Tag Archives: Court of Criminal Appeals

CCA declines to get involved in Paxton judge dispute

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s that, then. Texas’ highest criminal court has declined to intervene in the dispute over the judge in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud case. On Friday, prosecutors asked the state Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse a lower appeals … Continue reading →

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Paxton prosecutors appeal decision to boot judge

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

And on we go. Prosecutors in the securities fraud case against Attorney General Ken Paxton are asking the state’s highest criminal court to overturn a ruling backing his push for a new judge. Paxton’s lawyers scored a win Tuesday when … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Congressional districts

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Legislative Council now has full data from the 2016 elections on its site, so this seemed like as good a time as any to take a look at the data from Congressional districts. I’m much more limited in … Continue reading →

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Some Texas voting rights lawsuit updates

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a busy week for litigation related to voting rights issues in Texas. Here are updates to some cases, all of which happened this past week. From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The targets for 2018

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey recently surveyed the 2018 electoral landscape. Election numbers recently released by the Texas Legislative Council point to some soft spots in this red state’s political underbelly — places where Republicans hold office now but where Democrats at the … Continue reading →

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Our first look at Senate district data

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib looks at the data we now have. In the state Senate, one Republican — Don Huffines of Dallas — is now representing a district that Clinton easily won, while two more — Konni Burton of Colleyville and Joan … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Dallas County statewides

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Last time we looked at the Presidential numbers in Dallas County legislative districts (plus CD32). Today we follow up with a look at the statewide races. I’m going to throw a lot of numbers at you, so please bear with … Continue reading →

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CCA Judge Alcala not running for re-election in 2018

Posted on January 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Our first open office for the next cycle. A Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge who is well known for her criticism of the death penalty announced on Thursday that she will not run for reelection when her term ends … Continue reading →

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David Temple released on bond

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what happens next. More than 17 years after the shooting death of his pregnant wife, former football coach David Temple walked out of the Harris County jail Wednesday and into the waiting arms of his family, ready to … Continue reading →

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David Temple granted new trial

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday granted a new trial to David Temple, a former Katy football coach accused of killing his pregnant wife in 1999. In an opinion posted online Wednesday morning, the court of criminal appeals … Continue reading →

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A theory about third parties

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get to that theory, have you ever wondered about the people who vote straight ticket Libertarian or Green in Harris County? I got to wondering about them, because that’s the sort of thing that I think about at … Continue reading →

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Statewide review: 2016 was like 2008, but not in a good way

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so I’ll just come out and say it: Despite the excitement about increases in voter registration and heavy early voting turnout. statewide Democratic candidates outside of Hillary Clinton generally did not do … Continue reading →

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Off to trial for Paxton

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No more appeals, so a trial is in the works. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are no longer asking to have a state securities fraud case against him dismissed, moving him closer to a trial on the criminal … Continue reading →

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CCA declines to take Paxton off the hook

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. The highest criminal court in Texas said Wednesday it will not hear Ken Paxton’s appeal of securities fraud charges, putting the attorney general on a path to facing a trial in the coming months. “Today’s ruling marks an … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: CCA

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its recommendations for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Lawrence “Larry” Meyers Accusing someone of having “the feels” seems more at home in a teenager’s Facebook argument than in a dissenting … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s day in SEC court

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a slightly misleading headline, but you get the point. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will argue Friday morning in a Sherman courtroom that the federal civil fraud case against him should be dismissed, their latest effort to … Continue reading →

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What can we do to increase the odds of a downballot Democratic victory?

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday, I raised the possibility of downballot Democrats winning statewide races if 1) polling in the Trump/Clinton matchup remained at or below the six point spread in the recent PPP poll and 2) Democrats did a better job voting all … Continue reading →

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It’s not crazy to think that a downballot Democrat could win statewide this year

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that headline in a minute. I’ve got some reading to sort through first. We’ll start with the most pessimistic, or perhaps the least blue-sky, story of how things are likely to go. Arizona. Georgia. Utah. Indiana. Is … Continue reading →

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State Bar dismisses other complaint against Paxton

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No matter what else happens, our ethically challenged Attorney General can say he beat at least one rap against him. Attorney General Ken Paxton telling county clerks they do not have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is not … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals to CCA

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Last chance to avoid a trial or a plea deal. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is appealing the securities fraud charges against him to the state’s highest criminal court, in one last bid to dismiss the case before it potentially … Continue reading →

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Media covers latest voting rights lawsuit

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad they finally noticed. A group of Hispanic voters has filed a lawsuit challenging how Texas selects judges to its top two courts, arguing that statewide elections for the state Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals dilutes the … Continue reading →

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Voting rights lawsuit filed over Texas statewide judicial elections

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This happened on the same day as the Fifth Circuit ruling on voter ID. [Wednesday], the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), Garza Golando Moran, PLLC, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court … Continue reading →

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District appeals court declines to reconsider Paxton indictment

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. A state appeals court Thursday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton’s motion to reconsider its June 1 ruling that upheld criminal charges against him. The two-sentence order from the Dallas-based 5th Court of Appeals gave no reason for the … Continue reading →

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Darlie Routier, 20 years later

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on one of the more notorious murder cases in recent history. If it hadn’t been for that crazy Silly String, Darlie Lynn Routier might be a free woman today. At least, that’s what many people believe about … Continue reading →

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5th Court of Appeals refuses to toss Paxton indictments

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. A Dallas appeals court on Wednesday upheld Attorney General Ken Paxton’s three felony fraud indictments, a decision he is likely to appeal to the highest criminal court in the state. “We are gratified but not surprised that just … Continue reading →

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Republican primary runoff results

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County results Statewide results Trib liveblog Your new State Senators are Bryan Hughes, who defeated his former House colleague David Simpson, and Dawn Buckingham, who defeated former Rep. Susan King. Hughes is a Dan Patrick buddy, who will fit … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Remember the runoffs

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes their endorsements for the primary runoffs, which will happen on May 24, with early voting from the 16th to the 20th. Let me sum up: Republican Member, Railroad Commissioner: Gary Gates Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place … Continue reading →

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Case against Rick Perry officially dismissed

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So there you have it. The criminal case against former Gov. Rick Perry was officially dismissed on Wednesday, weeks after Texas’ highest criminal court ordered that it be dropped. Judge Bert Richardson, who presided over the case in Travis County … Continue reading →

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Paxton to get full court treatment

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The full (sort of) 5th Court of Appeals will decide whether to dismiss or uphold the indictments against AG Ken Paxton. The 5th Court of Appeals announced late Friday that instead of the typical three-judge panel, nine of its 13 … Continue reading →

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Paxton prosecutors file their response briefs at the 5th Court of Appeals

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In sum: Don’t think about Rick Perry! A Travis County court’s decision to throw out Rick Perry’s abuse-of-power indictments should have no bearing on Ken Paxton’s securities fraud case, the team prosecuting the first-term attorney general wrote in their latest … Continue reading →

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Another look at how long the Paxton case could take

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN makes the same comparisons that I have made. Ken Paxton has spent eight months — the majority of his time as attorney general — under indictment. The legal cloud shows no sign of dissipating. How long the case … Continue reading →

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Runoff watch: Judicial races

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are three District Court race runoffs on the Democratic side, and two Court of Criminal Appeals runoffs for the Republicans. There are also a few Justice of the Peace runoffs, but I’ll deal with them in another post. 11th … Continue reading →

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Is there anything more to the Rick Perry case?

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m dubious. The special prosecutor in the abuse-of-power case against Rick Perry said Thursday he still hasn’t decided whether to drop the matter a week after the state’s highest criminal court ordered that the indictment against the former governor be … Continue reading →

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2016 primary reactions and initial impressions

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

First, a couple of minor notes. Rep. Byron Cook ultimately pulled out a win in his nasty and high-profile primary. That’s good news for Speaker Joe Straus and the general forces of “government that isn’t like a three-year-old coming off … Continue reading →

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