Michael P. Fleming (born June 25, 1963 in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

; died July 1, 2020 ) was a

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

based attorney and elected official. Fleming was board certified in personal injury law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Fleming was the managing partner of Fleming Law, P.C (formerly Michael P. Fleming & Associates, P.C.). Fleming was elected as county attorney in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

in 1996 and reelected the following term in 2000. Fleming was the lead attorney for Harris County before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in the case Christensen v. Harris County, a case that defined the limits of the Fair Labor and Standards Act and the authority of opinion letters issued by

Department of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

. Fleming came from a family with several generations of politicians. His grandfather was

Harry Raymond Fleming Harry Raymond Fleming, M.D., (October 24, 1894 – November 5, 1942) was a Saskatchewan physician and politician. He is the son-in-law of Liberal MP George William Kyte of Cape Breton. His grandparents, William Fleming and Mary Keating emigrated ...

and great-grandfather was George William Kyte. He and his widow Natalie, the elected judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law Number 3, had six children.

Career

In 1984, Fleming received his Bachelor of Arts from University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is accredited by the American Bar A ...

in 1987. Fleming is a member of the Houston and New York State Bar Associations, the State Bar of Texas,

College of the State Bar of Texas The College of the State Bar of Texas is an honorary society of qualified lawyers who are interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for all Texas attorneys. Purpose and membership The College recognizes Texas lawyers who vol ...

and the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland ( ga, Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society had ...

. In 1996, and again in 2000, Fleming was elected as county attorney in

. In March 2001 Fleming stepped down from his position as Harris County attorney to become partner in the law firm of Bracewell & Patterson. Fleming attributed his wife, judge and former prosecutor Natalie Fleming, and six children for his stepping down as Harris County attorney. In 2002 Fleming started his own firm, Michael P. Fleming & Associates, P.C. Fleming has been selected to Super Lawyers for ten years, from 2007-2017 and is licensed as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

by the

Notable cases

Christensen v. Harris County, 529 US S 76, 120 S.ct. 1655, 146 L.ed.2d 621 (2000)

In an attempt to reduce overtime expenditures,

adopted a policy which forced sheriffs to use accumulated compensatory time in lieu of working overtime. One hundred twenty-nine deputy sheriffs sued, claiming that the

Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppres ...

(FLSA) does not permit an employer to compel an employee to use compensatory time in the absence of an agreement permitting the employer to do so. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Harris County, holding that " thing in the FLSA or its implementing regulations prohibits a public employer from compelling the use of compensatory time." Further, an opinion letter issued by the Department of Labor which prohibited employers from forcing employees to use compensatory time did not receive Chevron deference. The Department of Labor's opinion letter was not legally binding.

Brothers v. Klevenhagen, 28 F.3d 452 (5th Cir. 1994).

In 1988, two Harris County sheriff deputies shot Roland Brothers, a pretrial detainee, in an attempt to stop him from escaping custody. Brothers later died from his wounds. His family sued the Harris County Sheriff's Office, alleging that Brothers's civil rights were violated by the deputy sheriffs. Fleming represented the sheriff's office in his capacity as county attorney. A district court granted a

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...

in favor of the sheriff's deputies, ruling that their actions were constitutionally reasonable. On appeal, the United States Court for the Fifth Circuit upheld the lower court decision. The Fifth Circuit ruled that Brothers was not protected by the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable seizures, because the Fourth Amendment does not protect detainees following their arrest.

Affiliations

Fleming was an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fleming also participated on the board of directors of the University of St. Thomas for fifteen years, was a member of the Houston Sports Authority, and had a life membership as a founding director of the Irish Society of Houston. Fleming was listed in ''Who's Who in the World'', ''Who's Who in America'' and ''Who's Who in American Law''.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
County district attorneys in Texas