Actuary "Ezekial 25:17 - The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequites of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he that shepherds the weak from the valley of darkness for he is truly his brother's keeper, and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers, and you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
July 20, 2007
“Do Judges Systematically Favor the Interests of the Legal Profession?”
Finally (via Lattman), some legal scholarship that promises potent explanatory and predictive value, in the form of a forthcoming Alabama Law Review article by University of Tennessee lawprof Benjamin Barton:
Here is my lawyer-judge hypothesis in a nutshell: many legal outcomes can be explained, and future cases predicted, by asking a very simple question: is there a plausible legal result in this case that will significantly affect the interests of the legal profession (positively or negatively)? If so, the case will be decided in the way that offers the best result for the legal profession....
For example, why are lawyers the only American profession to be truly and completely self-regulated? ...
Why is it that the attorney-client privilege is the oldest and most jealously protected of all the professional privileges?...
Why is the Miranda right to consult with an attorney protected so much more fervently than the right to remain silent?...
Lastly, why is a legal malpractice case so much harder to make out than a medical malpractice case?...
Posted by Walter Olson at 12:13 AM | TrackBack (0)
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ELECTION CODE
TITLE 9. CANDIDATES
CHAPTER 141. CANDIDACY FOR PUBLIC OFFICE GENERALLY
SUBCHAPTER A. ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
§ 141.001. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC
OFFICE. (a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined mentally incompetent by a
final judgment of a court;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from
which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
the resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made; and
(6) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office.
(b) A statute outside this code supersedes Subsection (a) to
the extent of any conflict.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an office for which the
federal or state constitution or a statute outside this code
prescribes exclusive eligibility requirements.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.002. EFFECT OF BOUNDARY CHANGE ON RESIDENCE
REQUIREMENT FOR PRECINCT OFFICE. (a) Instead of the six-month
residence requirement prescribed by Section 141.001(a)(5), a
candidate for or appointee to a precinct office must be a resident
of the precinct on the date prescribed by Section 141.001(a)(5) and
must have resided continuously in the county in which the precinct
is located for six months immediately preceding that date if an
order creating the precinct or changing the boundary of the
precinct:
(1) was adopted less than seven months before that
date; or
(2) was in litigation at any time during the seventh
month immediately preceding that date.
(b) For the purpose of this section, an order is in
litigation if the judgment concluding a judicial proceeding in
which the order is mandated or the validity of the order is
challenged has not become final.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.003. AGE AND RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME-RULE
CITY OFFICE. (a) Different age and residence requirements from
those prescribed by Section 141.001 may be prescribed by a
home-rule city charter, but a minimum age may not be more than 21
years and a minimum length of residence in the state or city may not
be more than 12 months immediately preceding election day.
(b) A charter provision is void if it prescribes a minimum
age requirement of more than 21 years or a minimum length of
residence requirement of more than 12 months.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.004. EFFECT OF BOUNDARY CHANGE ON RESIDENCE
REQUIREMENT FOR CITY OFFICE. In determining whether a person has
complied with a residence requirement under Section 141.001 or
141.003 for a city office, residence in an area while the area was
not part of the city is considered as residence within the city if
the area is part of the city on the date that is the basis for
determining the applicable period of residence.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
SUBCHAPTER B. APPLICATION FOR PLACE ON BALLOT
§ 141.031. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION. A
candidate's application for a place on the ballot that is required
by this code must:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be signed and sworn to by the candidate and
indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application;
(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
and
(4) include:
(A) the candidate's name;
(B) the candidate's occupation;
(C) the office sought, including any place number
or other distinguishing number;
(D) an indication of whether the office sought is
to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
States citizen;
(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court;
(G) a statement that the candidate has not been
finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been
pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
(H) the candidate's date of birth;
(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
candidate's residence;
(J) the candidate's length of continuous
residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
application;
(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________
County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________,
swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
the United States and of the State of Texas"; and
(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 427, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, § 3A.03, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts
1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 5.95(26), eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 141.032. REVIEW OF APPLICATION; NOTICE TO
CANDIDATE. (a) On the filing of an application for a place on the
ballot, the authority with whom the application is filed shall
review the application to determine whether it complies with the
requirements as to form, content, and procedure that it must
satisfy for the candidate's name to be placed on the ballot.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the review shall
be completed not later than the fifth day after the date the
application is received by the authority.
(c) If an application is accompanied by a petition, the
petition is considered part of the application, and the review
shall be completed as soon as practicable after the date the
application is received by the authority. However, the petition is
not considered part of the application for purposes of determining
compliance with the requirements applicable to each document, and a
deficiency in the requirements for one document may not be remedied
by the contents of the other document.
(d) A determination under this section that an application
complies with the applicable requirements does not preclude a
subsequent determination that the application does not comply,
subject to Section 141.034.
(e) If an application does not comply with the applicable
requirements, the authority shall reject the application and
immediately deliver to the candidate written notice of the reason
for the rejection.
(f) This section does not apply to a determination of a
candidate's eligibility.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, § 54, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1349, § 51, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 141.033. FILING APPLICATIONS FOR MORE THAN ONE OFFICE
PROHIBITED. (a) A candidate may not file applications for a place
on the ballot for two or more offices that:
(1) are not permitted by law to be held by the same
person; and
(2) are to be voted on at one or more elections held on
the same day.
(b) If a person files more than one application for a place
on a ballot in violation of this section, each application filed
subsequent to the first one filed is invalid.
(c) This section does not apply to candidacy for the office
of president or vice-president of the United States and another
office.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.034. LIMITATION ON CHALLENGE OF APPLICATION. (a)
An application for a place on the ballot may not be challenged for
compliance with the applicable requirements as to form, content,
and procedure after the day before the beginning of early voting by
personal appearance for the election for which the application is
made.
(b) This section does not apply to a determination of a
candidate's eligibility.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 7.07, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts
1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 203, § 2.57; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 554,
§ 28, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, § 55,
eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 141.035. APPLICATION AS PUBLIC INFORMATION. An
application for a place on the ballot, including an accompanying
petition, is public information immediately on its filing.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.036. PRESERVATION OF APPLICATION. The authority
with whom an application for a place on the ballot is required to be
filed shall preserve each application filed with the authority for
two years after the date of the election for which the application
is made.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.037. FORM OF NAME CERTIFIED FOR PLACEMENT ON
BALLOT. An authority responsible for certifying the names of
candidates for placement on the ballot shall certify each name in
the form indicated on the candidate's application for a place on the
ballot, subject to Subchapter B, Chapter 52.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.038. REFUND OF FILING FEE. (a) A filing fee paid in
connection with a candidate's application for a place on the ballot
shall be refunded to the candidate or to the candidate's estate, as
appropriate, if before the date of the election for which the
application is made:
(1) the candidate dies;
(2) the candidate is declared ineligible; or
(3) the candidate's application for a place on the
ballot is determined not to comply with the requirements as to form,
content, and procedure that it must satisfy for the candidate's
name to be placed on the ballot.
(b) A claim for a refund of a filing fee must be presented to
the authority with whom the candidate's application for a place on
the ballot is filed.
(c) A filing fee may not be refunded except as provided by
this section.
(d) The refunding of filing fees for home-rule city offices
may be regulated by the city charter, and those regulations
supersede this section to the extent of any conflict.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 7.08, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 93, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 141.039. OFFICIAL APPLICATION FORM. In addition to the
other statements and spaces for entering information that appear on
an officially prescribed form for an application for a place on the
ballot, each official form for an application that a candidate is
required to file under this code must include:
(1) a space for indicating the form in which the
candidate's name is to appear on the ballot;
(2) a space for the candidate's mailing address;
(3) spaces for the candidate's home and office
telephone numbers; and
(4) a statement informing candidates that the
furnishing of the telephone numbers is optional.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
SUBCHAPTER C. PETITION
§ 141.061. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
applies to each petition filed in connection with a candidate's
application for a place on the ballot.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 493, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 141.062. VALIDITY OF PETITION. (a) To be valid, a
petition must:
(1) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
(2) contain valid signatures in the number required by
this code; and
(3) comply with any other applicable requirements for
validity prescribed by this code.
(b) A petition may consist of multiple parts.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.063. VALIDITY OF SIGNATURE. (a) A signature on a
petition is valid if:
(1) except as otherwise provided by this code, the
signer, at the time of signing, is a registered voter of the
territory from which the office sought is elected or has been issued
a registration certificate for a registration that will become
effective in that territory on or before the date of the applicable
election;
(2) the petition includes the following information
with respect to each signer:
(A) the signer's residence address;
(B) the signer's date of birth or the signer's
voter registration number and, if the territory from which
signatures must be obtained is situated in more than one county, the
county of registration;
(C) the date of signing; and
(D) the signer's printed name;
(3) the part of the petition in which the signature
appears contains the affidavit required by Section 141.065;
(4) each statement that is required by this code to
appear on each page of the petition appears, at the time of signing,
on the page on which the signature is entered; and
(5) any other applicable requirements prescribed by
this code for a signature's validity are complied with.
(b) The signature is the only information that is required
to appear on the petition in the signer's own handwriting.
(c) The use of ditto marks or abbreviations does not
invalidate a signature if the required information is reasonably
ascertainable.
(d) The omission of the state from the signer's residence
address does not invalidate a signature unless the political
subdivision from which the signature is obtained is situated in
more than one state. The omission of the zip code from the address
does not invalidate a signature.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1349, § 52, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 726, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.
§ 141.064. METHOD OF ACQUIRING SIGNATURE. A person
circulating a petition must:
(1) before permitting a person to sign, point out and
read to the person each statement pertaining to the signer that
appears on the petition;
(2) witness each signature;
(3) ascertain that each date of signing is correct;
and
(4) before the petition is filed, verify each signer's
registration status and ascertain that each registration number
entered on the petition is correct.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.065. AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR. (a) Each part of a
petition must include an affidavit of the person who circulated it
stating that the person:
(1) pointed out and read to each signer, before the
petition was signed, each statement pertaining to the signer that
appears on the petition;
(2) witnessed each signature;
(3) verified each signer's registration status; and
(4) believes each signature to be genuine and the
corresponding information to be correct.
(b) If a petition contains an affidavit that complies with
Subsection (a), for the purpose of determining whether the petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the authority
with whom the candidate's application is filed may treat as valid
each signature to which the affidavit applies, without further
verification, unless proven otherwise.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.066. SIGNING MORE THAN ONE PETITION
PROHIBITED. (a) A person may not sign the petition of more than one
candidate for the same office in the same election.
(b) The following statement must appear at the top of each
page of a petition: "Signing the petition of more than one
candidate for the same office in the same election is prohibited."
(c) A signature on a candidate's petition is invalid if the
signer signed the petition subsequent to signing a petition of
another candidate for the same office in the same election.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 94, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 141.067. WITHDRAWAL OF SIGNATURE. (a) A signature may
be withdrawn from a petition as provided by this section.
(b) To withdraw a signature, the signer must request that
the signer's signature be withdrawn.
(c) To be effective, a withdrawal request must:
(1) be in writing and be signed and acknowledged by the
signer of the petition; and
(2) be filed with the authority with whom the petition
is required to be filed not later than the date the petition is
received by the authority or the seventh day before the petition
filing deadline, whichever is earlier.
(d) A withdrawal request filed by mail is considered to be
filed at the time of its receipt by the appropriate authority.
(e) The signer must deliver a copy of the withdrawal request
to the candidate when the request is filed.
(f) The filing of an effective withdrawal request nullifies
the signature on the petition and places the signer in the same
position as if the signer had not signed the petition.
(g) If the withdrawal of a signature reduces the number of
signatures on the petition below the prescribed minimum for the
petition to be valid, the authority with whom the request is filed
shall notify the candidate immediately by telephone, telegram, or
an equally or more expeditious method of the number of withdrawn
signatures. Before the third day after the date the candidate
receives the notice, the candidate's petition may be supplemented
with signatures equal in number to the number of signatures
withdrawn.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 95, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 141.068. DUTY OF LOCAL AUTHORITY TO VERIFY
SIGNATURES. (a) On request of the secretary of state, a voter
registrar shall verify the voter registration status of a signer of
a petition filed with the secretary who the petition indicates is
registered or has been accepted for registration in the county
served by the registrar.
(b) On request of the secretary of state, a county clerk
shall ascertain from the records in the clerk's custody whether a
signer of a petition filed with the secretary is shown to have voted
in a particular election.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 141.069. VERIFYING SIGNATURES BY STATISTICAL
SAMPLE. If signatures on a petition that is required to contain
more than 1,000 signatures are to be verified by the authority with
whom the candidate's application is required to be filed, the
authority may use as the basis for the verification any reasonable
statistical sampling method that ensures an accuracy rate of at
least 95 percent.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, § 16(b), eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1349, § 53, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 141.070. ESTIMATING GUBERNATORIAL VOTE FOR TERRITORY
WITH CHANGED BOUNDARY. (a) If, since the most recent gubernatorial
general election, a district or precinct from which an officer of
the federal, state, or county government is elected is created or
has had its boundary changed, the number of votes received in the
district or precinct by a political party's gubernatorial candidate
or by all the gubernatorial candidates shall be estimated, as
provided by this section, for the purpose of computing the number of
signatures required on a candidate's petition.
(b) The secretary of state, for a district, or the county
clerk of the county in which the precinct is situated, for a
precinct, shall estimate the applicable vote total on the request
of:
(1) a candidate affected by the creation or change; or
(2) an authority with whom an affected candidate's
application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed.
(c) Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary
of state or county clerk receives an estimate request, the
secretary or clerk shall certify the secretary's or clerk's
estimate in writing and deliver a copy of the certification to the
candidate and to the authority with whom the candidate's
application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed.
(d) If an estimate is not requested under Subsection (b),
the authority with whom an affected candidate's application for a
place on the ballot is required to be filed shall make the estimate
before acting on a petition.
(e) If, before completing an estimate, the estimating
authority determines that the total estimated vote will be large
enough to make a computation of the number of signatures required to
appear on the petition unnecessary, the authority may certify that
fact in writing instead of completing the estimate.
(f) A candidate for an office that is affected by an
estimate or by a determination made under Subsection (e) may
challenge the accuracy of the estimate or determination by filing a
petition, stating the ground of the challenge, in a district court
having general jurisdiction in the territory involved. Review in
the district court is by trial de novo, and the court's decision is
not appealable.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 96, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
If so, the case will be decided in the way that offers the best result for the legal profession....
Having not seen the cases referenced in the research, I cant comment on those cases, but surely you would agree that the majority of the cases resolved are based on the law and the facts.
For example, why are lawyers the only American profession to be truly and completely self-regulated? ...
Most professions, are largely self regulated, even those with government boards created by the legistature are composed of members of the profession that monitor any practice: medical, insurance, nursing, barbers, etc.
Why is it that the attorney-client privilege is the oldest and most jealously protected of all the professional privileges?...
In a nation of laws, to whom do you confess your transgressions? Is it older than the doctor-patient? Surely not older than than the protection afforded the press or speach. Today it seems to be less protected than the Presidential priviledge.
Why is the Miranda right to consult with an attorney protected so much more fervently than the right to remain silent?...
Silence is golden, but it wont save your case.
Lastly, why is a legal malpractice case so much harder to make out than a medical malpractice case?...
Under the law, anyone can bring a case against a lawyer. Though I will not disagree that it is difficult to find local representation, but no more difficult than finding a local doctor to tesify in a local malpractice case. And actually the prerequisites to maintaining a medical malpractice suit are both more expensive and more extensive than a suit against an attorney.
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