Government Code Chapter 571 on Texas Appeals Journalhttps://texasappeals.org/topics/government-code-chapter-571/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500Court of Criminal Appeals, on Rehearing, Withdraws 2024 Opinion and Holds Ethics Commission Referral Is Not a Precondition to Election-Law Prosecutionhttps://texasappeals.org/2025/09/ex-parte-charette-rehearing/Mon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/ex-parte-charette-rehearing/On the State’s motion for rehearing, the court withdrew its September 2024 opinion and affirmed the denial of pretrial habeas relief to a former judicial candidate. It held that neither the Texas Constitution nor Government Code Chapter 571 categorically bars a criminal prosecution for election-law offenses brought without a referral from the Texas Ethics Commission or exhaustion of its civil process, while reaffirming that the habeas claim was cognizable.