In re Cahill, No. 08-0372

Mandamus Denied 05-19-2008

Today’s Corpus Christi Caller Times reports on a new election mandamus petition filed in the Texas Supreme Court last Friday by Vanessa Cahill against the chair of the Nueces County Republican Party. It seeks records from the county convention so that Cahill can challenge the delegate selection.

It turns out, however, that the Texas Supreme Court has already ruled on the case, denying the request without prejudice. That’s because the mandamus petition was filed initially in the Texas Supreme Court. This is the fourth time this election season (by my count) that the Court has denied an election-related mandamus under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.3(e), signaling to the parties that they should go first to the court of appeals. (( Rule 52.3(e) provides that, if a mandamus is one that a court of appeals can hear, then it “must be presented first to the court of appeals unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.” ))