The State of Texas v. Harris County, Texas

Opinion

ACCEPTED 15-24-00061-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 6/20/2025 11:31 AM No. 15-24-00061-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK FILED IN In the Fifteenth Court of Appeals 15th COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS Austin, Texas 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk

State of Texas, Appellant, v.

Harris County, Texas, et al., Appellees.

On Appeal from the 165th District Court, Harris County, Texas Cause No. 2024-22320, Hon. Ursula Hall, Presiding Judge

Joint Motion to Abate Appeal

Ken Paxton Grant B. Martinez Brent Webster State Bar No. 24104118 Aaron L. Nielson gmartinez@yettercoleman.com Benjamin W. Mendelson Justin P. Tschoepe State Bar No. 24106297 Lily E. Hann Ben.Mendelson@oag.texas.gov Yetter Coleman LLP Office of the 811 Main Street, Suite 4100 Attorney General Houston, Texas 77002 P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Phone: (713) 632-8000 Austin, Texas 78711 Phone: (512) 936-1700 Counsel for Appellees

Counsel for Appellant To the Honorable Fifteenth Court of Appeals:

The parties jointly request that the Court abate this appeal for 30 days. The

parties are currently discussing options to resolve this case and State v. Harris

County, No. 15-24-00120-CV in light of the Harris County Commissioners Court’s

recent vote of which the Court is aware.

After the Commissioners Court voted, the parties spoke and agreed on next

steps to potentially resolve these cases. The next day, the Court requested

supplemental briefing as to whether these cases are moot. The parties believe that

they may be able to resolve these cases without burdening the Court with additional

briefing.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement within 30 days, they will be prepared

to submit supplemental briefs on mootness within fourteen days of the cases’

reinstatement. Conclusion and Prayer

For these reasons, the parties respectfully and jointly request that the Court

(a) abate this appeal for 30 days; and (b) set the deadline for supplemental briefs at

fourteen days after reinstatement should such briefing be necessary.

-2- Dated: June 20, 2025 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Benjamin W. Mendelson /s/ Grant B. Martinez Ken Paxton Grant B. Martinez Brent Webster State Bar No. 24104118 Aaron Nielson gmartinez@yettercoleman.com Benjamin Mendelson Justin P. Tschoepe State Bar No. 24106297 State Bar 24079480 Ben.Mendelson@oag.texas.gov jtschoepe@yettercoleman.com Office of the Lily E. Hann Attorney General State Bar No. 24133836 P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) lhann@yettercoleman.com Austin, Texas 78711 Yetter Coleman LLP Phone: (512) 936-1700 811 Main Street, Suite 4100 Houston, Texas 77002 Attorneys for Appellant Phone: (713) 632-8000

Christian D. Menefee Harris County Attorney Tiffany S. Bingham Managing Counsel Affirmative & Special Litigation Division State Bar No. 24012287 Tiffany.Bingham@harriscountytx.gov Edward D. Swidriski III Assistant Harris County Attorney State Bar No. 24083929 Edward.Swidriski@harriscountytx.gov Office of The Harris County Attorney 1019 Congress Plaza, 15th Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Phone: (713) 274-5101

Attorneys for Appellees

-3- Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of this document was served on

all counsel of record in this case, identified below, on June 20, 2025, electronically

through the electronic filing manager in compliance with the Texas Rules of

Appellate Procedure:

Ken Paxton Brent Webster Aaron Nielson Benjamin Mendelson Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Austin, Texas 78711 Phone: (512) 936-1700

Counsel for Appellant

/s/ Grant B. Martinez Grant B. Martinez

-4- Automated Certificate of eService This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system. The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules.

Lisa Prince on behalf of Grant Martinez Bar No. 24104118 lprince@yettercoleman.com Envelope ID: 102238249 Filing Code Description: Motion Filing Description: Joint Motion to Abate Appeal Status as of 6/20/2025 12:04 PM CST

Case Contacts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Delonda Dean ddean@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Grant Martinez 24104118 gmartinez@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Athena Leyton athena.leyton@oag.texas.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Ben Mendelson Ben.Mendelson@oag.texas.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Lily Hann 24133836 Lhann@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Nancy Villarreal nancy.villarreal@oag.texas.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Yetter Coleman efile@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Ryan Cooper ryan.cooper@harriscountytx.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

William Farrell biff.farrell@oag.texas.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Andrea Mintzer Andrea.Mintzer@harriscountytx.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Eleanor Matheson Eleanor.matheson@harriscountytx.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Nicole Myette nicole.myette@oag.texas.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Jonathan Fombonne jonathan.fombonne@harriscountytx.gov 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Grant Martinez gmartinez@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Edward Swidriski Edward.Swidriski@harriscountytx.go 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT

Lisa Prince lprince@yettercoleman.com 6/20/2025 11:31:40 AM SENT