Category Archives: Legal matters

Southern Baptist Convention settles Paul Pressler sexual abuse lawsuit

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A big deal. The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit slaps down “bad faith” obscenity prosecution

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is fascinating. An appeals court on Monday blocked a Texas district attorney from pursuing child pornography charges against Netflix for showing the French film “Cuties.” In a 3-0 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court … Continue reading →

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Seattle Children’s Hospital sues Texas Attorney General over trans patient records

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Seattle Children’s Hospital has sued the Texas Office of the Attorney General to block the release of patient information after the agency sent the Washington-based health care system an investigative subpoena demanding … Continue reading →

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Paxton and aides ordered to sit for depositions on whistleblower trial

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Travis County district judge has ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and three top aides to sit for depositions in the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against him. At a hearing Wednesday in Austin, Judge Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ motion … Continue reading →

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DOJ sues Colony Ridge developers

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Major plot twist. The federal government is suing Colony Ridge, accusing the Houston-area developer of using fraudulent lending practices targeting tens of thousands of Latino buyers with false statements and predatory loans in rural Liberty County. The U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

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Another complaint filed over SpaceX launches in South Texas

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Have at it. Several organizations have filed a new complaint about the environmental impacts of SpaceX Starship launches even as government agencies face criticism for delaying such launches for environmental reviews. Several environmental groups announced Dec. 15 that they had … Continue reading →

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ACLU and immigrants rights groups sue over our latest legislative atrocity

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Immigrant rights organizations have sued Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott approved one of the strictest state immigration enforcement laws, which authorizes police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. In their lawsuit, the American Civil … Continue reading →

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The Texas Medical Board can’t do anything about abortion

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sorry, but this is a complete waste of time, and everybody involved knows it. In its ruling this week denying a Dallas woman’s petition for an emergency abortion, the Texas Supreme Court said it was the responsibility of physicians … Continue reading →

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Title IX complaint filed against Katy ISD

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but more will be needed. A student activist group has filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against Katy ISD, claiming that the district’s gender fluidity policy is discriminatory. The policy, approved by the school board … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declines to revive oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Supreme Court said Friday it would not consider Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke after a state appeals court dismissed it earlier this year. The all-GOP court denied Warren’s petition … Continue reading →

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Media Matters sues Ken Paxton

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Turnabout is fair play. Whether it’s justiciable or not, we’ll see. Media Matters for America sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court late Monday, alleging that Paxton violated the First Amendment last month and chilled its work when … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS takes up mifepristone appeal

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hear arguments on the accessibility of the abortion drug mifepristone in the biggest abortion case since Dobbs. The case stems from a widely panned decision handed down by notorious Donald … Continue reading →

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Texas TiKTok ban upheld

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, professors. A U.S. judge on Monday upheld Texas’ ban on state employees’, including public university employees, using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in July … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit does its thing with Galveston redistricting

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Death, taxes, and the Fifth Circuit being terrible. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a new political map imposed on Galveston County by a lower court from taking effect. Plaintiffs are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to … Continue reading →

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Kate Cox leaves Texas to get her abortion

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

My heart goes out to her and her family. After the Texas Supreme Court temporarily put a pregnant woman’s efforts to get an emergency abortion on hold, her lawyers said Monday that she had left Texas to get care in … Continue reading →

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Two Loving County 2022 elections overturned

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. State District Judge David Rogers ruled that 10 Loving County voters did not have enough connection to the area to legally vote there. As a result, two local November 2022 elections must be redone because the number of ineligible … Continue reading →

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Montana TikTok ban blocked

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks SCOTx to stop the emergency abortion

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and stop a Dallas woman from having an abortion. Paxton’s office petitioned the high court just before midnight Thursday, after a Travis County district judge granted … Continue reading →

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Emergency abortion approval granted

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good, with the obvious proviso that no one should ever have to go through this. For the first time in at least 50 years, a judge has intervened to allow an adult woman to terminate her pregnancy. When Travis County … Continue reading →

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State GOP sues the lawyer who led their sore loser election contest lawsuits

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Oh my God, this is hilarious. The Republican Party of Texas is suing a lawyer who helped write the state’s recent election reform law and who they claim duped several former Republican candidates into believing they could prove election fraud … Continue reading →

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Candidate Agwan sued by former staffer for sexual harassment

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. A former campaign worker has sued a progressive Democratic challenger to Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances toward her after she complained about another staffer sexually harassing female campaign workers. The lawsuit accuses Pervez … Continue reading →

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One weird trick to make those election lawsuits go away

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Worth a shot. Maybe it’ll work. State officials have apparently found a legal tactic to prevent a slew of election contest lawsuits from derailing the constitutional amendments that voters overwhelmingly approved in November. The state argued in court filings Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Galveston ordered to use its current map for 2024

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Pending the Fifth Circuit, of course. A federal judge ruled Galveston County must keep its old commissioner precinct map in place for the 2024 election while a federal appeals court mulls overturning its precedent and allowing new maps which do … Continue reading →

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Texas woman seeks emergency abortion approval

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Boy howdy is this a big ol’ can of worms. A Texas woman is asking a judge to allow her to get an emergency abortion after learning that her baby has a rare and typically fatal condition. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit, … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit has its book rating lawsuit hearing

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It looks like it might have…gone well? I am cautiously hopeful. Federal appellate judges Wednesday questioned a new Texas law requiring book sellers to rate the explicitness and relevance of sexual references in materials they sell to schools, though it … Continue reading →

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Apparently there’s a lawsuit challenging the 2023 constitutional amendment elections

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’m running out of synonyms for “deranged” and “absurd”. Lawsuits based on false claims about voting equipment could delay millions of dollars in cost of living increases for retired teachers expected to arrive in January. The lawsuits … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Pfizer for not ending the COVID pandemic quickly enough

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the actual fuck? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused drugmaker Pfizer of fear-mongering and lies about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company insinuated would end the pandemic, according to a lawsuit Paxton announced Thursday. “In a … Continue reading →

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DPS ordered again to release Uvalde public records

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good, though I’m a bit confused about the timing. A Travis County state district judge has ordered the Department of Public safety to release law enforcement records related to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, more than a year after … Continue reading →

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SCOTx has its abortion case hearing

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Tuesday in a landmark case that could impact how the state’s abortion laws apply to medically complicated pregnancies. In August, state District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled that the near-total abortion … Continue reading →

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Idaho appeals EMTALA injunction to SCOTUS

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Idaho asked the Supreme Court Monday to stay a lower court injunction, or to take up its case directly, as it attempts to fend off the Biden administration’s challenge of the state’s abortion ban. The government filed suit … Continue reading →

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Musk and Paxton versus freedom of speech

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. It didn’t quite happen the moment court was open, as Elon Musk the billionaire owner of X/Twitter had promised, but at the end of Monday, the social media platform did file its “thermonuclear” lawsuit against media … Continue reading →

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Harris County drops its lawsuit over the law banning its Elections Administrator

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The right move at this time, though the whole thing still rankles. Harris County dropped its lawsuit against the state on Wednesday, ending its challenge to a law that went into effect weeks ago eliminating the county’s elections office. The … Continue reading →

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Anti-porn law un-blocked

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Texas can again enforce its new law requiring people to prove they are 18 or older to access online porn. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state’s request last week to lift a temporary injunction that … Continue reading →

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Paxton whistleblowers demand depositions

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As always, I am rooting for them. Lawyers for the Ken Paxton whistleblowers are moving forward with their lawsuit in Travis County after another judge cleared the way, asking the Austin-based court to force the attorney general and his top … Continue reading →

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