FORT WORTH, Texas - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has decided to reexamine the voting case of Fort Worth grandmother Crystal Mason that it had previously sent back to the Texas Second Court of Appeals to review. That lower court reversed Crystal Mason’s conviction in March 2024.
Mason, a Black mother of three, faces five years in prison for submitting a provisional ballot in 2016 that was never counted as a vote.
In April, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office announced that it had asked the state’s highest appeals court to overturn the recent decision. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today accepted the case for review, which means further briefing will occur before the court.
“While I am ready for this case to be over and for my acquittal to stand, I will continue to maintain my faith that justice will be done,” says Crystal Mason.
Mason had been convicted of illegal voting despite believing she was fulfilling her civic duty and not realizing the state considered her ineligible to vote.
In the appeal of her conviction, Mason is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, Texas Civil Rights Project, criminal defense attorney Alison Grinter Allen, and civil attorney Kim T. Cole.
The following statements can be attributed to members of her legal team:
“We respect the Court of Criminal Appeals’ decision to further review this case,” says Tommy Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “We remain confident that the court of appeals made the right decision in vacating Ms. Mason’s conviction and rendering an acquittal. We look forward to briefing our position to the court.”
“Crystal Mason’s acquittal was based on a record that did not support her conviction,” says Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “We are confident the Court of Criminal Appeals will agree and uphold the decision.”
“We respect the Court of Criminal Appeals’ decision to review Ms. Mason’s case and trust that the Second Court of Appeals’ decision to acquit Ms. Mason will be upheld upon review,” says Christina Beeler, senior supervising attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project.
“We have faith that the court will uphold Crystal ‘s acquittal and all Texans will see a day when they can feel confident in the franchise and go to the polls unafraid that they could face prison time for any mistake or misunderstanding,” says Alison Grinter Allen, criminal defense attorney.
“The last time this case was before the Court of Criminal Appeals, they rightfully remanded the case back to the 2nd Court of Appeals for review under the accurate interpretation of the law,” says Kim T. Cole, attorney . “I trust that this time they will confirm that the 2nd Court of Appeals’ decision in reversing Crystal's conviction is the correct and just outcome.”
Access the state’s petition for discretionary review here: https://search.txcourts.gov/handdown.aspx?coa=coscca&fulldate=08/21/2024
Access a copy of the Texas Second Court of Appeals ruling here: https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/02-18-00138-cr_18138crremand_opinion.pdf
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