HOUSTON – Attorney Steve Kherkher does not have standing to challenge the eligibility of a judicial candidate seeking election to the 333rd District Court, an appellate court recently concluded.
Challenging incumbent Judge Daryl Moore, Brittanye Lashay Morris won the Democratic nomination in the March 3 primary election.
Two weeks later, Kherkher filed a challenge to her eligibility with Lillie Schechter, Harris County Democratic Party chair, court records show.
Kherkher asserted that he provided Schechter with public records establishing that Morris did not meet the residency requirements because she had lived in Fort Bend County for part of the two years before the upcoming Nov. 3 general election.
Although Schechter first concluded that a homestead application conclusively established that Morris failed to meet residency requirements, Morris eventually provided her with documents establishing her residency and the chair declared her eligible.
On April 20, Kherkher filed a petition for writ of mandamus, requesting the 14th Court of Appeals compel Schechter to declare Morris ineligible, court records show.
On June 13, the 14th Court granted Morris’ amended motion to dismiss Kherkher’s petition for lack of standing.
On appeal, Kherkher argued that he has constitutional standing because he contributed campaign funds to both the Democratic Party and the “constitutionally eligible candidate (Moore) in the contest for the 333rd Harris County District Court at a maximum level.”
Kherkher also claimed that he has constitutional standing because he voted in the Democratic primary and intends to vote in the general election but will not have the opportunity to vote for an eligible candidate for the 333rd District Court unless the court grants him relief.
“We conclude that Kherkher does not have standing to challenge Morris’s eligibility to appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2020, as a candidate for the 333rd District Court,” the opinion states. “Morris’s amended motion to dismiss is granted and Kherkher’s petition for writ of mandamus is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”
Appeals case No. 14-20-00310