Pubdate: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle Contact: Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260 Fax: (713) 220-3575 Website: http://www.chron.com/ Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html Author: Julie Mason and John W. Gonzalez 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck