Tag Archives: Nathan Hecht

Mifepristone access banned and expanded

So as you might have heard, this happened on Friday. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas stayed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of abortion drug mifepristone nationwide Friday, including in blue states with robust abortion protections. The … Continue reading

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SCOTx maintains judicial bypass rules for abortion

Good news. The Texas Supreme Court has opted to keep in place a legal process that allows minors to seek a judge’s approval to have an abortion without parental consent, though state law now bans the procedure in most circumstances. … Continue reading

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SCOTx advised to leave judicial bypass rules in place

This is a pleasant surprise. An advisory committee to the Texas Supreme Court voted unanimously Friday to keep in place a legal procedure that allows minors to get a judge’s approval to have an abortion without the legally necessary parental … Continue reading

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Supreme Court to review parental consent bypass rules

Nothing good is likely to come of this. The Texas Supreme Court is reconsidering rules that allow Texans under 18 to obtain abortions without parental consent in light of the state’s soon-to-take-effect abortion ban. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht asked an … Continue reading

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Who gets to judge Volkswagen?

Fascinating little legal cul-de-sac here. German car manufacturers Volkswagen and Audi — facing a lawsuit from Texas that could cost the companies millions stemming from the emissions cheating scheme uncovered in 2015 — argue that Gov. Greg Abbott could unfairly … Continue reading

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Debtors’ court, part 2

Also not good. One day last September, while trying to pay for groceries, Leslie Alvarez got the shock of her life. All the money in her bank account had disappeared. The Houston single mother called her bank. An employee told … Continue reading

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Debtors’ court

This is not good. In this court and others in Bexar County, debt collection lawsuits more than doubled from 2012 to 2020. “I’m trying to manage this behemoth, but there are some guidelines I have to follow as well,” said … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Congress, part 2

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Statewide judicial

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 We’re going to take a look at the seven statewide judicial races in this post, with all of the districts considered so far grouped together. You’re about … Continue reading

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A focus on the SCOTX races

With so much litigation over a variety of voting issues, the Supreme Court of Texas is in the news a lot these days. Will that mean more attention being paid to the four races for SCOTX positions? The sleepy contests … Continue reading

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UH-Hobby: Trump 50, Biden 45

Here’s a poll result that stands in contrast to the others we have seen lately. President Donald Trump is leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by more than five points among likely voters in Texas, according to a poll released … Continue reading

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30 Day 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 1

Time once again to look at campaign finance reports. I don’t usually review the 30-day reports but this is a special year, and there’s a lot of money sloshing around, so let’s keep an eye on it. As before, I … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For (just a little) more diversity

The Chron says a few words about the need to diversify the Supreme Court, then mostly endorses the status quo. When talk turns to Texas’ highest civil court — as it must, given voters’ opportunity to select four of the … Continue reading

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Green Party candidate for Supreme Court withdraws

It’s not an election without a bit of ballot drama. Charles Waterbury, the Green Party candidate for Texas Supreme Court chief justice, has dropped out of the race after an opponent questioned his eligibility to run. Waterbury’s withdrawal notice was … Continue reading

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July 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 1

I’m going to take a look at the July finance reports from the various state races, which I will split into three parts. Part one will be statewide, SBOE, and State Senate, part two will be State House races from … Continue reading

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Dems ask some Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from convention appeal

Stay with me here, this will all make sense. The Texas Democratic Party on Friday called for four of the state’s nine Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from a case involving the Texas Republican Party’s in-person convention, claiming each … Continue reading

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Coronavirus and the State Supreme Court

Just a reminder, nearly half of the State Supreme Court is up for election this November. You know, in case you had opinions about their recent opinions. Typically not top of mind for voters, the nine Republican justices of the … Continue reading

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January 2020 campaign finance reports: Statewide

There’s a whole lot of candidates of interest for state offices. I’m going to break them down into several groups, to keep things simple and the posts not too long. Today we will look at the candidates for statewide office. … Continue reading

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Filing period preview: Statewide

Previously: Congress. As before, I am using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet as my primary reference. Statewide elections are much less exciting in Presidential years in Texas, since the state offices are on the ballot in the off years. We do … Continue reading

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There’s no reason to trust the Republican study to “reform” the judicial election process

Oh, hell no. After a punishing election for Republican judges, state leaders are set to take a long look at Texas’ often-criticized judicial selection system — a partisan election structure that Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has described … Continue reading

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Time again to talk judicial elections

Here we go again, like it or not. In the wake of a midterm election that swept some 20 Republican appellate judges out of office, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht called on the Texas Legislature to reform a … Continue reading

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Trying again for bail reform at the Lege

A very worthwhile pursuit. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and state Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, announced Monday at the Capitol that they have again filed legislation that would implement a risk-assessment tool for judges to use when making bail decisions, … Continue reading

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Why shouldn’t court records be made available online?

Seems clear to me that they should. What’s the case against? Nathan Hecht, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has noticed a curious trend in the state’s legal system: Folks are increasingly representing themselves in legal disputes, forgoing lawyers … Continue reading

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Bail reform bills

Glad to see this. An unusual bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and judges has teamed up to back broad reforms in Texas that could eliminate cash bail for nonviolent offenders who are not deemed dangerous or a flight risk. Bills introduced … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: State courts

We return to our tour of the precinct data with a look at the statewide judicial races. These tend to be interesting mostly as proxies for base partisan support, but there are variations that reflect qualities about the candidates. That’s … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Republicans sure are hoping to get a bailout on school finance

Am I the only one who thinks that a lot of this sounds like wishful thinking? The Texas Supreme Court may punt in a far-reaching school finance case, asking a lower court to assess the Legislature’s latest efforts on public … Continue reading

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School finance ruling expected soon

Hold onto your hats. For decades, the state’s 1,000-plus school districts vied against one another for a bigger piece of the financial pie. Now two-thirds of state districts have joined forces to say the system is unfair because it doesn’t … Continue reading

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Bail reform for Harris County?

This would be a big deal. In jails across the country, including Harris County, a majority of the people behind bars have not been convicted of a crime. In the jail complex on the north side of downtown Houston, more … Continue reading

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On judicial elections and campaign finance

Ross Ramsey raises an interesting point. It might seem silly to elect people who promise they won’t represent you, their political party or their donors, but that’s what we expect judges to do. They’re supposed to apply the law, and … Continue reading

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Abbott’s actions in the Hecht ethics case belie his “just doing my job” evasion

More accurately, it’s his lack of action that speaks clearly about his priorities and discretion. Attorney General Greg Abbott, accused of favoritism in his handling of an ethics case involving a Texas Supreme Court justice, says it’s not his duty … Continue reading

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TPJ files suit against Abbott over Hecht ethics case

Here we go again. An Austin legal watchdog group filed suit Wednesday to force action on a $29,000 ethics fine, levied against Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht in 2008, that has languished on appeal for 5½ years. The … Continue reading

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More primary thoughts

I wonder if Big John Cornyn will come to rue this interview. BDS: At the kickoff for your reelection campaign in November, Governor Perry said that you are “the epitome of what I look for in a U.S. senator.” He … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The oldest established permanent floating ethics probe in the state

The Chief Justice of our State Supreme Court, ladies and gentlemen. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, already the longest-serving member of the state’s highest civil court, has the dubious distinction of owning another record: the longest running appeal … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Comparing 2012 and 2008

Though the data isn’t yet posted on individual members’ webpages, I have gotten a copy of the 2012 election results by State Rep district, for which there was much rejoicing. The first question of interest is how much the 2008 … Continue reading

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