State District Court Judge Bert Richardson denied Rick Perry’s request to dismiss his indictment for abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant.  Perry’s legal team argued that the statutes under which Perry was indicted were unconstitutionally vague as applied and that the indictment on the charge of coercion failed to negate the exception for a government official acting in their official capacity.  Richardson dismissed both complaints and it seems fairly clear from his opinion that Perry’s lawyers have a tenuous grasp on the ins and outs of Texas criminal procedure.  The Houston Chronicle reports:

Richardson said that state law doesn’t allow him to decide at this point in the process whether the law was unconstitutionally applied to Perry, as his lawyers contend.

“Simply put, the court’s hands are tied,” Richardson wrote.

Perry’s high-profile defense team contended that the case against Perry violates his constitutional rights and his authority as governor. In a signal of the high stakes, Perry has paid them more than $1 million from his campaign fund.Perry’s team on Tuesday quickly filed notice that he will appeal the decision.

Hopefully, none of the more than $100,000 in taxpayer money that has gone to Perry’s defense was used to make the seemingly frivolous arguments made in the futile attempt to avoid a trial for the ex-Governor.