Rick Perry’s Lawyers Seek to Get Charges Dismissed
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Stewart F. House/Getty Images(AUSTIN, Texas) — Lawyers for Texas Gov. Rick Perry filed a motion Monday, trying to get his criminal charges dismissed. His legal team said prosecuting Perry would violate the separation of powers.
The 60-page writ of habeas corpus was filed Monday in Travis County District Court.
“By seeking to criminalize not merely the veto itself, but the Governor’s explanation for it as well, this prosecution also violates the Governor’s rights under Free Speech Clauses of the United States and Texas Constitution,” the pretrial motion says.
“Subjecting any sitting Governor to a criminal prosecution and injecting the judiciary into a political dispute would be an unprecedented assault on this cherished separation of powers, and would impose an intolerable and incalculable chilling effect on the free exercise of legitimate constitutional powers by future governors,” the motion says.
A judge will decide whether the is sufficient evidence for the case to move forward.
Perry was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on two felony counts — abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official. The charges originate from Perry threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the state’s public integrity unit unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned following a DWI conviction in 2013.
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