Tag Archives: ACLU of Texas

Ken Paxton repays the Briggle family for their hospitality

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What a scumbag he is. When the case worker asked to inspect the house, Amber and Adam Briggle first led her to the kitchen. They opened the cabinets to show they were full of food. They moved on to the … Continue reading →

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Appeals court denies Paxton appeal of gender affirming care order

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager in a ruling Wednesday, rejecting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed. The ruling will allow a lower court to hold … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals gender affirming care order

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he did. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed for an appeal Thursday after a state judge blocked Texas’ child protection agency from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager who received gender-affirming medical care. District Judge Amy Clark Meachum … Continue reading →

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Investigation into trans teen’s family halted

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. A state judge blocked Texas’ child protection agency from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager who received gender-affirming medical care, citing the “irreparable injury” they would likely suffer. District Judge Amy Clark Meachum’s ruling does not … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed to block investigation of gender-affirming care for trans teenager

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This was inevitable. I very much hope it is successful. The state of Texas is investigating a family for child abuse after the parents obtained gender-affirming care for their 16-year-old transgender daughter. It’s believed to be among the first of … Continue reading →

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Voting Rights Groups Sue Texas for Failure to Disclose Records Related to Voter Purges

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and DĒMOS filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. … Continue reading →

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The botched “non-citizen” voter purge continues

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At some point we need to recognize the fact that our Secretary of State’s office is completely, and maybe maliciously, inept at doing this. Texas’ last attempt to scour its voting rolls for noncitizens two years ago quickly devolved into … Continue reading →

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Crystal Mason using SB1 to try to overturn her illegal voting conviction

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. It would be one small good thing to come out of that otherwise harmful law. Crystal Mason, the Tarrant County woman whose illegal voting conviction has garnered national attention, is asking for a Texas appeals court to … Continue reading →

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Redistricting litigation update

Posted on November 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Reform Austin shows that the state’s legal defense strategy against the various redistricting lawsuits is “You can’t sue us!” Because of the clear racial gerrymandering, multiple groups are launching legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act. The state has now … Continue reading →

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ACLU and others sue over new redistricting maps

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The count is now seven. Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging new Texas state legislative and congressional district plans as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders violating both the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The suit details an … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s migrant roundup order still blocked

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in El Paso on Friday extended her order blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to state troopers to pull over drivers transporting migrants “who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19.” U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone lengthened her … Continue reading →

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State follows through on Abbott’s attack on trans kids

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Revolting, though fortunately not particularly consequential. For now, at least. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has responded to Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for an interpretation of state law sent last Friday, agreeing that some gender confirmation surgeries … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed against Abbott’s migrant transport order

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Bring them on. Immigrant rights groups backed by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his executive order restricting the transportation of migrants, claiming it goes against federal law and amounts to racial profiling at the … Continue reading →

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The arrest of Hervis Rogers is a travesty

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You should be very mad about this. A Houston man who made headlines last year for standing in line six hours to vote at Texas Southern University was charged this week by Attorney General Ken Paxton with casting that ballot … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

ACLU warns counties to stay away from the Abbott wall

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sent letters today to 34 counties informing top officials that implementing Gov. Greg Abbott’s unlawful plan to engage in immigration enforcement would violate the U.S. Constitution. The letters, sent to … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against Lubbock “abortion sanctuary city” ordinance dismissed

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is gonna get weird. A federal district judge dismissed on Tuesday a lawsuit to block a voter-approved abortion ban from taking effect in Lubbock, saying Planned Parenthood did not have standing to sue the city. The decision comes just … Continue reading →

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The House is working on the omnibus voter suppression bill.

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They started last night, and who knows when they may finish. If it comes to a vote, I expect this Trib story will be updated to reflect it. One of the justifications given by Republicans for banning all-night voting hours … Continue reading →

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Think of the kids today

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Today, the anti-trans sports bill SB29 is on the House calendar. Hopefully, it will fail to make it to the floor before midnight, which is the deadline for Senate bills to be passed by the House. Whatever the case, spend … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against Lubbock “abortion sanctuary city” ordinance

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like this kind of tactic will finally be tested in court. Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sued the city of Lubbock on Monday over a voter-approved “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance that seeks … Continue reading →

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Abbott signs massive anti-abortion bill

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see who sues who first. Gov. Greg Abbott signed into a law Wednesday a measure that would prohibit in Texas abortions as early as six weeks — before some women know they are pregnant — and open the door … Continue reading →

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Senate is right back on the anti-trans agenda

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. The Texas Senate on Monday quickly revived and advanced a bill banning gender-affirming health care for children under 18, days after a similar House bill failed to advance in the lower chamber. Under Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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Not sure where we are with the anti-trans bills

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In limbo, to be honest. A controversial bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for transgender children missed a key deadline Thursday for consideration in the Texas House. But a similar Senate bill still has time to be approved by … Continue reading →

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Other May election results

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Roundup style, mostly. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg easily wins a fourth term. Mayor Ron Nirenberg vanquished the ghost of repeat challenger Greg Brockhouse in Saturday’s City election and secured his third term in office with a win of historic … Continue reading →

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Poll shows opposition to the extreme anti-abortion bills in the Lege

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Today, the Trust Respect Access coalition is releasing data from polling on abortion laws and anti-abortion bills in the Texas Legislature. The poll includes approval ratings as well as opinions on legislative priorities and House Bill 1515/Senate … Continue reading →

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Making voting worse

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve spent a lot of time this year writing about how Republicans in the Legislature want to make it harder to vote. That’s undeniably true, but it doesn’t fully capture what’s going on. Voting is a thing that most of … Continue reading →

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More local pushback against SB7 and HB6

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Sylvester Turner invited a diverse group of elected officials, community leaders, and business executives to stand in solidarity against voter suppression bills in the Texas Legislature. More than 50 individuals and organizations have vowed to fight … 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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Deportation freeze still on hold

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Grrrrrrrr. A federal judge in Texas has put an indefinite halt to President Joe Biden’s 100-day ban on deportations after issuing a preliminary injunction late Tuesday. The ruling by Judge Drew Tipton comes after he had already temporarily paused the … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Deportation pause still on hold

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Another pause for the pause, which is as dumb and annoying as it sounds. A federal judge in Texas has extended the block on President Joe Biden’s deportation moratorium for two more weeks as the case continues to play out … Continue reading →

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A different focus on human trafficking

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This story might have slipped past you last week. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee — who was elected on a promise to transform the region’s approach to criminal justice — removed 36 suspected sex workers Thursday from a proposed injunction … Continue reading →

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Federal judge blocks the deportation pause

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Infuriating, but possibly less than it appears. A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Biden administration from moving forward with a 100-day pause on many deportations across the US, saying Tuesday that it was not adequately reasoned or explained … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Paxton sues over deportation pause

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long. Three days into the Biden administration, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed his first lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit seeks an halt to one of the president’s executive actions on immigration, a 100-day … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff limits

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because of course they did. Why would you have expected anything else? In a ruling issued late Monday night, a federal appeals court upheld Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that limited counties to one mail-in ballot drop-off location. A three-judge panel … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judge briefly halts Abbott’s order limiting mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Late Friday breaking news, which lasted until the early afternoon on Saturday. A federal judge ruled Friday that Texas counties can have multiple drop-off locations for absentee ballots heading into the Nov. 3 general election, blocking the enforcement of Texas … Continue reading →

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