Operating as usual
This heartfelt "thank you note" was inspired by Theodore Roosevelt's speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic," which some call "Man in the Arena," delivered on April 23, 1910, at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France.
Learn more about "Citizenship in a Republic," here:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63389/roosevelts-man-arena
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, endlessly, I thank you, Harris County, Texas!
The doors…
During many of the twenty-five years since I became a licensed attorney, I had a “secret habit”…
Thanks, in large part, to my father’s matriculation at Howard University, and my mother’s work “girl Fridaying” in the Capitol, I was born at Georgetown Hospital in the District of Columbia. For many summers, I had the privilege to work and “intern” there, including extraordinary stints in the famed Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and the Office of White House Counsel.
Blessed with many “east coast” friends, most earned as an undergrad at Wellesley College, and family residents of “the District,” I have visited there often. I love the place – the energy, the history, the embassies, the national office of everything, the incredible masonry and architecture, the academia, The Hill, the four seasons, the seemingly complete population of readers and public transportation users… and especially the sense that American government is good – wrought by all of the monuments to humanity, democracy, innovation and hope that live there, literally and figuratively.
In my whole life, I never remember expecting to be anything other than a lawyer, or, briefly, a teacher. And despite my complicated path and continuing complex relationship with “the law,” I believe… in all of the best that intellect, thoughtfulness, advocacy, legal warfare, and the rule of law promises. I still believe it offers the greatest path for positive change, continued social contracting, evolutionary humanity, equality, safety, freedom – all of the highest American ideals…
I cannot, now, well describe the depth of my love for the law – my sense that “rightness” will always win, eventually… my belief that the certainty for which the law strives is invaluable… me, a woman, one with three-fifths-ancestral personage… The rule of law embodies my greatest hopes.
The thirteen-ton, bronze doors at the main entrance of the United States Supreme Court, centered behind the massive columns of the front portico, with their bas-reliefs illustrating significant events in the evolution of justice in the Western tradition, always represented the gravitas, stability, heft that is “equal justice under the law," for all, to me.
“Secretly,” almost every time I visited D.C., after becoming a lawyer, and each time I had a petition pending there, at the odd hours required to see the doors in unison, because these sculpted doors are rolled into pockets in the wall each weekday morning when the main entrance to the Supreme Court opens, and later because of security closure, I would climb the marble steps to the doors just to rub the bronze doors. I felt just touching the doors would transmit history and justice into my being – spread good “law fortune,” remind me that eventually, “right” wins.
Tonight, after the confirmation of our newest Associate Justice, to the highest court in our land, there has been a shift... in my sense of the doors… to justice, meritocracy, America’s best promise… but, ever hopeful, I will keep rubbing the doors, I am sure.
Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, in Odessa, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=BsdbH9tGnZ8
Long live the "rule of law"... no matter the vagrancies.
"Rule of law, the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power. Arbitrariness is typical of various forms of despotism, absolutism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism. Despotic governments include even highly institutionalized forms of rule in which the entity at the apex of the power structure (such as a king, a junta, or a party committee) is capable of acting without the constraint of law when it wishes to do so." - Britannica
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Hidalgo-asks-Abbott-to-confirm-drive-thru-voting-15667812.php
Today, and always: Leadership matters. Judgment matters. Courts matter. Political Party matters.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/13/texas-republicans-voting-harris-county/
Judge Ursula A. Hall's cover photo
It's Votin' Time... and Yard Sign Time!🇺🇸💛 ⭐️
If you'd like a "Re-Elect Judge Ursula" yard sign,💛 please text (281)889-4743 📲with your name, the delivery address, how many and any special instructions (dogs, access codes, gates)... we will get 'em to your yard, 🍃🍀ASAP, with love and thanks!⏱💛💛💛
www.ursulahalljudge.com Ursula
Judges, Clerks, Courthouse staff and Administrators: 'Getting 'er done!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/jury-trials-start-maryland/2020/10/05/c533a408-04c3-11eb-a2db-417cddf4816a_story.html
"As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Paxton leads more than 4,000 employees in 38 divisions and 117 offices around Texas. That includes nearly 750 attorneys, who handle more than 30,000 cases annually – enforcing child support orders, protecting Texans against consumer fraud, enforcing open government laws, providing legal advice to state officials, and representing the state of Texas in court, among other things." texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/ken-paxton-corruption-accusations
Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, Dallas, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN9SQCBpWdg
"As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Paxton leads more than 4,000 employees in 38 divisions and 117 offices around Texas. That includes nearly 750 attorneys, who handle more than 30,000 cases annually – enforcing child support orders, protecting Texans against consumer fraud, enforcing open government laws, providing legal advice to state officials, and representing the state of Texas in court, among other things." texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office
Article: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/03/texas-ken-paxton-bribery-investigation/
"Notice of Public Hearing
Pursuant to Section 33.0055 of the Texas Government Code... the State Commission on Judicial Conduct will be conducting its biennial Public Hearing on Monday, October 5, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., virtually, via Zoom, 'to consider comments from the public regarding the commission’s mission and operations.'"
http://www.scjc.texas.gov/ -Ursula A. Hall
"Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins had set up 12 locations — 11 of them county clerk annex offices — throughout the 1,777-square-mile county to collect mail ballots. They offered residents an alternative to placing their ballots in the mail, amid concerns that the U.S. Postal Service would struggle to deliver ballots on time.
The county now will only be able to accept ballots only at its election headquarters at NRG Arena.
Hollins... said Harris County for weeks has advertised its dropoff locations.
'To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single dropoff location in a county that stretches nearly 2,000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous.'"
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Abbott-mail-ballot-drop-off-harris-county-election-15612991.php
Ursula A. Hall
The State of Texas v. Chris Hollins
Oral Argument, 10:00 a.m., today, "at Virtual"
"Published" on YouTube, Live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0gZPfa2qBYO7oJvt6TKixg
Issue: Whether it is "illegal" for Clerk Hollins to send mail-in ballot applications to all county voters because the action is beyond the clerk’s specified powers under the Texas Election Code and would cause irreparable harm if not stopped.
The trial court determined Clerk Hollins had authority to send unsolicited mail-in ballot applications because no statute forbids him from doing so. The appeals court denied the state’s interlocutory appeal, holding the state could not demonstrate irreparable harm.
Join TDWHarris on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 6:30PM, for the first in its "Woman to Woman Series" -- a panel featuring Harris County's Judge Ramona Franklin, Judge Julia Maldonado, and Judge Ursula A. Hall.
https://www.facebook.com/events/251804059416602/
https://tdwharris.tdw.org/coming-events/
2020: Justice Amy Coney Barrett, United States Supreme Court Nominee
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/26/us/trump-vs-biden
"Less than three weeks before early voting begins in Texas, a U.S. district judge has blocked the state from eliminating straight-ticket voting as an option for people who vote in person this November.
In a ruling issued late Friday, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo said the elimination of the voting practice would 'cause irreparable injury' to voters 'by creating mass lines at the polls and increasing the amount of time voters are exposed to COVID-19.'" -KHOU.com
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/federal-judge-blocks-texas-elimination-of-straight-ticket-voting/285-26a76985-5fcf-4814-b1d6-f1953b56236e?fbclid=IwAR0QJaNrSMcYqlBs9myYQnNPYSzmBGHaIwM4CHQC0T_iNEg8kiCPfnZIEjY
Ursula A. Hall
Now: The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Public Comment Session, on whether Texas judges should continue to be elected or be seated by an appointment system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZu1SDPf9iU
"Blocked again: The Texas Supreme Court has once again blocked Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all its 2.4 million registered voters ahead of the November election. In a Tuesday order, the Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to halt the county’s effort just before a separate order blocking the mailing was set to expire. The all-Republican court told Harris County to hold off on sending any unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots “until further order” and while the case makes its way through the appeals process.
A state district judge had ruled Friday that the county could move forward with its plan. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office claimed in court that the mailing of the applications would confuse voters, quickly appealed that ruling to the state’s 14th Court of Appeals. Paxton kicked the request up to the Supreme Court after the appeals court declined his request to block the lower court's ruling and instead set an expedited schedule to consider the appeal. Read the full story by the Tribune’s Alexa Ura." - "The Brief," by Elvia Limón, Texas Tribune
Ursula
The Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to temporarily halt the county’s mailing of applications while the case is appealed. A separate order blocking the effort was set to end this week.
"Democracy has an important role to play in helping us confront COVID-19. Because of that, it’s more important than ever that we keep protecting and promoting our democratic traditions and values - and supporting democracy around the world. #DemocracyDay" -Prime Minister, Canada, Justin Trudeau https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1305854110814662657
Ursula
On Tuesday, International Day of Democracy will be observed around the world to promote and uphold democratic principles, including respect for human rights.
'Hear discussion of the upcoming elections, judicial candidates and other bench matters...
Here: https://www.facebook.com/jerri.p.beasley/videos/10224384269857502/
#KingsAndQueens
#BeyondMeasure
#QueenJerri P Beasley
#KCOHRadio
#benhalllegalhour
#BenchTalk
Ursula
"Normalcy" by inches: "Maryland’s state courts also are inching back toward normalcy, although jury trials remain more than a month away..."
-Ursula
The first federal court criminal trial in five months in Baltimore began Monday in a reconfigured courtroom environment meant to minimize exposure to the coronavirus.
"We are a people in a quandry about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America" - Barbara Jordan, July 12, 1976
"On July 12, 1976, Barbara Jordan, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, became the first African American woman to deliver the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. [A Democrat, in 1966, she was the first Black woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature, the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.] Although Jordan retired from politics just three years later to join the faculty at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the message of her 1976 speech still resonates today." - https://lbj.utexas.edu/news/2012/lbj-professor-barbara-jordans-landmark-speech-1976-democrati
"The 19th Amendment, ratified a century ago on Aug. 18, 1920, is often hailed for granting American women the right to vote. And yet most Black women would wait nearly five decades more to actually exercise that right." - Olivia V. Waxman, https://time.com/5876456/black-women-right-to-vote/
Ursula A. Hall
None of women's remarkable accomplishments would have happened without the untold stories of the courage of the women who fought, marched, organized, protested, and risked their lives insisting on women being granted the right to vote, which was finally granted 100 years ago today.
The State Bar of Texas
"The mission of the State Bar of Texas is to support the administration of the legal system, assure all citizens equal access to justice, foster high standards of ethical conduct for lawyers, enable its members to better serve their clients and the public, educate the public about the rule of law, and promote diversity in the administration of justice and the practice of law."
Ursula A. Hall
"Death Certifications": The law is everywhere... as are the judges, with varying jurisprudential perspectives, who interpret it. - Ursula A. Hall
"Texas’ decentralized death certification system, in which only a handful of the state’s 254 counties have medical examiners, shifts some of the burden to determine cause of death to justices of the peace...
The responsibility for certifying a death in Texas depends on where it occurs. In hospitals, most death certificates are filled out by an attending physician. Anderson from the CDC said he was concerned some doctors may fail to list COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death when someone also suffers a heart attack or has pneumonia because of a lack of training or experience certifying deaths.
In Harris County deaths, when someone dies at home or outside a doctor’s care, or unexpectedly, such as in a vehicle crash or by homicide, the medical examiner determines the cause of death.
Dr. Dwayne Wolf, deputy chief medical examiner for Harris County, said investigators look for possible evidence of COVID-19 infections and conduct autopsies if necessary.
“Do I think there are COVID deaths missed at home? No, absolutely not,” Wolf said.
Wolf cautioned, however, that other counties may lack the same trained staff, large public health departments, testing capability and willingness to do autopsies as Harris. Most do not have their own morgue and rely on justices of the peace to certify deaths that would fall to a medical examiner.
Hayward, the UT researcher, said that while justices of the peace are trained in death certification, the education is not extensive. Limited testing across the state — some estimates peg the actual number of cases 10 times higher than health officials’ tally — may leave JPs with few clues a death was caused by the virus.
These officials, whose duties include hearing landlord-tenant disputes and other civil cases, take their death certification role seriously, said Justices of the Peace and Constable Association President Rick Hill. He said he is confident in justices’ ability to catch COVID deaths, though he conceded some may be missed..."
Since the start of the COVID pandemic in Houston and the rest of Texas, the state's death toll from all causes has soared by thousands above historical averages - a sobering spike that experts say reveals the true toll of the disease.
Since the start of the COVID pandemic in Houston and the rest of Texas, the state's death toll from all causes has soared by thousands above historical averages - a sobering spike that experts say reveals the true toll of the disease.
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"We are a people in a quandry about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America" - Barbara Jordan, July 12, 1976 "On July 12, 1976, Barbara Jordan, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, became the first African American woman to deliver the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. [A Democrat, in 1966, she was the first Black woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature, the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.] Although Jordan retired from politics just three years later to join the faculty at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the message of her 1976 speech still resonates today." - https://lbj.utexas.edu/news/2012/lbj-professor-barbara-jordans-landmark-speech-1976-democrati
Since the early seventies, when my father, the candidate, and my mother, the mastermind and consummate "people person," placed yard signs from the back of my grandfather's pickup truck, I have been trained: respect your privileges, never contribute to blight. So, off I went, after a full day's events, in my Sunday clothes, trying to beat darkness, to collect campaign signs... along with the best friend a campaign could ever have. Good times! Sunday fun day! 03092020 #TeamUrsula #JudicialExperience #IntellectualIntegrity #ServantLeadership
Must see: The Presidency, Hillary, "Weak Liberals," and organic cucumbers... all of the "horribles" that would not have happened if HRC were President, according to Bill Maher #EveryElectionMatters! #TeamUrsula!
Thank you for making me Judge of the 165th Civil District Court! Ursula A. Hall
'Such a good morning... laughing, viisiting, celebrating and exchanging... over this wonderfully wacky thing called American democracy! Even folks who weren't "with us" enjoyed us and vice versa..."politics"... and life... at its best: respectful (and jovial) exchanges. #StraightTicketDemocrat! #TurnTexasBlue! #TeamUrsula! Ramona Franklin Ursula A. Hall
“…Character matters… The moral tenor of leadership matters. The coarsening of a culture is bad for all of society. The ... pulpit ought to stand up for values. We ought to vote our values… Where in the world are our White Evangelical sisters and brothers right now?... Surely we ought to have some place for character and moral norms in American —it’s a really sad place we have come to…”
Alcance a la comunidad y participación ciudadana en el barrio. ¡Fantástico!
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