Tag Archives: 4th Court of Appeals

Ken Paxton keeps trying to kill the SAISD vaccine mandate

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

On brand, always on brand. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another petition seeking to reverse a Bexar County judge’s decision that rejected the state’s bid for a temporary injunction to block the San Antonio Independent School District’s staff … Continue reading →

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SAISD vaccine mandate upheld again

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Also still on hold, but the state loses again at the appellate level. A state appellate court upheld San Antonio Independent School District’s authority Wednesday to mandate its workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, almost a year after the district instituted … Continue reading →

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Bexar mask mandate back on

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Abbott and Paxton take another L. A temporary order that allows the City of San Antonio and Bexar County to require masks in their buildings will stay in place until a lawsuit challenging an executive order goes to trial in … Continue reading →

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SCOTx hears Chick-Fil-A case

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this last week. The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments Thursday in the now two-year-old case involving the exclusion of Chick-fil-A city contract in the San Antonio International Airport. […] San Antonio has always maintained that the law … Continue reading →

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Chick-Fil-A and the “heartbeat” lawsuits

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’d forgotten all about this. A case that’s before the Texas Supreme Court this fall could have strong implications for the future of the state’s newly adopted abortion ban, the most prohibitive in the nation. The suit relates to a … Continue reading →

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SCOTx puts San Antonio ISD’s vaccine mandate on pause

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ken Paxton finally gets what he wants. The Texas Supreme Court temporarily halted San Antonio Independent School District’s staff vaccine mandate on Thursday, a day before the deadline for all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ruling comes two … Continue reading →

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SAISD vaccine mandate update

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Still in place for now, but clearly on shaky ground. San Antonio Independent School District can continue requiring its staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, despite a judge ruling against the district Thursday in a case filed by the Texas … Continue reading →

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Bexar mask mandate put on hold again

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

SCOTx has entered the chat, again. The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked San Antonio and Bexar County’s mask mandate, marking the latest update in a flurry of court battles over mask requirements statewide. The decision comes after an appellate … Continue reading →

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Back to SCOTx for the mask mandate ban

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Following an unfavorable outcome at an appellate court, Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Texas Supreme Court to block the mask mandate in San Antonio and Bexar County. A Bexar County district judge issued a temporary order on Aug. 16 allowing … Continue reading →

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SCOTx demurs

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting: . Important context here > — Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) 6:55 PM – 19 August 2021 . The Texas Supreme Court has left in place a Travis County judge’s TRO (that blocked @GovAbbott’s ban on mask mandates in Austin), … Continue reading →

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SCOTx does what SCOTx does

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Room service, as always. The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday temporarily blocked mask mandates in Dallas and Bexar counties, marking a pivotal moment in the showdown between state and local government as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge in Texas. The … Continue reading →

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And it’s off to SCOTx for the mandate stuff

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s where it was always headed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking the mask mandate battle to the state Supreme Court after the state was defeated in its attempts to overturn such mandates in San Antonio and other municipalities. … Continue reading →

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Let’s get rid of Democratic appellate court justices

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

If that’s the Legislature’s goal, then this would be an effective way of accomplishing it. A Texas Senate committee [heard] public comment Thursday on a controversial proposal to consolidate the state’s 14 intermediate appellate courts into just seven, a move … Continue reading →

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CCA to review Crystal Mason’s conviction

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to review the illegal voting conviction of Crystal Mason, a Tarrant County woman facing a five-year prison sentence for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election while she was on … Continue reading →

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Followup omnibus Election Day post

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Wanted to clear up some loose ends from the late night/early morning post and add a couple of things I’d missed the first time around. I’ll have a longer “thoughts and reactions” post probably tomorrow. – The district results from … Continue reading →

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Appealing the Crystal Mason illegal voting conviction

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to be an appalling travesty. When Crystal Mason got out of federal prison, she said, she “got out running.” By Nov. 8, 2016, when she’d been out for months but was still on supervised release, she was working … Continue reading →

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Omnibus election report

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s after midnight, I’ve mostly posted stuff on my long-dormant Twitter account (@kuff), and I will have many, many thoughts in the coming days. For now, a brief recap. – As you know, neither Beto nor any other Dem won … Continue reading →

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The Courts of Appeals

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The other judicial races where Dems have a chance to gain ground. Republicans dominate Texas politics — but their stranglehold is especially noticeable in the courts. Republicans hold all 18 seats on the state’s two high courts. Of the state’s … Continue reading →

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Paxton seeks to overturn all local bag ban laws

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s up to the Supreme Court to decide whether he gets it or not. Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday filed paperwork urging the Texas Supreme Court to eliminate plastic bag bans across Texas, including Austin’s. Paxton is seeking for … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts: Statewide

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

See part 1 on Harris County here. The current statewide tally is Trump 52.39%, Clinton 43.34%. She received 3,848,617 votes to his 4,651,955. That’s an improvement of some 540K votes over Obama in 2012, which I certainly would have deemed … Continue reading →

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Races I’ll be watching today, non-Legislative edition

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is my companion to yesterday’s piece. 1. SBOE district 5 I’ve discussed the SBOE races before. This particular race, between incumbent Ken Mercer and repeat challenger Rebecca Bell-Metereau, is the one that has the closest spread based on past … Continue reading →

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Laredo plastic bag ban overturned

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Fourth Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with merchants and free-market groups who argued that Laredo’s ban on single-use bags is illegal because it is pre-empted by state law regulating solid waste disposal. The 2-1 ruling overturned a … Continue reading →

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Appeals court blocks litigation against payday lenders

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lousy. The Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio derailed a class action lawsuit aimed at keeping payday lenders from using the state’s criminal justice system as de facto collection agencies. The suit filed by 1,400 plaintiffs argued that Cash … Continue reading →

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Another view of Democratic goals for 2016

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds about right. Some Democrats say Clinton has a chance at winning a majority in Texas, where interest is heightened because U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro has been mentioned as a possible Clinton running mate. Castro said … Continue reading →

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Plastic bag litigation update

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This could be a big deal. Is a plastic bag a container? Does the definition of “solid waste management” include litter control? If a state appeals court answers yes to both of those questions, regulations on plastic bags in several … Continue reading →

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