Appellate Panel Asked to Halt March 5 Appellate Court Primary

The Fifth Court of Appeals was told during oral arguments Wednesday to halt the March 5 primary election for the appellate courts while the merits of a lawsuit — alleging that the configuration of the 14 intermediate appellate courts unconstitutionally dilutes a McKinney woman’s vote compared to voters in less-populous districts — are decided. 

James A. Pikl of Scheef & Stone, who represents Keresa Richardson in the lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas secretary of state, told the panel not to focus on the merits of his client’s claim. Instead, all the court needs to decide is whether Collin County District Judge John Roach was correct when, in March, he denied a request from the state to dismiss the lawsuit on standing and sovereign immunity grounds.