Can a judge disqualify a candidate from the primary ballot at the 11th hour?
That was the key question before 48th District Court Judge Chris Taylor, after an incumbent Tarrant County constable accused his primary opponent of lying about where he lived on campaign forms. Precinct 8 Constable Michael Campbell filed a lawsuit against challenger John Wright, alleging Wright lives outside of the precinct and is thus ineligible to run for the seat.
Campbell and Wright are both Democrats, and whoever wins the March 5 primary will run unopposed by a Republican in the Nov. 5 election.
At a Jan. 9 hearing before Taylor, Campbell’s lawyer, Jason Smith, argued there was clear and compelling evidence to remove Wright from the primary ballot immediately. But Wright’s lawyer, Doug Ray, argued doing so without a trial would effectively take away his client’s right to appeal the decision.
The Tarrant County Elections Office begins programming ballots Jan. 10, meaning if Taylor granted a motion to remove Wright from the ballot, there would be no way to put him back on in the event of a successful appeal.
“This would finally determine rights without a trial,” Ray said at the hearing.
With that concern in mind, Taylor declined to take Wright off the primary ballot — but he held off on making any determinations about his eligibility for the position.
“There is no doubt in my mind that I can determine eligibility,” Taylor said at the hearing.
Taylor hesitantly saved March 1 as a trial date, pending any motions by the defense. That date would allow Taylor to determine Wright’s eligibility before he is finally certified after the March 5 primary, and open the door for his disqualification from the general ballot if he’s found to not live in the precinct.
“My client is going to be on the primary ballot, and we are pleased about that,” Ray told the Fort Worth Report. He declined to comment on the potential March trial, citing the need to further discuss it with Wright.
Smith told the Report that he’s confident moving forward with a March trial. Before that date, he intends to take Wright’s deposition and request approval to enter his property in order to gather further evidence of his residency.
“Statute provides that a court can still declare him ineligible, he’s just on the ballot,” Smith said at the hearing. “And if for some reason he won, those votes would be disallowed, and his replacement would be selected by the Executive Committee for Precinct 8.”
Residency, homestead exemption dispute
Two properties sit at the center of the dispute over Wright’s eligibility.
On his campaign filing, the candidate attested to living in a house on Raphael Drive, in Precinct 8. But Tarrant County Appraisal District records show Wright has claimed a homestead exemption for a house he owns on Fiddleneck Street, outside of the precinct, as first reported by KERA News. Homestead exemptions can only be claimed on a person’s principal residence, according to state law.
Wright told KERA he lives at the Raphael address, but declined to give evidence, instead saying that the truth would come out in court. He suggested Campbell’s lawsuit was retaliation for previous disagreements between the two, including Wright’s firing and subsequent reinstatement in 2019.
The lawsuit filed by Campbell, however, alleges that Wright’s primary residence is clearly the Fiddleneck home. A report from private investigator Romalice Brumfield Jr., who staked out both homes, is included in the lawsuit. Brumfield concluded in his investigation that Wright lives at the Fiddleneck home, and swore in an affidavit that he did not see Wright at the Raphael home during any of his stakeouts.
At least one elected official in Tarrant County has previously been criminally prosecuted for falsely claiming homestead exemptions.
In 2022, former Justice of the Peace Jacquelyn Wright was found guilty of three counts of falsifying homestead exemptions. The investigation began after the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s office received a complaint alleging she didn’t live in the district she was seeking reelection in. Testimony during the trial confirmed the allegation.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. Emily Wolf is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at emily.wolf@fortworthreport.org or @_wolfemily
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.