abuse of power count against Perry but rejected the second criminal count alleging that the former governor coerced a public servant. The court dismissed the count on First Amendment grounds.[15][16][17]
If found guilty on both charges, Perry would have faced a maximum sentence of 109 years.[10] He could have faced serious jail time on the other count, which charged Perry with abuse of office, a first-degree felony. Analysts questioned whether Perry's legal troubles might have had an effect on his 2016 presidential aspirations. While early thinking assumed that this would make him a less appealing candidate, opinion divided sharply on partisan lines in the days after the indictments.[3] This led Politico to speculate that this issue could strengthen Perry during the Republican primaries.[18]
August 2015, prosecution appeals rejected charge
On August 28, 2015, State Prosecuting Attorney Lisa McMinn petitioned the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to request a review of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals’ July 24 decision. McMinn argued that the lower court “erroneously blended two different First Amendment doctrines” when it addressed the coercion charge and had not fully considered the consequences of finding the coercion of a public servant statute unconstitutional. McMinn requested oral arguments before the court of criminal appeals because the lower court decision raised constitutional issues.[19][20]
November 2015, oral arguments on the abuse of power charge
Oral arguments were delayed from November 4, 2015, to November 18 because Perry's attorney, David Botsford, was on a prepaid personal vacation to Italy.[21] On November 18, 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral arguments on whether to dismiss the remaining first-degree felony abuse of power charge against Perry. The former governor's defense team argued that Perry acted within his powers as the state's chief executive when he cut funding for the Public Integrity Unit, run by Lehmberg, and that the charges were politically motivated. The prosecution maintained that Perry acted unlawfully to pressure Lehmberg to resign. If convicted, Perry could have faced 99 years in prison. Perry did not attend the November 18 hearing.[22]
February 2016, all charges dropped
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the final indictment charge against Perry, ending the case against him. "The people of this state do not want rogue prosecutors. They don’t want rogue organizations that use the political process, use the court system, to get done what they can’t get done at the ballot box," Perry told reporters. Special Prosecutor McCrum announced he did not have any immediate plans to appeal the 6-2 decision of the criminal appeals court.[23]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Rick + Perry + indictment"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Charges against Rick Perry dismissed in abuse of power case," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Washington Post, "The indictment hanging over Rick Perry's 2016 presidential bid, explained," June 4, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Texas Tribune, "Grand Jury Indicts Perry Over Integrity Unit Veto," August 15, 2014
- ↑ The Houston Chronicle, "Appeals court rejects one criminal count against Rick Perry, still facing second," July 24, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Texas Court Dismisses Criminal Case Against Rick Perry," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Washington Post, "The indictment hanging over Rick Perry's 2016 presidential bid, explained," June 4, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The New York Times, "Texas v. Perry Emerges From Years of Struggle Over Anticorruption Unit," August 26, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "Gov. Rick Perry of Texas Is Indicted on Charge of Abuse of Power," August 15, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Los Angeles Times, "Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Felony indictment is 'outrageous' and partisan," August 16, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 KXAN, "Texas Governor Rick Perry indicted by grand jury," August 15, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "Indictment of Perry Raises Debate Over Which Party Is Abusing Power," August 16, 2014
- ↑ CBS DFW, "Perry's Attorney Calls Indictment 'Banana Republic' Politics," August 18, 2014
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "3 Reasons Why Rick Perry Will Be Very Tough To Take Down In Court," August 19, 2014
- ↑ Rick Perry, "Application for Pretrial Writ of Habeas Corpus," August 25, 2014
- ↑ The Houston Chronicle, "Appeals court rejects one criminal count against Rick Perry, still facing second," July 24, 2015
- ↑ Governing, "Court Throws Out One of Rick Perry's Indictment Charges," July 24, 2015
- ↑ Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Opinion, “Ex parte James Richard 'Rick' Perry,” July 24, 2015
- ↑ Poltico, "Rick Perry indicted, backers cry witch-hunt," August 15, 2014
- ↑ Governing.com, “Texas Challenges Ruling That Dismissed Charge Against Rick Perry,” September 1, 2015
- ↑ State’s Petition for Discretionary Review to the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, “Ex parte James Richard 'Rick' Perry,” filed August 28, 2015, accepted September 1, 2015
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Attorney's vacation delays Rick Perry's court date," October 13, 2015
- ↑ Jon Herskovitz, Reuters.com, "Texas appeals court considers abuse of power charge against Rick Perry," November 18, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Texas Court Dismisses Criminal Case Against Rick Perry," February 24, 2016
