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Notes -
More developments in DeSantis' political stunt of sending some migrants to Martha's Vineyard.
If you didn't already know the migrants were not even in Florida when they got on the flight. The migrants started in San Antonio, Texas. The Bexar County Sheriff (which covers San Antonio) has announced a criminal investigation into the matter. They do not currently have the names of any suspects or particular statutes in mind that may have been violated but they have started an investigation. I'm not an expert on Texas law but it seems to me their law on unlawful restraint may be applicable. The law provides:
Did DeSantis' agents move a person from one place to another by deception such that the persons so moved did not consent? Seems like it to me! If any of the people so moved were children under the age of 17 the offense is a state jail felony otherwise it is a Class A misdemeanor.
On the civil front some of those same migrants have filed a class action lawsuit against DeSantis (maybe flying them to the island full of rich lawyers was unwise.) There are 12 listed causes of action in the complaint (starting on page 23 in the pdf). These range from violations of constitutional rights (since this was ostensibly done under color of law, using state government funds) to regular torts like false imprisonment, fraud, and infliction of emotional distress (intentional and negligent).
Is there anything stopping Abbot from just pardoning DeSantis in the event they actually try to charge him with anything relating to Texas state law?
This lawfare crap is getting really old. I’ve lost most all respect I had for “the law” in the past half decade (I already had none for lawyers).
Ding ding ding. This is why any Texas criminal investigation is irrelevant.
Dollars to donuts that plan was already established before anything else was done.
Indeed, they may have been hoping that this was the response.
I'm not sure if Abbot has the authority to remove a Sheriff or other LEO unilaterally, but this is a solid way to identify problematic ones.
No, he does not. The Texas government has one of the weakest executives anywhere, ever. The state comptroller- a partisan elected Republican- can use a bureaucratic process to change the county’s tax rates(as he is doing to Houston) and the attorney general- also a partisan elected Republican- also has a few things he can do, but Abbott’s powers are limited to an after the fact pardon.
Explains why the LEOs are willing to put their neck out like this. No direct retaliation.
The promise of an after-the-fact pardon, though, would render any prosecution purely symbolic.
There’s also a lot of money in it for progressives willing to lose statewide elections over being too progressive.
There are things the state can do to make life unpleasant for uncooperative local officials. They go through partisan republicans other than the governor and I suspect that the list of things will expand rather than contract. But, as yet, Texas cannot remove a local official without evidence of real malfeasance.
This time next year, the attorney general/comptroller/governor might have the power to levy real and direct consequences up to and including removing uncooperative officials(and that power would almost certainly be used against the Bexar county sheriff to begin with), but there’s currently not much the state can do to remove him.
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