The trial date over who is rightfully county commissioner for Precinct 2 (Southeast Lubbock County) will be delayed. Jason Corley holds the seat presently, but Mark Meurer continues to challenge Corley and the State of Texas in legal proceedings.
Lawyers for Texas and Meurer agreed to put off an April 24 trial date until the Texas Supreme Court and the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo both have a chance to consider the legal issues.
Meurer’s attorney notified the Supreme Court of the latest developments Wednesday.
Recapping how we got here
County Judge Curtis Parrish swore in Mark Meurer as commissioner on the morning of December 8.
Parrish claimed Corley automatically resigned his seat by campaigning for Congress with more than one year and 30 days left in his current term of office. Corley denied it and filed a lawsuit the same day.
Scott Brumley was appointed to represent the State of Texas. He filed court records in favor of Corley – saying Corley did not become a candidate with too much time left in his current term, which LubbockLights.com covered with multiple stories here.
Visiting State District Court Judge Patrick Pirtle agreed and issued a temporary order restoring Corley to office. The appeals court refused to take emergency action in December on Meurer’s behalf – but still kept the matter on its docket like a normal appeal. Meurer then filed an emergency request in January with the state’s highest court.
When Corley sued, Pirtle set a December 19 hearing. Also, Texas, represented by Brumley, filed documents in favor of Corley. Corley was restored to office in a temporary order.
Meurer’s attorney, Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere, went to the Supreme Court arguing Pirtle violated procedure by going forward in the hearing.
LaFreniere argued the hearing should have ended before Pirtle ever made his ruling. We covered the legal maneuvering here. LaFreniere wants the state’s high court to roll back the clock to that hearing which would put Meurer in the Precinct 2 seat.
In a separate but related development, the Texas Supreme Court ordered a response to certain issues in writing by March 9. Click here to read the order.
In late January, the Commissioners Court approved roughly $12,000 to pay Corley’s legal bills to attorney hire Ben Garcia.
Read the letter
Filed in the Texas Supreme Court on behalf of Mark A. Meurer
February 11, 2026
Supreme Court of Texas Filed via e-file
Attn: Blake Hawthorne, Clerk of the Court
P.O. Box 12248
Austin, Texas 78711
Re: 26-0018—In re Mark A. Meurer
Dear Mr. Hawthorne:
Petitioner Mark A. Meurer respectfully informs the Court that since the filing of his Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Emergency Motion for Stay, the trial court has entered an order (attached hereto) setting the underlying case for trial on April 22, 2026. On February 6, 2026, this Court ordered Respondent to respond to Petitioner’s pending Petition for Writ of Mandamus by March 9, 2026. Petitioner’s Emergency Motion for Stay, also filed with his Mandamus Petition, is still pending decision of this Court.
Upon conferencing with counsel for the State of Texas today, February 11, 2026, counsel for the State informed Petitioner’s counsel that he would not oppose a stay of the April trial date until all appellate matters in this cause and the associated cause in the court of appeals have been resolved.
Please inform the Court that Petitioner’s pending emergency motion to stay further proceedings in the trial court is now unopposed by the State of Texas. Petitioner respectfully requests a prompt ruling on the Motion to Stay from the Court for purposes of the parties’ understanding of their respective obligations with the new trial date being set while a statutory stay is supposed to already be in effect.
Respectfully submitted,
Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere.
