Tag Archives: Supreme Court

The whistleblowers say they aren’t going away

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear it. In a Monday filing to the Texas Supreme Court, the whistleblowers [Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar] argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including the $3.3 … Continue reading →

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Law banning gender affirming care goes into effect pending litigation

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very unfortunate, to say the least. A Texas law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth will go into effect as scheduled Friday. The law will kick in September 1st despite a state district judge’s ruling last week that the … Continue reading →

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Amtrak seeks partnership with Texas Central

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hey look, a sign of life! The largely stalled initiative to construct a high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas is up and running again. Amtrak and Texas Central, the Dallas-based company behind the long-planned project, announced Wednesday they are exploring … Continue reading →

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A brief Nate Paul update

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you who like this sort of thing. You know who you are. The Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal on Friday by indicted real estate developer Nate Paul to reverse a judgment against him worth millions of … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit to be considered by SCOTx

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The end of the line one way or the other. The Texas Supreme Court will review a case involving a Waco justice of the peace’s refusal to perform same-sex weddings. McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley sued the … Continue reading →

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City to sue over mandatory arbitration law

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Add it to what is likely to be a substantive list. Houston city attorneys said Monday they plan to challenge the constitutionality of a new Texas law that gives Houston firefighters mandatory arbitration in their long-running contract stalemate. Lowell Denton, … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rules ERCOT can’t be sued over the 2021 freeze

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A split ruling, which in my kind could have gone either way. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that ERCOT, the operator of Texas’ power grid, is a government entity, granting the organization immunity to lawsuits stemming from 2021′s deadly … Continue reading →

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Oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto finally tossed

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sure took long enough. A state appeals court dismissed Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke, ruling Friday that statements by the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor were protected by the First Amendment. The Austin-based 3rd Court of … Continue reading →

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A Paxton threefer

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Law professor Quinn Yeargain points out something I’ve not seen discussed elsewhere. But for both ambitious Texas politicians waiting in the wings and eagle-eyed election observers, one of the most important questions is likely who will succeed Paxton if he’s … Continue reading →

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Impeach-a-palooza

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The impeachment debate in the House will happen today. The Texas House intends to take up a resolution to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton at 1 p.m. Saturday, according to a memo from the House General Investigating Committee. Citing Paxton’s “long-standing pattern of abuse of … Continue reading →

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An example of how a pro-abortion rights campaign could go

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This was from last week, and I’ve been thinking about it since. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, one of the five women suing Texas for abortion access blamed the state’s Republican senators for her near-death experience … Continue reading →

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Countersuit in the “wrongful death” abortion saga

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wild. A man who is suing his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her get an abortion may have known about her plans and done nothing to stop her, according to a new legal filing. Marcus Silva brought a wrongful-death lawsuit … Continue reading →

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How was there still an active lawsuit over the 2004 revenue cap referendum?

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I am gobsmacked. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down part of Houston’s revenue cap, creating the possibility that the city may have to comply with an even more stringent cap in the future. Elected officials in Houston long have blamed … Continue reading →

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Senate re-passes its redistricting map

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly political theater, as there’s little reason to believe they actually need to cover their butts at this point. A year and half after it was first approved, the Texas Senate on Monday voted to rubber-stamp a map setting the … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rules for city on pay parity, for firefighters on collective bargaining

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to approach this one at first via dueling press releases. First, from the HPFFA: The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that the City of Houston violated the state constitution in refusing to honor voter-approved fair pay and … Continue reading →

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SCOTx denies pre-election challenge to San Antonio marijuana reform referendum

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First the voters will vote, then as needed the lawsuits will happen. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that any legal challenges to a proposed charter amendment on policing reforms must wait until after voters weigh in on the measure … Continue reading →

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So now we start processing what happened and what will happen with the TEA takeover

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board points to three key items. Still, if this takeover must happen — and Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday that it is indeed happening — we want it to work. Houston’s schoolchildren don’t have time for another … Continue reading →

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Appealing the injunction that halted DFPS investigations of trans kids’ families

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just keeping you informed. Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an appeal, is asking the courts to lift an injunction that stopped the state from conducting child abuse investigations over transition-related medical care for transgender youth. Paxton argued that the families … Continue reading →

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The TEA takeover has begun

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

At least the suspense is over. That’s the extent of my optimism about this. State education leaders notified the Houston Independent School District on Wednesday that they are resuming the process of stripping all power from the district’s elected school … Continue reading →

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The Lege still doesn’t want to pay for Paxton’s whistleblower sins

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Who can blame them? Now midway through the legislative session, Paxton and state lawmakers are at a standstill, and taxpayers are caught in the middle. Lawmakers have so far declined to include the settlement money in any budget bills, while … Continue reading →

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The next frontier in forced birth litigation

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is truly wild, and potentially very scary. A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban … Continue reading →

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Chron story on the anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. A bill that would reshape future legal battles over Texas’ public beach boundaries is stirring backlash from advocates and former state leaders, who claim the proposal would give beachfront property owners the green light to vacuum up … Continue reading →

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HISD ends lawsuit against TEA

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A formality at this point. The Houston Independent School District board voted on Thursday night to end its lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency, effectively ending the district’s legal fight against an attempted state takeover.  The motion passed with support of eight of the … Continue reading →

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The whistleblowers’ un-settlement

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Plot twist! The whistleblowers who sued Attorney General Ken Paxton say they’re headed back to court unless he agrees that the Legislature must approve their proposed $3.3 million settlement before the current legislative session ends in May. They are the … Continue reading →

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Wheatley’s fate

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We may learn today of the TEA’s intentions with HISD. Whatever does happen, let’s remember that in the end this will affect a lot of people, and some of them are not happy with the position they’ve been put in. … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Shall” versus “may”

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing touches on a subject I’ve mentioned before. As concerns grow about the Texas Education Agency ousting the Houston Independent School District’s elected board, a question with major practical and political implications has emerged: Are state officials legally mandated … Continue reading →

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Bills filed to stop the TEA takeover of HISD

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Feels too late to me, but it can’t hurt to try. State senators have filed the first bill to soften the law that triggers school district takeovers. State Sens. Carol Alvarado, Borris Miles and John Whitmire filed Senate Bill 1662 in response to the threat of … Continue reading →

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The past history of TEA takeovers

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As of Monday afternoon there’s still no word from the TEA about the fate of HISD, so while we wait we ponder what history can teach us. Assuming that history doesn’t contain anything gay or CRT-related so we’re allowed to … Continue reading →

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So is there anything that can be done to derail the TEA takeover?

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Probably not. I mean, I really appreciate the engagement and the passion, but we’re at the end of the road here, a road that started almost six years ago. Sometimes you just run out of things to do. With time … Continue reading →

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Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not much one can say in this position. Superintendent Millard House II said it’s business as usual in the state’s largest school system until the Texas Education Agency pulls the trigger on its rumored takeover plan. He used the start … Continue reading →

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Former Land Commissioners oppose anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Among coastal states Texas is unique. The 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act (TOBA), as well as time-honored common law and tradition in existence since long before 1959, provides that Texas beaches are open to the public. In … Continue reading →

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So it looks like that TEA takeover of HISD is going to happen

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Mayor Sylvester Turner sounded alarm bells Wednesday when he announced that he has heard from multiple sources that the state intends to take over Houston ISD as early as next week. “I’m talking to legislators, and what they’re saying … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds’ lawsuit against the “sanctuary cities” guy tossed by SCOTx

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the right of an anti-abortion activist to call abortion advocacy groups criminal enterprises and emphasized the state’s 1921 law criminalizing abortion is in force. In the majority and the concurring opinions issued Feb. 24, … Continue reading →

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Paxton makes his plea to the Lege

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s more accurate to say that one of his assistants pleaded for him while he mostly sat silent, but whatever. Days after the Texas house speaker openly opposed using taxpayer dollars to settle a whistleblower suit against Attorney General Ken … Continue reading →

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