Texas Cases December 28, 2023: Khanoyan v. Hildalgo

Case Description

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On Appeal from the 270th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2021-75043

Panel consists of Justices Kelly, Landau, and Farris.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Peter Kelly Justice

This case is an appeal from the trial court's order granting appellees' plea to the jurisdiction and dismissing appellants' claims in a case seeking declaratory and injunctive relief relative to the 2022 election. In the underlying case, the appellants

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asserted that a redistricting plan adopted by the Harris County Commissioners Court disenfranchised voters by transferring them from precincts that held elections in 2022 to precincts that held elections next in 2024. The appellants sought declarations that would support their contentions and an injunction to prevent the implementation of the adopted redistricting plan for the 2022 election.

We informed the parties that the appeal appeared to be moot because the 2022 elections were held on November 8, 2022. See Heckman v. Williamson Cty. , 369 S.W.3d 137, 162 (Tex. 2012) ("A case becomes moot if, since the time of filing, there has ceased to exist a justiciable controversy between the parties-that is, if the issues presented are no longer 'live,' or if the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome."). We notified the parties of our intent to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction and afforded them more than ten days to demonstrate why the appeal should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The appellants did not respond; the appellees responded in support of the Court's intent to dismiss for want of jurisdiction.

Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3; Heckman , 369 S.W.3d at 162. All pending motions are dismissed.