In July, Democratic Texas state representative Gene Wu flew to Washington D.C. to avoid arrest for refusing to appear at the Texas State Capitol to vote on a voting restrictions bill.
On Wednesday, Judge Chris Morton granted Wu a writ of Habeas Corpus, ABC 13 reports. If arrested, the writ will allow Wu’s lawyer to ask the judge to release the representative until courts have determined that the arrest was lawful.
Wu is one of 52 Texas State House Democrats yet to appear at the Texas Capitol, Click 2 Houston reports. They are attempting to deny Senate Republicans the quorum they need to pass a voting restrictions bill.
The bill would outlaw local voting initiatives, tighten the vote-by-mail process and establish possible criminal penalties for those who help voters (including disabled voters) cast their ballot, Texas Tribune reports. Civil Rights Advocates say
On Tuesday, law enforcement issued 52 civil arrest warrants for the State Democrats who have avoided the state capitol. Wu’s lawyers say they don’t believe the warrants are constitutional.
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“There was no quorum, so they could do no business, so the warrant is illegal and the warrant to arrest violates the Texas constitution,” one of Wu’s lawyers, Stanley Schneider, told ABC 13.
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