But don’t expect him to get out of jail anytime soon. Attorneys for former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling and the Department of Justice are discussing an agreement to reduce his prison time and possibly avert a drawn-out court battle. Those involved didn’t disclose Thursday how much his 24-year sentence might be shortened through a settlement, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’
The Women’s Health Program fight needs to be won at the ballot box
This was a strange week in the courts for Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Health Program. On Thursday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear Planned Parenthood’s case against the state over the WHO, meaning that its awful ruling that threw out the original injunction against the state would stand and PP would [...]
Margins tax survives another challenge
Mighty quick ruling from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Texas on Friday struck down a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. Lawyers for Nestle and two Texas-based companies, Switchplace LLC and NSMBA, sued the state this year and argued that the tax violated the Texas Constitution’s [...]
Fifth Circuit upholds Texas Open Meetings Act
Good. A Fifth Circuit federal appeals panel on Tuesday upheld the criminal penalty provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act against a challenge by a cadre of city officials who argued it chills free speech. Texas government officials sued the state, arguing the open meetings act restricts their First Amendment rights. The law requires that [...]
Fifth Circuit will re-hear the Farmers Branch lawsuit again
I have an uneasy feeling about this. Farmers Branch was sued four years ago after it passed an ordinance allowing the city building inspector to evict any illegal immigrant renters. Its case will now go before the full membership of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with 10 judges appointed by Republican presidents and [...]
Voter registration restrictions back in place
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and AG Greg Abbott remain BFFs. Texas won a stay Thursday of a federal court decision that had barred enforcement of the state’s toughened voter registration law. Attorney General Greg Abbott described the development as a victory for voter integrity. The state had asked the 5th U.S. Court of [...]
Fifth Circuit strikes again
Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin, that banned Texas from enforcing rules designed to [...]
Count tells EPA to review flex permits
Score one for Texas. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s disapproval of Texas’ Flexible Permits program was not supported by the Clean Air Act. Under the Flexible Permits program, which had been in place since 1994, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality put a cap on allowed [...]
Fifth Circuit rules for EPA against Texas
It’s always a pleasure seeing our litigious Attorney General get slapped down by whatever court he’s bothering this week. In the latest turn in a saga pitting environmental regulators in Washington against those in Austin, a panel of federal judges on Friday sided with the federal Environmental Protection Agency in its effort to tamp down [...]
Planned Parenthood and Texas back in court
I presume this was the appeal of the injunction that was granted to Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to destroy the Women’s Health Program. A federal appeals court will review a new Texas rule that prohibits Planned Parenthood groups from participating in a taxpayer-funded program providing health care and family planning [...]
Fifth Circuit sends open beaches lawsuit back to district court
Unfortunately, the headline makes it sound like better news than it is. A federal appeals court Monday ruled that the Texas Open Beaches Act is unconstitutional in the case of a Galveston Island property, a ruling that puts the fate of Texas public beaches in doubt. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the [...]
Bench slaps come in threes
In addition to the tongue lashing they got from the DC Court in the voter ID preclearance trial, the Greg Abbott gang took fire from judges in two other cases recently. Trail Blazers has the highlights. First, some incredulity from the Court of Criminal Appeals: Last Wednesday, Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell tried to convince the [...]
Fifth Circuit lifts its stay of Planned Parenthood injunction
Whiplash alert! U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on Monday granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood in the case, saying the state couldn’t bar the group until the lawsuit is decided. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly sought a stay at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The stay was granted by Judge Jerry E. Smith [...]
Texas gets stay of injunction
And just like that, we’re back where we started. Late last night, a federal appeals court judge granted Texas an emergency stay halting Planned Parenthood’s participation in the Women’s Health Program. Justice Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the stay, lifting at least temporarily an injunction – issued yesterday by [...]
Fifth Circuit rules against Farmers Branch
I almost missed this. A federal appeals court has upheld the ruling that struck down a Farmers Branch renters ordinance aimed at banning illegal immigrants from rental housing in the city. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday upholds the federal government’s right to control immigration laws through the Constitution’s supremacy [...]
Fifth Circuit tosses injunction against sonogram law
Ugh. A panel of federal appellate judges has authorized Texas officials to enforce a controversial abortion sonogram law while its constitutionality is being challenged in court. In an opinion, the judges said the measure’s opponents “failed to demonstrate constitutional flaws” in the measure, which they said was “fatal” to their effort to prevent it from [...]
Sonogram lawsuit appeal
The state’s appeal of the injunction granted against the awful sonogram law was heard in court, but there’s no indication yet when the court will issue a ruling. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t immediately rule on Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell’s request for them to lift a preliminary [...]
Federal court refuses to throw out Open Beaches lawsuit
I hadn’t realized that there was federal court action on the Galveston open beaches case. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by the General Land office that it throw out the case because the beachfront house at the heart of the lawsuit had been sold. The three-judge panel’s decision keeps alive [...]
Sonogram law still blocked
Good. The Texas sonogram law, that was ruled unconstitutional before it could go into effect, will stay in legal limbo for the time being. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ordered the main provisions of the law were improper because they forced speech upon doctors, who could lose their license to practice medicine, if they failed [...]
Skilling conviction upheld
Some Enron news for you: A U.S. Supreme Court decision does not undo any of the convictions against former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, but his case should still be sent back to a Houston judge for resentencing, an appeals court said on Wednesday. Last June the Supreme Court ruled that one of the theories behind [...]
The cost to cities of being anti-immigrant
The Center for American Progress has a new report out called The High Price of Local Immigration Enforcement that tracks how much various anti-immigrant ordinances in cities like Hazelton, PA, and Farmers Branch have cost them. Most of those costs have been related to litigation, as they have had to defend themselves against multiple lawsuits, [...]
Appeals court upholds UT’s admissions policy
Good. In 1996, a federal appeals court effectively banned affirmative action in admissions at the University of Texas in a case known as Hopwood. On Tuesday, the same court reversed course, ruling that the university’s consideration of race and ethnicity passes constitutional muster. What changed? In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld affirmative action at [...]
Federal court denies stay in Texas’ lawsuit against EPA
No love from the Fifth Circuit. Texas’ bid to stop the federal government’s efforts to regulate greenhouse gases hit another roadblock today, when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the state’s request for a stay of a move to force states to implement federal plans. “Petitioners have not met their burden to satisfy [...]
Birdwell will be on the ballot
So says the Fifth Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel from that court ruled against the Democrats and said it won’t consider rehearing the case because of pending election deadlines: We conclude relators have not shown they are entitled to the relief requested. Accordingly,we deny relators’ petition for writ of mandamus. See TEx. R. APP. [...]
Farmers Branch single member Council district lawsuit appealed to SCOTUS
A lawsuit on behalf of three Hispanic plaintiffs in Farmers Branch to force the creation of single-member City Council districts, which was filed last April and dismissed in November, will be appealed to the Supreme Court after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their argument. Valentine Reyes, Irene Gonzalez and Gary F. Garcia alleged [...]
Open beaches
Got the following email from a colleague and thought it was worth mentioning: Very late Sunday night a “deal” was made in the Texas legislature to make an exemption in the Texas Open Beaches Act – the law that guarantees public access to our beaches. Rep. Wayne Christian of Center, Texas use to have a [...]
Why does Governor Perry hate sex toys?
From Scott Henson: Normally, the Texas Senate rubber stamps the Governor’s appointments to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, but one of Rick Perry’s three appointees announced last week perhaps deserves closer vetting by the Senate. According to the Governor’s press release: Shanda G. Perkins of Burleson is a retired banking executive. She is a [...]
Swearingen gets a stay
Thank goodness. Accused killer Larry Swearingen has been granted a second stay of execution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit handed down the ruling this morning. Swearingen was set to be executed by injection on Tuesday. “We’re glad that someone has stepped in,” said Swearingen’s attorney James Rytting. “We think this is [...]