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State Legislative Tracker: Trio of legislators in legal trouble

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January 26, 2015

Edited by Joel Williams
This week’s tracker includes a look at three legislators in legal trouble in Kentucky, New York and Virginia.

Weekly highlight

  • Kentucky: The Tracker previously reported on a Kentucky state senator arrested for driving under the influence shortly after the beginning of this year's session; the case took an unusual turn last week after his attorney argued that constitutional privilege should have shielded him from arrest. Brandon Smith (R-30) was charged with speeding and DUI after allegedly having a 0.16 blood-alcohol level on the night of January 6. Bill Johnson, Smith's attorney, filed a motion to dismiss his client's charges at an arraignment proceeding last Wednesday, arguing that a constitutional provision dating back to 1891 should have prevented his arrest.[1] Section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution reads: "The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place." Johnson said that the language was added to "keep legislators from being bothered by people who would arrest them during sessions."[2] He concluded, "If you can't arrest them, you can't try them."[3] Assistant Franklin County Attorney David Garnett told The State Journal that Smith's position is "an interesting argument," but posited that "the 1891 constitution did not intend to give legislators blanket immunity for any act committed during the legislative session." The court will decide on the motion when Smith appears for his postponed arraignment on February 12.[1]
  • New York: On January 22, 2015, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-65) was arrested and charged with five counts of fraud and conspiracy.[4] The charges stem from Silver's involvement with two law firms, Weitz & Luxenberg and Goldberg & Iryami. The court documents allege that Silver used his position to take more than $6 million in bribes and kickbacks from the two law firms, which he masked as legitimate income as a lawyer for over 15 years.[5] In 2013, on his most recent financial disclosure filing, Silver listed that he made at least $650,000 from outside work including, though not limited to, Weitz & Luxenberg.[5] According to court documents, Silver was paid $1.4 million in salary from Weitz & Luxenberg for his position of Speaker in the New York State Assembly and not for any work that he performed. Silver also received $3.9 million in attorney referral fees from the law firm. Prosecutors allege that Silver steered $500,000 in state funds to an unnamed doctor and the doctor in turn steered asbestos cases to the firm.[4] In December, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that federal investigators were examining large payments made to Silver from the law firm of Goldberg & Iryami.[6] As a personal injury lawyer, Silver is not known to have any expertise in the area of law in which Goldberg & Iryami practices. The law firm of Goldberg & Iryami is not named in the criminal complaint, but a source close to the investigation named the firm as the unnamed "Real Estate Law Firm" referenced in the court documents.[5] According to Robert W. Ryan, a criminal investigator in the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Silver steered two developers to Goldberg & Iryami and received a share of the fees the firm collected from the developers.[5] Silver surrendered to F.B.I. agents on Thursday morning and had approximately $3.8 million seized by authorities at the same time.[5] Over 30 New York politicians have faced legal or ethical charges since 2000. If convicted, Silver faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the charges.[7]
  • Virginia: Just barely a week after winning a special election to fill his own seat, Virginia House of Delegates member Joseph Morrissey faces more criminal charges stemming from his relationship with a then-17-year-old receptionist from his office and the steps he took to explain away his actions. Special Prosecutor William Neely announced on Wednesday that Morrissey has been charged with four felony counts of perjury and forgery of court documents. According to Neely, the child support documents Morrissey used to explain his midnight encounter with the underage girl were fabricated. On December 12, 2014, Morrissey entered an Alford plea for a misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge. During his plea hearing, his defense entered into evidence a Chesterfield JDR child support order to prove his claim that the underage girl was at his house at midnight to discuss her father's failure to comply with court-ordered child support. But, according to the Commonwealth, the child support order was falsified by Morrissey.[8] Morrissey is also facing charges for persuading the girl's mother to verify the authenticity of the document in court. Deidre Warren, the girl's mother, is also facing perjury and forgery charges stemming from the plea hearing.[9] His plea agreement covered all existing charges against Morrissey and required him to spend his nights in jail.[4] His plea agreement, however, did not cover any new crimes, which is why Neely was able to bring additional charges against the Delegate. Morrissey turned himself in to the Henrico County Jail on January 21, following the indictments. His bail is currently set at $2,000.[8]

Sessions

Regular sessions

Current sessions capture for the week of January 26, 2015
See also: Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions
Click here to see a chart of each state's 2015 session information.

Currently 42 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session.

The following states have convened their 2015 regular session:[10]

In recess

As of today, January 26, there are no state legislatures currently in recess.[11]

2015 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2015

A total of seven of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 3, 2015.

There seven chambers in four states with elections in 2015. They are:

The New Jersey senate also typically holds elections in odd years, but all members were elected to four-year terms in 2013 and are not up for election again until 2017.

Of 1,972 state senate seats in the country, 131 are up for re-election in November 2015, and 407 of the country's 5,411 state house seats are up for re-election. Altogether, 538 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats are up for re-election on November 3, 2015.

Primary Information

The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates are as follows:

Filing Deadlines

Primary Dates

Special Elections

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See also: State legislative special elections, 2015

There are three special primaries scheduled this week in Florida.

Florida State Senate District 6

See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2015

David Cox was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Travis Hutson defeated Dennis McDonald, Ronald Renuart and Beth Sweeny in the Republican primary. Hutson defeated Cox in the special election.[15][16][17]

The seat was vacant following John Thrasher's (R) resignation to become President of Florida State University.[18]

A special election for the position of Florida State Senate District 6 was called for April 7, with a primary on January 27, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 2, 2014.[19]

Florida State Senate, District 6, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTravis Hutson 69.7% 28,939
     Democratic David Cox 30.3% 12,595
Total Votes 41,534
Florida State Senate, District 6 Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTravis Hutson 52.2% 13,419
Ronald Renuart 35.1% 9,024
Dennis McDonald 12.7% 3,254
Total Votes 25,697
Democratic PartyJanuary 27 Democratic primary candidates:
Republican PartyJanuary 27 Republican primary candidates:

Florida House of Representatives District 17

See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2015

Cyndi Stevenson defeated John R. Capra and Michael Alan Davis in the Republican primary and defeated Mary Anne Boczek (I) and Judy Stevens (I-Write in) in the special election.[15][20][21]

The seat was vacant following Ronald Renuart's (R) resignation to run for Florida State Senate District 6.[22][23]

A special election for the position of Florida House of Representatives District 17 was called for April 7, with a primary on January 27, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 2, 2014.[24]

Florida House of Representatives, District 17, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngCyndi Stevenson 77.7% 11,189
     Write-In Judy Stevens 22.2% 3,198
     Independent Mary Anne Boczek 0.1% 12
Total Votes 14,399
Florida House of Representatives, District 17 Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngCyndi Stevenson 41.6% 5,175
Michael Alan Davis 39.2% 4,874
John R. Capra 19.1% 2,379
Total Votes 12,428
Republican PartyJanuary 27 Republican primary candidates:

Florida House of Representatives District 24

See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2015

Adam Morley was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Paul M. Renner defeated Danielle A. Anderson and Ron Sanchez in the Republican primary. Sheamus John McNeeley withdrew before the Republican primary.[25] Renner defeated Morley in the special election.[15][26][27]

The seat was vacant following Travis Hutson's (R) resignation to run for Florida State Senate District 6.[28]

A special election for the position of Florida House of Representatives District 24 was called for April 7, with a primary on January 27, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 2, 2014.[29]

Florida House of Representatives, District 24, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul M. Renner 67% 10,423
     Democratic Adam Morley 33% 5,133
Total Votes 15,556
Florida House of Representatives, District 24 Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngPaul M. Renner 70.2% 5,970
Ron Sanchez 18.3% 1,561
Danielle A. Anderson 11.5% 978
Total Votes 8,509
Democratic PartyJanuary 27 Democratic primary candidates:
Republican PartyJanuary 27 Republican primary candidates:

Looking ahead

Upcoming special elections include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The State Journal, "Attorney Wants Senator's DUI Charge Dismissed, Says His Client Is 'Privileged from Arrest' During Session," January 22, 2015
  2. ↑ WKYT, "State senator wants DUI charge dismissed based on 1891 rule," January 22, 2015
  3. ↑ Associated Press, "Attorney: Lawmaker can't be charged with DUI during session," January 22, 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Washington Post, "New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arrested on federal corruption charges," January 22, 2015 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "wp" defined multiple times with different content
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 NY Times, "Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Graft, U.S. Says," January 22, 2015
  6. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Feds Probe N.Y. State Assembly Speaker Silver Over Income," December 30, 2014
  7. ↑ Reuters, "N.Y. state assembly speaker charged with fraud in corruption probe," January 22, 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Loren Thomas, Newsplex.com, "Joe Morrissey Charged with Forgery, Perjury," January 21, 2015
  9. ↑ The Associated Press, AL.com, "Newly re-elected Virginia lawmaker Joe Morrissey, convicted in sex scandal, indicted again," January 21, 2015
  10. ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2014," accessed January 26, 2015
  11. ↑ StateNet, " Daily Session Summary," accessed January 26, 2015
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections," accessed January 2, 2015
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Florida Department of State, "January 27, 2015, Primary Election Results," accessed April 23, 2015
  16. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 17, 2014
  17. ↑ Florida Department of State, "April 7, 2015, Special Election results," accessed April 23, 2015
  18. ↑ News4Jax, "Governor sets 3 NE Florida special elections," October 10, 2014
  19. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Notice of Special Election," accessed December 17, 2014
  20. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 17, 2014
  21. ↑ Florida Department of State, "April 7, 2015, Special Election results," accessed April 23, 2015
  22. ↑ News4Jax, "Governor sets 3 NE Florida special elections," October 10, 2014
  23. ↑ news4jax.com, "GOP wins trio of special elections," accessed April 8, 2015
  24. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Notice of Special Election," accessed December 17, 2014
  25. ↑ staugustine.com, "McNeeley withdraws from Jan. 27 primary," January 9, 2015
  26. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 17, 2014
  27. ↑ Florida Department of State, "April 7, 2015, Special Election results," accessed April 23, 2015
  28. ↑ News4Jax, "Governor sets 3 NE Florida special elections," October 10, 2014
  29. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Notice of Special Election," accessed December 17, 2014
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