Homero Maldonado v. Salvador Johnson, Sr.

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas September 13, 2018 No. 04-18-00599-CV Homero MALDONADO, Appellant v. Salvador JOHNSON, Sr., Appellee From the 111th Judicial District Court, Webb County, Texas Trial Court No. 2018CVK001209D2 Honorable John D. Gabriel, Jr., Judge Presiding ORDER This is an accelerated appeal arising from an election contest challenging the outcome of the Democratic Primary for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, of Webb County. On September 13, 2018, appellant Homero Maldonado filed an Emergency Motion for Expedited Appellate Briefing Schedule and Disposition of Case, and appellee Salvador Johnson Sr. filed a response. In his motion, appellant requests an expedited briefing schedule so that this court can dispose of the case by Friday, September 21, 2018 in accordance with section 232.014 of the Texas Election Code. See TEX. ELEC. CODE § 232.014 (West 2010). In response, appellee asserts appellant did not handle the underlying cause or this appeal with due diligence because he requested continuances in the underlying cause and failed to request an expedited schedule sooner in this appeal. Under section 231.009 of the Texas Election Code, “[a]n election contest has precedence in appellate courts and shall be disposed of as expeditiously as practicable.” Id. § 231.009; see Sepulveda v. Medrano, 323 S.W.3d 620, 624 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, no pet.) (citing Salazar v. Gonzales, 931 S.W.2d 59, 60 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1996, no writ)); Gutierrez v. Montemayor, 2000 WL 33225302, at *1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Dec. 29, 2000, no pet.) (not designated for publication). Based on the foregoing, we GRANT appellant’s request to expedite the briefing schedule and ORDER appellant to file his brief on or before Friday, September 14, 2018. We FURTHER ORDER appellee to file his brief on or before Monday, September 17, 2018. _________________________________ Marialyn Barnard, Justice IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 13th day of September, 2018. ___________________________________ KEITH E. HOTTLE, Clerk of Court