Tag Archives: SCOTUS

Lawsuit filed over Angleton ISD at large districts

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Add this one to the list. A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Angleton ISD is violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by denying fair representation to Hispanic voters by using an at-large system to elect all of its trustees. … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP gets her lawsuit reinstated

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, the State Supreme Court sure had a banner day on Friday. The state’s highest court ruled Friday that a Waco judge who had refused to officiate same-sex marriages had a right to sue the State Commission on Judicial Conduct … Continue reading →

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State Supreme Court upholds gender affirming care ban

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised. Hugely disappointed, but not surprised. The Texas Supreme Court upheld a recent state law that prohibits doctors from prescribing gender-affirming care to transgender minors after parents and medical professionals challenged the constitutionality of the restriction. Justice … Continue reading →

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The leaked EMTALA draft is not a victory

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This hit the internet like a thunderstorm yesterday. The US Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website. The decision would … Continue reading →

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“Five abortions a month”

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A stark headline from the Trib. In the last two years, Texas abortion clinics closed, legal challenges raced through the court system, towns tried to ban out-of-state travel, conservative activists made abortion pills and emergency rooms into battlegrounds, and woman … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear gender affirming care appeal

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Buckle up, this is a big one. The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question of whether gender-affirming care bans for transgender youth are unconstitutional, in response to the Biden administration petitioning on behalf of trans youth and … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declines to take up IVF appeal

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A small victory. The Texas Supreme Court has declined to take up a major in vitro fertilization case that could have potentially upended access to the procedure. The justices allowed a lower court’s opinion to stand, and, for now, sidestepped … Continue reading →

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Federal judge strikes down Florida laws against gender-affirming care for minors and adults

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest, for obvious reasons. Florida can no longer enforce its ban against transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care, or its restrictions against adults accessing gender-affirming care, after a federal district court ruling on Tuesday found those rules to be unconstitutional … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS swats away that bogus mifepristone case

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A good and expected result, though the door for future challenges remains open. A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the anti-abortion doctor plaintiffs in a major mifepristone case lack standing to reimpose restrictions on the drug. The case presented … Continue reading →

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All Texas Republicans vote against bill to protect contraception

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The headline speaks for itself. The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would prevent states from banning birth control, though nearly the entire Republican delegation from Texas voted against it. The bill, which faces far more hurdles passing through … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks SCOTx to dismiss the disciplinary lawsuit against him

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just surprised it took him this long. State Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling that kept active a disciplinary proceeding and potential future punishment for his effort to overturn … Continue reading →

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SCOTx upholds abortion ban in Zurawski lawsuit

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if the Supreme Court intended to bury the news of this stinker of a ruling on a Friday, but boy howdy if that was their intent did they ever pick the right Friday to do it on. … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit hears Galveston redistricting case

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Always hard to feel any optimism when these guys are involved. Conservatives on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals occasionally sounded like Fox News talking heads Tuesday as they weighed whether coalitions composed of multiple minority groups are protected under … Continue reading →

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Of course there’s a court case that could upend IVF in Texas

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whether it gets to the Supreme Court or not is the key. The Texas Supreme Court is considering whether to take up a case that could have Alabama-esque impacts on in vitro fertilization in Texas. What began as a Denton … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over Alabama AG’s threats against abortion travel can proceed

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A federal judge smacked down a series of threats by Alabama’s Republican attorney general to prosecute groups that help women obtain out-of-state abortions, wading into a debate over access to the procedure that has lingered since the Supreme … Continue reading →

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Our chief export these days is forced birth zealotry

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe New Mexico should build a border wall. Abortion rights opponents in Texas dictated terms and pressured officials in New Mexico municipalities to pass ordinances restricting clinics, according to public records — potentially as part of a bigger legal strategy. … Continue reading →

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Texas man seeks to “investigate” ex’s out of state abortion

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Take a couple of deep breaths and we’ll have a brief discussion of this on the other side. A Texas man has asked a court for permission to launch an investigation into his ex-partner’s alleged out-of-state abortion, which could lead … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS leaves anti-porn law in place for now

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

No emergency intervention, but the appeal on the merits is still ongoing. The Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to block a Texas law that seeks to limit minors’ access to pornography on the internet by requiring age verification measures like … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS hears the EMTALA case

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. The Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday in a case over whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide appropriate stabilizing medical treatment for patients could in some cases overrule a … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s disciplinary lawsuit can continue

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

So says the same court that upheld the Sidney Powell dismissal. A Dallas appeals court ruled Friday that Attorney General Ken Paxton can face disciplinary action for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A three-judge panel on the 5th … Continue reading →

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Is Ted Cruz ever going to feel some pressure about abortion?

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

News item #1: Whatever happens in Arizona in November, we got a preview of the difficulty Republican candidates will have in states where high-stakes ballot initiatives literally put abortion on the ballot. Shortly after Arizona’s high court ruled that the … Continue reading →

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Book ban law stays blocked

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Key portions of a law signed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott requiring booksellers to rate books for sexual content when selling to schools will not go into effect after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit has its merits hearing on SB4

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is the big one. A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday from Texas and the federal government about whether it should continue blocking a new Texas law that would let state police arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit leaves SB4 block in place

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal appeals panel late Tuesday night declined to put Texas’s migrant deportation law back in effect, saying the state law seizes powers that are “likely reserved to the United States.” The 2-1 opinion from the 5th Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS seems likely to dump the mifepristone ban case

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. For this Supreme Court to reject abortion restrictions, the argument has to be pretty bad. “That it?” Justice Amy Coney Barrett cut in tersely as anti-abortion group lawyer Erin Hawley (yes, that Hawley) enumerated the supposed harms … Continue reading →

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Mexico asks Fifth Circuit to keep blocking SB4

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They definitely have an interest in this. The Mexican government is urging a federal court to block Texas’ migrant deportation law, arguing it will trample the country’s right to regulate its own borders, terrorize the 2.4 million Mexican nationals living … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit has its SB4 hearing

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

More whiplashing. The chief judge on an appeals panel weighing whether to block Texas’ new migrant deportation law appeared skeptical that it does not run afoul of longstanding precedent leaving immigration enforcement solely to the federal government. Questioning the state’s … Continue reading →

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And just like that, SCOTUS flipflops on SB4

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

UPDATE: It’s blocked again! A federal appeals court late Tuesday night stopped a state law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border — hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed it to go … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS pauses SB4 again

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This time indefinitely. The Supreme Court on Monday extended a temporary block on a new Texas immigration law that is being challenged by the Biden administration. In an order issued by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the court again imposed a … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit mostly upholds that wingnut anti-birth control ruling

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A tale as old as time, the Fifth Circuit doing terrible things. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law requiring parental consent to obtain contraception for minors. The decision from a three-judge panel of the federal appeals … Continue reading →

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SB4 remains on hold

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. No rush. The Supreme Court on Tuesday further delayed a new Texas law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants that would transform immigration enforcement long left to the federal government. Justice Samuel Alito extended an … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit remains extremely on brand

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of all the Fifth Circuits in the world, they’re the Fifth Circuitest. A new law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants seeking asylum in the United States may soon take effect after an appeals court stepped in to … Continue reading →

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Abortion and IVF roundup

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Texas IVF patients are dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now. Heather Burzlaff has four embryos in a freezer in Dallas and she doesn’t know what to do with them. After seven years of medications, egg retrievals and waiting, … Continue reading →

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Starr County DA disciplined for that self-induced abortion murder charge from 2022

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Not much, but something. A Texas prosecutor has been disciplined for allowing murder charges to be filed against a woman who self-managed an abortion in a case that sparked national outrage. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez agreed … Continue reading →

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