Judge Excuses Indicted Perry from Next Court Date

A judge has excused indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry from his next court appearance but denied the Republican's request to skip all other pretrial hearings.

State District Judge Bert Richardson ruled Friday that Perry doesn't have to attend a status hearing Oct. 13. Perry plans to be in Europe on state business and asked to be excused.

The governor had further asked Richardson to let him miss all future, non-evidentiary hearings. The judge denied that, though he added Perry can ask to miss individual court appearances.

The special prosecutor leading the case against Perry has accused him of seeking special favors.

An Austin grand jury last month indicted Perry on two felony counts of abuse of power for threatening to veto state funding for a public corruption investigative unit.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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