COURT DENIES BALLOT REQUEST FROM HALE

An appeals court Thursday denied a request by would-be candidate Stephen
Hale to restore his name to the Democratic primary ballot for Harris County
district attorney.

Hale said he plans to appeal the decision by the 14th Court of Appeals to
the Texas Supreme Court.

Gerald Birnberg, a lawyer representing Harris County Democratic Chairwoman
Sue Schechter, said Hale "is welcome to do so."

Earlier this week, Schechter declared Hale ineligible for the ballot because
his law license is suspended following a marijuana-related arrest in 1997.

Although Hale said the indictment against him was eventually dropped, the
Texas State Bar suspended his license. Hale said it is to be reinstated in
October, before the Nov. 7 general election.

Birnberg and Schechter maintain Texas law requires a candidate be eligible
at the filing deadline for office, while Hale contends the law requires
eligibility at the time of the election.

"I would have expected something like this from the Republicans, but not the
Democrats," Hale said.

A former county attorney in Wise County, Hale dismissed more than 500
misdemeanor possession of marijuana cases in three years.

His storied life includes a marijuana-related arrest while serving in the
military, followed by a subsequent jailbreak, after which he turned himself
in.

While enrolled at South Texas College of Law in the 1970s, Hale's record
became an issue and he was denied entry in the Texas Bar. He left for
Alaska, and began his legal career there.

After a few years Hale returned to Texas and was admitted to the bar. He was
running for Denton County district attorney in 1997 when he was arrested
again.

Initially, Hale was the only Democrat who signed up to run for Harris County
district attorney this year. After his disqualification, Schechter extended
the filing to 6 p.m. today.

There are six Republicans running in the primary.