Judge Denies Paperwork Dismissal Request in Rick Perry Case

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Summary: The defense team for Texas Governor Rick Perry lost its battle to have paperwork dismissed from the indictment case against him. 

A defense motion to have two felony charges filed against outgoing Texas Governor Rick Perry has been denied by a district judge in the state, according to a report from CNN.

  

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The defense for Perry argued that the indictment filed against him should have been voided due to questions regarding the validity of the oath of office taken by the special prosecutor on the case. The special prosecutor is Michael McCrum. Other paperwork technicalities were also discussed.

McCrum reportedly took the oath of office incorrectly when he was sworn in as special prosecutor in August of 2013. This means that McCrum’s work for the past 15 months should be viewed as invalid, according to Perry’s legal team.

To read more stories about Rick Perry, click here.

The judge working the case disagreed with Perry’s legal team’s arguments.

“This court concludes that Mr. McCrum’s authority was not voided by the procedural irregularities in how and when the oath of office and statement of officer were administered and filed,” Judge Bert Richardson said in issuing the ruling.

Richardson came to the conclusion that due to both parties failing to dispute the fact that McCrum did take the oath of office, his lack of a signature on the paperwork does not invalidate his pledge.

“It is the act of swearing, not the signature itself, that is essential,” the ruling reads.

The two felony charges filed against Perry in August were for abuse of power as governor when trying to pressure a district attorney from Travis County to resign. Perry threatened he would veto a bill that would fund a public integrity unit led by Rosemary Lehmberg after she was arrested for DUI in August of 2013.

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