James E. Ferguson

Texas' first impeachment, only partially successful, involved Mr. Ferguson. 

Related topics: 

- white supremacy.
- white primary.
- spoils system.

- Click here for his Wikipedia entry:  

Ferguson was born to the Reverend James E. Ferguson, and Fannie Ferguson near Salado in south Bell County, Texas. At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. At 16, he left home and drifted through the states of the American West, working successively in a vineyard, a mine, a barbed wire factory, and at a grain ranch. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar.

On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. They had two daughters: Ouida Wallace Ferguson, and Dorrace Watt Ferguson. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in Belton, Texas. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank.

He also became active in the Democratic Party and managed several local political campaigns. He believed that "a Negro has no business whatever taking a part in the political affairs of the Democratic party, the white man's party." A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for white supremacy in the political process.

In 1914, Ferguson was elected as governor of Texas by running as an anti-prohibitionist Democrat. When the Democratic Party dominated the Texas political landscape, winning the Democratic primary often sealed the election results. Ferguson was the only "wet" candidate in the Democratic primary and garnered all of the anti-prohibitionist votes over a plurality of "dry" candidates.

Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. According to historian Dan Utley, Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a spoils system to reward his political supporters.

________


For more:

- History of the Banking Industry in Texas and the Department.

- - private
- - community
- - state.
- - national

- A Banking History of Texas.

- Banks and Banking.

From the Texas Tribune - 9/20/23

- As federal money flows to carbon capture and storage, Texas bets on an undersea bonanza.

- Austin will try again to tame its housing affordability crisis with zoning reforms. Can it do it this time?

- Texas made it illegal to punish students for dreadlocks. A school is testing the limits of the law.

- State Rep. Rhetta Bowers latest to join race for Colin Allred’s U.S. House seat.

- Texas A&M System’s guidance on the state’s DEI ban shows compliance might be a hard needle to thread.

https://nurse.org/orgs.shtml

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remonstrance

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56254

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/6/20/21293952/renewable-energy-power-national-grid-transmission-microgrids

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Interconnection

Catching up on the news - 9/19/23

All from the Houston Chronicle.

- University of Houston's rankings just skyrocketed. Voters can raise it higher.

- ERCOT CEO talks Texas grid emergency, conservation requests and rising demand on the grid.

- After panic over directive to slash school budgets, HISD leaders call the order 'an error'

- Harris County approves lower tax rate for fifth year in a row, $2.4B budget for 2024.

- 'Don't cross her': How DA Kim Ogg has repeatedly aimed her power at Harris County officials.

- Gov. Abbott vows to call October special session on school vouchers after months of deadlock.

The Political Freedoms in the Texas Bill of Rights and the Texas Public Information Act

- Click here for the entire Texas Bill of Rights. 

Political Freedoms: 

Sec. 8. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PRESS; LIBEL. Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press. In prosecutions for the publication of papers, investigating the conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the Court, as in other cases.

Sec. 27. RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY; PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good; and apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.

__________

Texas Public Information Act:

- Overview of the Pub­lic Infor­ma­tion Act.

- The Texas Public Information Act.

- TEXAS PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT LAWS MADE EASY.

__________

Freedom of Information Act

- Wikipedia.

__________

Possible written assignment? 

- Should Texas add a "right to information" amendment? Who might oppose it? Why? (I can think of a few)

The Gutenberg Printing Press and Its Effect on Mass Communication

More on the man in question: 

- Johannes Gutenberg.

More on the professional association which produced the video.

- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

- Lobbying profile.

- IEEE Lobbying Compliance Guidelines.

- Lobbying News & Articles.

- IEEE LOBBYING ACTIVITY REPORT.

Title 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Voting Rights

- Click here for the text.

The intro: 

No person acting under color of law shall--

"(A) in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any Federal election, apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote;

"(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any Federal election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election; or

"(C) employ any literacy test as a qualification for voting in any Federal election unless (i) such test is administered to each individual and is conducted wholly in writing, and (ii) a certified copy of the test and of the answers given by the individual is furnished to him within twenty-five days of the submission of his request made within the period of time during which records and papers are required to be retained and preserved pursuant to title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960

- Congressional Research Service.

Title I19 of the 1964 Act amended voting provisions of an earlier statute, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (1957 Civil Rights Act),20 to address “problems encountered in the operation and enforcement” of these earlier provisions.21 Title I was not the first time Congress amended the 1957 Civil Rights Act—it had previously done so through the Civil Rights Act of 1960.22 These earlier legislative efforts, however, had failed to effectively “counteract state and local government tactics of using, among other things, burdensome registration requirements to disenfranchise African–Americans.”23 Title I thus amended the 1957 Act to “outlaw[] some of the tactics used to disqualify Negroes from voting.”24  The voting provisions of Title I and the 1957 Civil Rights Act are distinct from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA),25 and generally lesser known—a circumstance that some scholars have attributed to the effectiveness of the VRA, which was enacted just a year after Title I.26

Provisions of Title I, however, continue to be litigated, including in recent years to challenge state voter registration practices.27  As discussed below, Title I added provisions28 prohibiting (1) the use of different standards for qualifying voters;29 (2) certain uses of literacy or “interpretation” tests;30 and (3) the denial of the right to vote based on immaterial errors in a registration or other voting document.31 In addition, to “help meet the problem of lengthy and often unwarranted delays,”32 Title I of the 1964 Act further amended the 1957 Civil Rights Act to expedite judicial review of voting cases.33  Legislative history reflects two constitutional bases for enacting Title I: Congress’s power to enforce the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution.34

Relatedly, the Supreme Court has construed the voting provisions of the 1957 Civil Rights Act as an exercise of Congress’s authority under the Fifteenth Amendment. 

- Wikipedia.

This title barred unequal application of voter registration requirements. Title I did not eliminate literacy tests, which acted as one barrier for black voters, other racial minorities, and poor whites in the South or address economic retaliation, police repression, or physical violence against nonwhite voters. While the Act did require that voting rules and procedures be applied equally to all races, it did not abolish the concept of voter "qualification". It accepted the idea that citizens do not have an automatic right to vote but would have to meet standards beyond citizenship.

- Library of Congress. 

- Title I of the Civil Rights Act in Contemporary Voting Rights Litigation.

Lucky Strike Cigarette Commercial: Marching Cigarettes (1948)

The Langer Report | Understanding Evil

- From the Central Intelligence Agency: A Psychological Analysis of Adolph Hitler by Walter Langer.

- Klara Hitler's Son: Reading the Langer Report on Hitler's Mind.

- NYT: 1943 O.S.S. Study Called Hitler Weak and a Bully.

- Washington Post: Walter C. Langer, Wrote Mental Study of Hitler.

- Wikipedia: Walter Charles Langer.

Local elections in 2023

Texas Secretary of State: Important 2023 Election Dates.

From the Texas Tribune: Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 constitutional amendments election

We will discuss these, along with other items on the upcoming ballot in the upcoming November election, soon. Mostly in 2306, but also in 2305 when appropriate.

Remember that elections in odd number years are for local matters, in addition to Texas constitutional amendments. Elections to national and state office - all run by local governments under laws passed by the state - happen only on even number years.

- Click here for the article. 

From the Guardian: Minnesota lawsuit seeks to bar Trump from ballot under 14th amendment

Regarding how Section 3 of the 14th Amendment could be enforced:

- Click here for the story.

A group of Minnesota voters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in their state, escalating the effort to disqualify the former president from running based on untested constitutional language that prohibits anyone who has “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

The voters are being represented by Free Speech for People, a left-leaning group that has aggressively been pushing to remove Trump from the ballot in several states. A similar lawsuit was filed in Colorado last week by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, another watchdog group.

The petition, filed with the Minnesota supreme court, argues that Trump’s activities to overturn the election, including those on 6 January, amounted to engaging in insurrection. Section 3 of the 14th amendment says that anyone who takes an oath to the United States and then subsequently engages in “insurrection or rebellion against the same” is disqualified from holding public office.

 

How Many Counties Are in the US?

. . . and more!!

U.S. historical counties

Another video showing the growth of counties in the United States.

Lucky us!
 

 https://youtu.be/ZJeewiy4HE8?si=DeklydIotQfCdaw-

 https://youtu.be/nDxinFjlVmo?si=hCjx7hLsOf6aIPjE

 https://youtu.be/Dp4doyT2BKs?si=Rby8-Ztj_Fzi8Nch

Fiscal Federalism

The three levels of government are interconnected fiscally. That is, money flows from one the other. This generally means that it flows from the top to bottom, but it does so in many different ways depending on the specific item of spending. 

This is what "fiscal federalism" really refers to. 

One of the things I'm hoping to make sensible over the semester is how this flow of money works.

Here are other definitions of the term. 

- Wikipedia: Fiscal Federalism. 

fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government" (Oates, 1999). In other words, it is the study of how competencies (expenditure side) and fiscal instruments (revenue side) are allocated across different (vertical) layers of the administration. An important part of its subject matter is the system of transfer payments or grants by which a central government shares its revenues with lower levels of government. Federal governments use this power to enforce national rules and standards.

- Congressional Research Service: Fiscal Federalism: Theory and Practice. 

The field of fiscal federalism studies how to divide responsibilities (including finances) among federal, state, and local governments to improve economic efficiency and achieve various public policy objectives. Determining the optimal division of responsibilities is difficult because of varying subjective views about what the role of government should be. As a result, fiscal federalism research generally renders no judgment on the proper level of total government intervention or what types of services governments should provide. The research focuses instead on how responsibilities are assigned across multiple layers of government once policymakers have decided to implement a given policy, and what trade-offs may be involved in administering it.

National
- Enumerated Powers
- - Income Taxes
- - Payroll Taxes
- - Corporate Income Taxes
- - Tariffs

State
- Reserved Powers
- - Federal Funds
- - Sales Taxes
- - Fines
- - Fees

Local 
- Implementation of Reserved Powers
- Basic Services and Infrastructure
- - Property Taxes
- - Sales 

 

How to Fund the Deficit: Sell Treasury Bonds

- Fiscal Data: What is the national deficit?

- U.S. Treasury: Bonds and Securities.

 

This ain't too bad - but it doesn't break down spending into discretionary and non discretionary

For our look at budgets and fiscal federalism. 

A good chunk of this money ends up in the Texas Treasury. 

Government Revenue

Let's look at this in the abstract. 

To understand specific spending, the most accurate place to look is the appropriations bills on the national and state levels. For specific information on local spending, look at their respective budgets. More on all that later.


- Wikipedia: 

Government revenue or national revenue is money received by a government from taxes and non-tax sources to enable it to undertake public expenditure. Government revenue as well as government spending are components of the government budget and important tools of the government's fiscal policy. The collection of revenue is the most basic task of a government, as revenue is necessary for the operation of government, provision of the common good (through the social contract in order to fulfill the public interest) and enforcement of its laws; this necessity of revenue was a major factor in the development of the modern bureaucratic state.

Government revenue is distinct from government debt and money creation, which both serve as temporary measures of increasing a government's money supply without increasing its revenue.

Tax Revenue: 

A simple (too simple) breakdown of tax collections within Texas

national - income
state - sales
local - property 

- Tax Revenue: the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural resources and/or foreign aid.


- Types of Taxes collected by the Unites States government:

- personal income
- corporate income
- payroll: social security
- payroll: health insurance
- excise taxes

- - From the Treasury Department: How much revenue has the U.S. government collected this year?

Most of the revenue the U.S. government collects comes from contributions from individual taxpayers, small businesses, and corporations through taxes. Additional sources of tax revenue consist of excise tax, estate tax, and other taxes and fees. So far in FY 2023, individual income taxes have accounted for 50% of total revenue while Social Security and Medicare taxes made up another 37%. (Government revenue also comes from payments to federal agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior. Have you visited a national park recently? Did you know your national park entry is included in government revenue? Other agencies generate revenue from leases, the sale of natural resources, and various usage and licensing fees.)

- Types of Taxes collected by the Texas government: 

The largest sources of state tax revenue:

- sales taxes
- the franchise tax (the state’s primary business tax)
- motor vehicle-related taxes
- taxes on crude oil and natural gas production

- - From the Texas Comptroller:

- - - MONTHLY STATE REVENUE WATCH.
- - - A History of State Taxes and Fees in Texas, 1972 to 2022.
- - - A Field Guide to the Taxes of Texas.
- - - Texas Comptroller: Appropriated Funds/General Revenue Accounts.

- Types of Taxes collected by local governments in Texas: 

- - From the Texas Municipal League: REVENUE MANUAL FOR TEXAS CITIES.
- - The Texas County Government Revenue Stream.
- - TEXAS PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING SOURCES.

Government Spending

 Wikipedia: 

Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or collective needs of the community, is classed as government final consumption expenditure. Government acquisition of goods and services intended to create future benefits, such as infrastructure investment or research spending, is classed as government investment (government gross capital formation). These two types of government spending, on final consumption and on gross capital formation, together constitute one of the major components of gross domestic product.

Government spending can be financed by government borrowing, taxes, custom duties, the sale or lease of natural resources, and various fees like national park entry fees or licensing fees. When Governments choose to borrow money, they have to pay interest on the money borrowed. Changes in government spending is a major component of fiscal policy used to stabilize the macroeconomic business cycle.

Areas of spending: 

- National Government

- - Discretionary: 
- - - Defense
- - - Transportation
- - - Etc...

- - Non Discretionary
- - - Social Security
- - - Health care
- - - Unemployment Insurance

- - Texas Government

- - - Education
- - - Health and Human Services
- - - Business and Economic Development
- - - Public Safety and Criminal Justice
- - - Natural Resources
- - - Fiscal Size-Up: Areas of Spending / State Agencies.

From KHOU 11: This Texas town has about 250 people. It has 50 sworn police officers.

A look at non-tax local revenue.

- Click here for the story.   

There’s not much to Coffee City, Texas. Two liquor stores, a couple of dollar stores, a pizza joint and a motel. But this town, which is three hours north of Houston, has quite a reputation among those who drive through.

“A lot of officers policing a very small number of people,” motorist Jen Hendricks said.
“They run back and forth, back and forth,” Bill Knous said.
“They’re everywhere, literally everywhere,” Madison, who didn’t provide her last name, said.

The city limit sign on the side of State Highway 155 reads “POP 249.” In a town of barely 250 residents, there are 50 full-time and reserve officers in the department. That is five times the number of cops than any town its size, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.

From Wikipedia: Coffee City, Texas. 

Do we have a Right to Travel?

- Texas highways are the next anti-abortion target. One town is resisting.

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/

- Dalen v The State.

- Constitution Annotated: Interstate Travel as a Fundamental Right.

- LII: Durational Residency Requirements.

The doctrine of the “right to travel” actually encompasses three separate rights, of which two have been notable for the uncertainty of their textual support. The first is the right of a citizen to move freely between states, a right venerable for its longevity, but still lacking a clear doctrinal basis.1 The second, expressly addressed by the first sentence of Article IV, provides a citizen of one state who is temporarily visiting another state the “Privileges and Immunities” of a citizen of the latter state.2 The third is the right of a new arrival to a state, who establishes citizenship in that state, to enjoy the same rights and benefits as other state citizens. This right is most often invoked in challenges to durational residency requirements, which require that persons reside in a state for a specified period of time before taking advantage of the benefits of that state’s citizenship.

 

 https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/coffee-city-texas-police-officers/285-4220e73c-90d4-474e-b59e-2033270cd8e9

Religious Liberty: Free Exercise Clause

The Free Exercise Clause:  

Congress shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]

Explanations: 

- Legal Information Institute: 

The Free Exercise Clause reserves the right of American citizens to accept any religious belief and engage in religious rituals. Free-exercise clauses of state constitutions which protected religious “[o]pinion, expression of opinion, and practice were all expressly protected” by the Free Exercise Clause.[1] The Clause protects not just religious beliefs but actions made on behalf of those beliefs. More importantly, the wording of state constitutions suggest that “free exercise envisions religiously compelled exemptions from at least some generally applicable laws.”[2] The Free Exercise Clause not only protects religious belief and expression; it also seems to allow for violation of laws, as long as that violation is made for religious reasons. In the terms of economic theory, the Free Exercise Clause promotes a free religious market by precluding taxation of religious activities by minority sects.

- Oyez: Free Exercise Cases. 

Landmark Cases: 

- Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Division_v._Smith

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_exemption

 https://www.danielmnke.com/p/25-psychological-biases-that-influence?utm_campaign=post

 https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/paid-paxton-influencers-impeachment/

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/angola-aka-louisiana-state-penitentiary-is-ordered-to-move-youth-out-of-adult-prison

Ken Paxton's lawyer speaks on 'burden of proof' necessary in impeachment...

These hearings are absolute gold.

Pat attention to how they deal with standards of proof, and to whom they apply.

https://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/live-piracy-map

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2022/econ/gus/2022-governments.html

https://www.gq.com/story/teezo-touchdown-interview-moncler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Colony,_Texas

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/08/texas-heat-city-water-pipes-damage/

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/01/ken-paxton-impeachment-articles/

Did Ryan Bangert think suspended Texas AG Ken Paxton had violated his oa...

From Investopedia: History of Corporations in the U.S: First Corporations to Present

From the beginning, the U.S. Constitution has been about the enabling and promotion of business. Here's some history.

- Click here for the article. 

The first American corporations were developed in the 1790s, almost instantly becoming key institutions in the young nation's economy. Although corporations existed in Europe in the early 19th century—particularly in Great Britain and the Netherlands—no country took to corporate development like the United States.

Small banking corporations existed in the first years after the American Revolution. However, most historians note that the first important industrial corporation was the Boston Manufacturing Co. in 1813. Its business model was imported from Great Britain, where textile corporations helped spark the first Industrial Revolution some three decades earlier.

Corporations could raise capital from diverse sources, providing an important mechanism for savers and producers alike. Voting rights were much less protected in the early years through processes of "graduating" certain shareholders, but corporations still embodied a new type of investment.

For more on the Boston Manufacturing Company, click here.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/well/live/tampon-tax-texas.html

 https://mailchi.mp/houstontx/hpwdroughtstagetwoaug2023?e=3183d87008&fbclid=IwAR0yzTZAHdSODQDN6pUmOFo03aoWIc9zgjnPMNj7mD_wxdDVUxyUyIs7Ijs_aem_AUR_-OQjkdMOVd4Q6qV83YZcGP5o5hKApn_KnpBlumtxr7j9k-iLZ69MDRQbJzE85l0&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/houston/2023/09/06/461609/houstons-memorial-and-buffalo-bayou-parks-to-be-connected-by-forthcoming-trail/?fbclid=IwAR261pXd7GJRh7PuU9IA-Jgj9UmRT_CmYKU2Mk5GfeIU-Pfy_gD_UhKitKk_aem_AUTD_SbKDLM7ZzMtw4y-sbNu2P3yeK6BR-8uO2fKmJJ1PI8A5oZn_pmo-9N69NsYZwE&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

From Ballotpedia: Impeachments in Texas

There were two prior to the current impeachment of Attorney General Paxton.

- Click here for the story. 

In Texas, three officials have been impeached and two were removed from office after impeachment—Governor James Ferguson (D) in 1917 and State District Judge O.P. Carillo in 1975. Ferguson was indicted on charges including embezzlement while Carillo spent three years in jail following his impeachment.[5] The Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on May 27, 2023.[6] Paxton's impeachment trial will be conducted by the state Senate beginning no later than August 28, 2023.[7]

In 2013 and 2014, the legislature conducted an investigation into the actions of Regent Wallace Hall. The House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations considered "whether he failed to disclose key information on his application to be a regent; whether he improperly handled sensitive student information; and whether he exceeded his authority in his private investigations of UT-Austin.[8] On August 11, 2014, that committee voted 6-1 to censure, rather than impeach, Hall.

__________

Little Big Man-It is a Good Day to Die

Hoka Hey Y'all

Marriage Licenses in Texas

https://guides.sll.texas.gov/marriage-in-texas/marriage-licenses

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/vs/partners/docs/forms/MarriageApplication-VS180.pdf

https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/cs/8marriage.pdf

https://www.co.mclennan.tx.us/175/Marriage-License#:~:text=Both%20applicants%20must%20appear%20in,is%20issued%20before%20being%20married.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLennan_County,_Texas

Ken Paxton's Impeachment

I'll add info to this as it progresses. 

Texas Tribune: Paxton Impeachment.

5/25/23: Articles of impeachment issued.
- Texas House committee issues 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton.

5/27/23: Paxton impeached.
- Texas AG Ken Paxton impeached, suspended from duties; will face Senate trial.

6/20/23
- In the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial, GOP Megadonors Are Free to Tamper With the Jury.

9/1/23: Who's who
- Who’s who in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial, from key participants to potential witnesses.

9/5/23: The trial begins.
- Ken Paxton impeachment trial begins with sniping: “Slow creep of corruption” vs. “nothing of significance”

9/6/23: Jeff Mateer testifies.
- Ken Paxton’s top deputy, the first impeachment witness, describes an attorney general out of control.

9/8/23: Former Texas Ranger David Maxwell testifies.
- AG’s former top cop says he warned Paxton about “criminal” Nate Paul.

9/13/23: Former Paxton Chief of Staff testifies.
- Whistleblower says political donor acted like he was the “real boss” of AG’s office.

9/13/23: The prosecution rests.
- The House has rested its case against Ken Paxton after a chaotic day for the prosecution.

9/14/23: The defense rests.
- Ken Paxton impeachment defense rests after calling 4 witnesses.

Spanish Texas

- TSHA: Spanish Texas. 

Spanish Texas, situated on the border of Spain’s vast North American empire, encompassed only a small portion of what is now the Lone Star State. The province lay above the Nueces River to the east of the Medina River headwaters and extended into Louisiana. Over time, Texas was a part of four provinces in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Colonial Mexico). The El Paso area was under the jurisdiction of New Mexico, the missions founded near La Junta de los Ríos were under Nueva Vizcaya, the coastal region from the Nueces River to the Rio Grande and thence upstream to Laredo was under Nuevo Santander after 1749, and Texas was initially under joint jurisdiction with the province of Coahuila.

Slightly more than three centuries elapsed between the time the Texas shoreline was first viewed by a Spaniard on an unknown date in 1519 and July 21, 1821, when the flag of Castile and León was lowered for the last time at San Antonio.

- TSHA: Spanish Law.

As an outpost of the kingdom of New Spain, the province of Texas shared with Mexico the basic law of the parent sovereign, that of Castile. This law went essentially unchanged during the tumultuous fifteen years of Mexican Texas (1821–36), but after the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas adopted the law of England in preference to that of Spain. Three areas of law were excepted from the wholesale adoption of English law in Texas: certain procedural rules affecting trials, the law affecting land titles and certain water rights, and a large body of rules affecting family relationships. In spite of severe antagonism to Spanish and Mexican government, the predominantly Anglo-American colonists of Texas found in the prevailing legal system a number of elements better adapted to their conditions than Anglo-American legal institutions under which they had been reared in the United States.

- Wikipedia: Spanish Texas.

Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created an atmosphere of antagonism with Native Americans (Indians) which would cause endless difficulties for the Spanish in the future. Spain did not attempt to establish a permanent presence until after France established the colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1685. In 1688, the French colony failed due to internal dissention and attacks by the Karankawa Indians. In 1690, responding to fear of French encroachment, Spanish explorer Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas, where they established the first mission in Texas. That attempt to establish a Spanish colony failed due to the hostility of the Caddo Indians. . . .

- Wikipedia: Spanish America.

Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the end of its imperial rule, Spain called its overseas possessions in the Americas and the Philippines "The Indies", an enduring remnant of Columbus's notion that he had reached Asia by sailing west. When these territories reach a high level of importance, the crown established the Council of the Indies in 1524, following the conquest of the Aztec Empire, asserting permanent royal control over its possessions. Regions with dense indigenous populations and sources of mineral wealth attracting Spanish settlers became colonial centers, while those without such resources were peripheral to crown interest. Once regions incorporated into the empire and their importance assessed, overseas possessions came under stronger or weaker crown control. . . .

The Labor Market - What is it? How is it developed?

Since we just celebrated labor day, it's useful to figure out what we just celebrated. It's not just that its labor, we have a market that develops it, and offers it up for sale. It's what many of you are doing right now school.

Some links: 

First, what is a market?

In economics, a market is a composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services (including labour power) to buyers in exchange for money. It can be said that a market is the process by which the prices of goods and services are established. Markets facilitate trade and enable the distribution and allocation of resources in a society. Markets allow any tradeable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emerges more or less spontaneously or may be constructed deliberately by human interaction in order to enable the exchange of rights (cf. ownership) of services and goods.

Second, what is labor?

Labour is a measure of the work done by human beings. It is conventionally contrasted with other factors of production, such as land and capital. Some theories focus on human capital, or entrepreneurship, (which refers to the skills that workers possess and not necessarily the actual work that they produce). Labour is unique to study because it is a special type of good that cannot be separated from the owner (i.e. the work cannot be separated from the person who does it). A labour market is also different from other markets in that workers are the suppliers and firms are the demanders.

Finally, what is a labor market?

Labour markets or job markets function through the interaction of workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income. These patterns exist because each individual in the market is presumed to make rational choices based on the information that they know regarding wage, desire to provide labour, and desire for leisure. Labour markets are normally geographically bounded, but the rise of the internet has brought about a 'planetary labour market' in some sectors.

From Spectrum News: Can you legally use Trump’s mugshot on merchandise?

Maybe not. We've been going over the delegated powers in the U.S. Constitution. One of them involved copyright. The story tells us that the claim against Trump would have to be filed, which as yet it hasn't. If they don't then he can use it as he sees fit.

- Click here for the story.

Betsy Rosenblatt, a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, said there is copyright ownership of mugshots in most jurisdictions.

“You're prohibited from using it for a number of things without authorization,” Rosenblatt said. “You’re prohibited from reproducing it, making a derivative work of it, distributing it without authorization, or that is to say distributing anything that isn't the one copy you already lawfully have, and various other things. Making a public display of it, making a public performance of it, which opens up all kinds of fascinating possibilities here.”

So will the potentially thousands of people who are already using the mugshot to make a profit get in trouble?

Rosenblatt said in order to pursue a claim for copyright infringement, the owner of the copyright, who she said is likely the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, would have to be the one to sue.

“Whether the Fulton County Sheriff's Department would decide to enforce its copyright is entirely up to them,” Rosenblatt said. “But it's also reasonable to think that the Fulton County Sheriff's Office might think, you know, this is a public document, it belongs to the world in a way, [the] copyright belongs to us. But the news about it belongs to the world. And we're not going to undertake the expense and trouble of hiring copyright counsel and sending out takedowns and cease and desist and letters, or in lawsuits.”

She said there are a few cases in recent years that portray how safe or how risky it is to do this sort of thing. In some cases, the court ended up ruling fair use, in others they ruled that the person being sued needed permission from the copyright owner. So, Rosenblatt recommends people seek out legal counsel before releasing a product commercially to ensure they have a strong fair use argument.

“What we're hearing from these various cases is, there's no easy answers to this in terms of how safe it is,” Rosenblatt said. “But it's much safer if you're making significant changes to the image. And if you're making an overt political statement, and it's much less safe, if you're not making changes to the image. And if you're using the image for more or less what the image was already used for, which is to just show that he was arrested and arraigned.”

She also said the First Amendment makes a lot of allowances for things like parody, newsworthiness, commentary and criticism. But even though mugshots are typically part of the public domain, and are sometimes released to the public, many states have relatively complicated laws regarding a person's privacy, so use them at your own risk.

From the Washington Post: Home insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow

For our look at the marketplace. The private sector makes money by supplying things the public demands, but only if it can make money doing so. If it can't, then either the demand is unmet, or it is provided by the public sector.

It may well be that insurance from natural disaster - acts of God - is no longer profitable for the private sector. Now the issue becomes whether this becomes a question of whether it is provided by the public sector.

- Click here for the article.

In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.

At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.

Major insurers say they will cut out damage caused by hurricanes, wind and hail from policies underwriting property along coastlines and in wildfire country, according to a voluntary survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a group of state officials who regulate rates and policy forms.

Insurance providers are also more willing to drop existing policies in some locales as they become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Most home insurance coverages are annual terms, so providers are not bound to them for more than one year.

That means individuals and families in places once considered safe from natural catastrophes could lose crucial insurance protections while their natural disaster exposure expands or intensifies as global temperatures rise.

“The same risks that are making insurance more important are making it harder to get,” Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund and nonresident scholar at the Insurance Information Institute, told The Washington Post.

The companies mentioned those policy changes as part of previously unreported responses to the regulatory group’s survey. The survey was distributed in 2022 by 15 states and received responses — some sent as recently as last month — from companies covering 80 percent of the U.S. insurance market.

Conflict between levels of government

Most of these are conflicts between the national government and Texas, but one is between cities in Texas and the state. Notice the role the court plays in most of these. That's how it tends to go.


- Drag shows are protected by 1st Amendment, performers tell federal judge.

Texas business owners, LGBTQ+ groups and a drag queen testified in front of U.S. District Judge David Hittner in a federal courtroom on Monday and Tuesday about the content of drag performances — some of which Texas leaders say is banned by Senate Bill 12. This testimony included a demonstration of how to twerk and a description of prosthetic breasts.

- Federal judge bars Texas from enforcing book rating law.

A federal judge said Thursday he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for a group who sued over the proposal.

District Judge Alan D. Albright indicated during a hearing that he will grant a temporary injunction sought by a group of book groups and sellers, including two Texas bookstores, who sued the state over House Bill 900 in July, the group’s lawyers said in a statement. Albright will issue a written order in one to two weeks; in the meantime, the state cannot enforce the law, according to the statement.

- U.S. Justice Department argues for removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in federal court.

Seeking immediate removal of a floating barrier that Texas deployed in the Rio Grande to deter migrants, the U.S. Justice Department told an Austin federal judge Tuesday that the barrier threatens U.S.-Mexico relations and was installed without appropriate federal authorization.

- Judge declares new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules unconstitutional.

A sweeping new Texas law aimed at undermining the ability of the state’s bluer urban areas to enact progressive policies is unconstitutional, a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday.

State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble made the ruling just days before the law — House Bill 2127, which opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” bill — is slated to take effect on Friday.

- Lawmakers call for federal investigation into Texas Guard intel ring.

A member of Congress and a Texas state legislator have called for the Justice Department to investigate the Texas National Guard’s intelligence work at the state’s border with Mexico.

The _______ Powers (fill in the blank)

- Delegated: the transfer of a specific authority by one of the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) to another branch or to an independent agency. The U.S. Congress, for example, has created government agencies to which it has delegated authority to promulgate and enforce regulations pursuant to law—such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (1934) and the Federal Election Commission (1974)—and it has delegated by statute (1954) to the Department of Commerce, a cabinet office within the executive branch, its authority under the Constitution to conduct the decennial census.


Enumerated: The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to the individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the Constitution expresses various other limitations on Congress, such as the one expressed by the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."


Expressed: Expressed powers are those powers that the Constitution has specifically given to the federal government.

Implied: Implied powers, in the context of federalism, refer to powers Congress possesses that are not explicitly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Alexander Hamilton first articulated the concept of implied powers, which the U.S. Supreme Court later recognized in the 1819 case McCulloch v. Maryland.

Inherent: In United States law, inherent powers are the powers that a state officer or entity purports to hold under a general vesting of authority, even though they are neither enumerated nor implied. The theory of inherent powers of the President derives from the loosely worded statements in the Constitution that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President" and the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" (defined in practice, rather than by constitutional or statutory law). Under this theory, first articulated in 1793 by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton,[1] the authority of the president extends to all decisions and acts of the United States as a sovereign state that are not exclusively vested elsewhere.

. . . not specifically listed in the Constitution, but they grow out of the very existence of the national government. For example, the United States has the power to acquire territory by exploration and/or occupancy, primarily because most governments in general claim that right.


Prohibited: Prohibited powers are denied either to the national government, state governments, or both (Article I, Section 9.) For example, the national government cannot exercise its powers in such a way as to interfere with the states' abilities to perform their responsibilities. States cannot tax imports or exports, nor can they coin money or issue bills of credit.|

- - The U.S. Constitution: Article 1, Section 9.
- - The U.S. Constitution:  Article 1, Section 10.
- - THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION, Sec. 56, PROHIBITED LOCAL AND SPECIAL LAWS.

Reserved: "Reserved powers" refers to powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment gives these powers to the states.


Concurrent: powers of a federal state that are shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit, such as a state or province. These powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory, in relation to the same body of citizens, and regarding the same subject-matter. Concurrent powers are contrasted with reserved powers (not possessed by the federal government) and with exclusive federal powers (forbidden to be possessed by the states, or requiring federal permission).

From the Texas Tribune: Texas eighth graders will soon be required to learn about climate change. But not without a showdown over textbooks.

Hot off the heals of our discussion of what 4th graders know.

This has to do with what 8th graders in Texas are supposed to know about science.

- Click here for the appropriate part of the TEKS curriculum.

- - or here.

- Click here for the article. 

Starting next year, Texas will require that eighth graders learn about climate change as part of a science curriculum overhaul approved two years ago.

But which textbooks they’ll use to learn about it will largely depend on the state board charged with setting curriculum standards, and questions during a Tuesday meeting to hear testimony on the proposed teaching materials showed that the 15-member body — which has taken a rightward turn since 2021 — could make its decision along partisan lines.

One Republican member of the State Board of Education asked whether students ought to learn about the benefits of burning fossil fuels. Meanwhile, Democrats advocated for texts that emphasized the scientific consensus on climate change.

Dozens of publishers submitted textbook proposals for the state’s overhaul of its science curriculums. Any resident of Texas can submit written comments on the instructional materials before Oct. 30. The board plans to adopt instructional materials in November; the new science standards and textbooks will take effect at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/

Laws regarding littering

Someone brought this subject up in class last week. 

Why aren't there national laws against littering? A simple answer would be that there is no authorization in the U.S. Constitution for such laws. But the more precise answer might be more complicated.

- did the littering happen on federal property?

- what exactly did the litter comprise of? hazardous waste?

- did the littering violate other laws that the national government does have the right to pass laws about? 

Could be a good weekly written assignment.

__________

For general reading on the subject: 

- Litter in the United States.

Litter in the United States is an environmental issue and littering is often a criminal offense, punishable with a fine as set out by statutes in many places.

Litter laws, enforcement efforts, and court prosecutions are used to help curtail littering. All three are part of a "comprehensive response to environmental violators", write Epstein and Hammett, researchers for the United States Department of Justice. Littering and dumping laws, found in all fifty United States, appear to take precedence over municipal ordinances in controlling violations and act as public safety, not aesthetic measures. Similar from state-to-state, these laws define who violators are, the type or "function" of the person committing the action, and what items must be littered or dumped to constitute an illegal act. Municipal ordinances and state statutes require a "human action" in committing illegal littering or dumping, for one to be "held in violation." Most states require law enforcement officers or designated, authorized individuals, to "...witness the illegal act to write a citation." Together, prosecutions and punitive fines are important in fighting illegal littering and dumping.

A significant portion of litter along roadways in the U.S. is now being attributed to improperly tarped vehicles such as open-bed vehicles as well as trash and recycling collection vehicles that have not been properly secured.

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
- TITLE 5. SANITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
- - SUBTITLE B. SOLID WASTE, TOXIC CHEMICALS, SEWAGE, LITTER, AND WATER
- - - CHAPTER 365. LITTER
- - - - SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

- Sec. 365.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Texas Litter Abatement Act.

Litter weighing five pounds or less is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. If between five and 500 pounds, class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, imprisonment up to 30 days, or both. If between 500 and 1,000 pounds or for a commercial purpose, class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $4,000, imprisonment up to one year, or both. State jail felony if the litter to which the offense applies: (1) weighs 1,000 pounds or more; (2) disposed of for a commercial purpose and weighs 200 pounds or more; or (3) contained in a closed barrel or drum. Punishable by imprisonment up to two years and a fine up to $10,000. (See Tex. Penal Code §12.21 et seq.)

National Conference of State Legislatures: States with Littering Penalties.

States spend millions of dollars each year to clean up littered roadways, parks, and coastal areas. In addition to the direct cost of litter removal, litter also harms the environment, property values and other economic activity. The most common types of litter are food packaging, bottles, cans, plastic bags, paper and tobacco products. States can discourage littering through a variety of methods, one of which is to create and enforce criminal penalties that punish unwanted behavior. While all states have some type of litter law, penalties vary widely, based on the amount, type, and location of litter. In 10 states, for example, the weight or volume of litter determines the severity of the crime. Other states focus on the type of litter, imposing penalties for dumping large items, such as furniture or major appliances. Many states have also enacted legislation to address littering in certain places, such as public highways, coastal areas and recreational areas.

City of Houston Code of Ordinances: Chapter 39 - SOLID WASTE AND LITTER CONTROL.

Littering generally.

With the exception of containers and items placed for pickup in conformity with the conditions for pick up and the times authorized pursuant to this chapter, no provision contained in this chapter shall be construed as constituting the permission of the city for the deposit of solid waste upon sidewalks, public streets, curbs or other public places of the city. Any deposit which does not conform in all respects with the provisions set forth in this chapter shall constitute an unlawful deposit of litter which shall be punishable as provided by law.

Wikipedia: Don't Mess with Texas.

"Don't Mess with Texas" is a slogan for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The phrase "Don't Mess with Texas" is prominently shown on road signs on major highways, television, radio and in print advertisements. The campaign is credited with reducing litter on Texas highways roughly 72% between 1987 and 1990.[1] The campaign's target market was 18- to 35-year-old males, which was statistically shown to be the most likely to litter. While the slogan was not originally intended to become a statewide cultural phenomenon, it did.

The Treaty of Westphalia

The people who brought you borders in Europe.



For more on the Treaty of Westphalia: 

- Wikipedia.

The Peace of Westphalia (German: Westfälischer Friede, pronounced [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə]i) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.

The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire: the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the Habsburgs (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King Louis XIV).

Several scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty.

From felonies.org: 14 of the Most Common Felonies

- Click here for the list.

How many have you violated? Or, how many have you been victims of? 

1. Drug Abuse Crimes
2. Arson
3. Aggravated Assault
4. Disorderly Conduct
5. Supplying Alcohol to Minors
6. Violent Crimes
7. Burglary
8. Robbery
9. Vandalism
10. Weapons Crimes
11. Fraud
12. Domestic Violence
13. Grand Theft Auto
14. Counterfeiting and Forgery

Here's detail on the ones I think you (students) are most likely to have problems with:  

Drug Abuse Crimes

Being found guilty of a felony drug charge usually results in a prison sentence of longer than a year, as well as a hefty fine. When differentiating a felony drug crime with a misdemeanor drug crime, the answers to the following questions will lead you to the answer:

- What quantity of drugs?
- What kind of drugs?
- Were the drugs being trafficked, sold, or distributed?

If you are found in possession of a small amount of a drug, you will likely not face a felony charge. However, if found with a large quantity of an illegal substance, or even a small quantity of a harder drug, a felony charge is in play.

The severity of the drug in question is classified under a “schedule.” A Schedule I drug is deemed to be highly dangerous with little medical potential and calls for the harshest penalties, including felony charges. Conversely, a Schedule V drug is seen as the least menacing, and possession is likely to result in a misdemeanor.

The punishment for first-time drug charges will typically range from one to three years in jail and a fine that can range from as little as $500 to as much as a few thousand dollars. Someone who is being charged for a drug crime they’ve already committed in the past can face up to 15 years in jail and equally exponential fines.

Disorderly Conduct

Most often, disorderly conduct results in a misdemeanor charge. However, there are cases where disorderly conduct can be escalated to a felony. An example of a felony form of disorderly conduct is falsely reporting a fire.

State laws vary widely in what is considered disorderly conduct and the appropriate punishments. For a felony charge, the perpetrator can expect up to a year, or even longer in jail along with fines that can top $1000.

Supplying Alcohol to Minors

While typically, providing alcohol to minors is a misdemeanor offense, there are times when it can result in severe felony charges. For example, a felony occurs if serious injury or death occurs as a result of supplying alcohol to minors. The punishment for this type of crime is a jail sentence of one year or more, and a significant fine that can range up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Vandalism

The broad definition of vandalism is willfully causing physical damage to someone else’s property. There are many different forms of vandalism, and some are classified as misdemeanors, while others are serious felonies. Misdemeanor offenses are punished with penalties of up to a year in jail with fines tacked on. But vandalism that results in severe destruction of a valuable piece of property is considered a felony crime.

The penalties for vandalism are unique as they encompass many different aspects. Pay Fines—Fines will vary depending on the level of charges, prior history of the perpetrator, and state law.

Restitution to the Owner—In addition to fines, restitution means the perpetrator must pay back the owner of the property for the value of the damage caused. 

Jail Time—Jail sentences may range from a few days to a few years, depending on the context of the crime.

Community Service Hours—A court will often assign community service hours as part of the punishment for both minor and major vandalism crimes.

Probation—If the crime is minor, being put on probation may be the only punishment. However, with felony vandalism, probation may be added on top of the rest of the sentences.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a crime that involves abuse among members of the same household. Domestic violence can vary by state but usually refers to violence between a husband and wife, a parent and their child, a boyfriend and girlfriend, or between roommates.

The act of domestic violence is an abhorrent crime, but it can be classified as both a felony and a misdemeanor. Acts of domestic violence that can be classified as misdemeanors include verbal abuse, two adults fighting with each other, or threats of violence.

Domestic violence is considered a felony in the following situations:

Abuse of a minor.

Violence with a deadly weapon.

Sexual abuse.

Battery that results in acute bodily injuries or death.

The punishment for domestic violence will, of course, be much more severe for a felony conviction. In California, for example, a felony charge means going to state prison, rather than a county jail and for a much longer sentence of two to four years.

Counterfeiting and Forgery

While most crimes vary by state considering what constitutes a felony and what constitutes a misdemeanor, forgery is considered a felony across all 50 states. Forgery first and foremost involves writing, and the writing must be of legal substance to be considered forgery. To be regarded as a legal substance, the document must, in some way, affect a person’s legal rights.

The following qualification of forgery is that a person has either made, used, altered, or possessed this form of false writing. The last requirement is the intent to defraud. A simple example of forgery is forging someone else’s signature on a legal document.

Common types of forgery prohibited by federal law include:

Identity theft.

Forging immigration

Forging military discharge documents.

Counterfeiting money.

Forgery becomes counterfeiting most commonly when it involves currency. Counterfeiting can be a crime when knowingly distributing counterfeit money or by possessing the tools used to create counterfeit money. Counterfeiting can also involve non-monetary fraud, such as forging documents from a federal court, forging a federal agency’s seal, or forging postal stamps.

The penalties for counterfeiting are severe. Federal law would allow for up to 25 years in jail and fines for $250,000 or more if the financial gain was by more than just the defendant. When this occurs, fines can be doubled.

Forgery, while considered a felony in all 50 states, can also be seen as a misdemeanor depending on the action taking place. For a misdemeanor, a state may sentence the defendant to restitution, fines, and probation, in addition to potentially one year in jail. When felony charges are passed down, perpetrators can expect multiple years in prison and fines ranging up to $125,000 depending on the state and the charge.

__________

What is an infraction? 

In general, infractions are the least serious type of crime. An infraction is a violation of a rule, ordinance, or law. In most jurisdictions, there is no jail time associated with an infraction and it will not appear on a criminal record. Typically, payment of a fine or community service will be the only punishment. However, federal criminal law classifies an infraction as a crime with a jail sentence of not more than five days. Traffic tickets are examples of an infraction, but other offenses may also be categorized as infractions, such as trespassing, littering, disorderly conduct, and other petty offenses.

Infractions usually involve little to no time in court (much less jail). However, infractions can turn into more serious crimes if left unaddressed or unpaid. It is not uncommon that an infraction has different classes (e.g., moving violations, non-moving violations, and other petty offenses). The law typically provides for an increasing range of fines and potential penalties for the different classes within the infraction category.

 

What is a felony?

A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanour is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.

What is a misdemeanor?

A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions (also known as minor, petty, or summary offences) and regulatory offences. Typically, misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines or community service.

For more, click here, 

Criminal Code: 
- Title 18 of the United States Code.
- Texas Penal Code.

From the Texas Association of School Boards: Post-Legislative Update Info - HB 8 - SB 17

A look at feedback regarding two critical bills passed by the legislature that impact community colleges in Texas.

- Click here for the material.