In Re Michael C. Engelhart v. the State of Texas

Opinion

Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed January 9, 2024.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-24-00015-CV

IN RE MICHAEL C. ENGELHART, Relator

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING

WRIT OF MANDAMUS

Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party Harris County, Texas

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On Monday, January 8, 2024, relator Michael C. Engelhart filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Elec. Code §§ 273.061–.063; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this court to compel respondent Michael Patrick Doyle, Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, to reject Erica Roche Hughes’s application and remove her name from the ballot for the

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151st Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas. Alternatively, relator requests that the court “instruct respondent to: reexamine Engelhart’s Challenge under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard; properly review the ‘content’ of Hughes’s petition; and reject signatures proven to be invalid.”

Because there are contested issues of fact that must be resolved after a hearing on the merits, relator has not established that he is entitled to mandamus relief. See In re Angelini, 186 S.W.3d 558, 559 (Tex. 2006). Accordingly, we deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. Additionally, all pending motions are denied as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Wise, Jewell, and Wilson.