Tag Archives: Justice Department

Harris County sued over disabled voting access

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Harris County, which includes Houston, has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because many of its polling places are inaccessible to voters with disabilities, a new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges. … Continue reading →

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Friday was a very good day for voting rights

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In North Carolina: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory is nothing short of a beat down. The court does not simply tear apart major provisions … Continue reading →

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Paxton keeps finding new ways to be in trouble

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The man has a talent. Ethics experts on Wednesday were torn over whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s decision to accept $100,000 for his legal defense from a donor whose company was under investigation by his office violates the letter … Continue reading →

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Can we try this again with nine Justices, please?

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask. The Obama administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the legality of the president’s controversial immigration enforcement plan, which stalled last month when the high court deadlocked on an appeal. The program, known … Continue reading →

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More opposition to North Carolina’s HB2

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Justice Department seeks to halt implementation of North Carolina’s viciously anti-LGBT law. The billowing legal fight over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 continued to grow this week with the U.S. Department of Justice asking a federal judge to suspend … Continue reading →

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Paxton petitions for national injunction against transgender bathroom directive

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Plunging further into the politics of public school bathrooms, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday expanded his federal lawsuit against an Obama Administration directive instructing schools not to discriminate against transgender students, saying he wants … Continue reading →

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Hanen stays his sanctions

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas-based judge that last year put a hold on President Obama’s executive order on immigration decided on Tuesday to also suspend a controversial punishment he had recently issued to the administration’s attorneys. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen asserted in … Continue reading →

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Justice Department appeals Hanen sanctions to Fifth Circuit

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this over the weekend. Escalating its constitutional battle with a federal judge over the ethics of government lawyers in the major test case on presidential power over immigration, the Justice Department late Friday night asked a federal appeals court … Continue reading →

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Groups ask Fifth Circuit to block Judge Hanen order

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A coalition of civil and immigrant rights groups on Friday asked an appeals court to stop a federal judge’s order that requires the Obama administration to turn over the confidential information of thousands of undocumented immigrants. The filing in … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Justice Department asks Judge Hanen to reconsider his last order

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask, I guess. The Obama administration has asked a Brownsville-based judge to rethink an order that requires the federal government to turn over the private information of thousands of undocumented immigrants. The May 19 order from U.S. … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over Obama directive on transgender bathroom access

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A more transparent publicity stunt you would be hard-pressed to find. Texas, joined by 10 other states, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop a federal directive instructing school districts to let transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds with their … Continue reading →

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Judge Hanen’s bizarre order

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? A federal judge with a history of anti-immigrant sentiment ordered the federal government to turn over the names, addresses and “all available contact information” of over 100,000 immigrants living within the United States. He does so in a strange … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Sheriff and Lord High Executioner of Edwards County

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In case you haven’t already, you really need to read this: The first thing she noticed was Sheriff Pamela Elliott standing across the street. It was an August evening in 2014, and Rachel Gallegos had just gotten home for a … Continue reading →

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Federal action on schools accommodating transgender bathroom use

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see this. The Obama administration is planning to issue a sweeping directive telling every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. A letter to school districts … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Can SCOTUS please intervene in the voter ID case?

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The plaintiffs would like to know. Civil rights groups challenging Texas’ voter identification law are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the measure from being used during the 2016 general election. […] The civil rights groups filed a motion … Continue reading →

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Reps. Green and Green want investigation of voting machine shortage

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Two Houston congressmen are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether unequal distribution of voting machines and polling locations in Harris County disenfranchised minority voters during the March 1 primary … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit will hear voter ID appeal

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. The full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to take up the Texas voter ID case Wednesday, adding another chapter to the law’s convoluted journey through the federal court system. The decision to hear the … Continue reading →

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Irving ISD sues AG’s office over Ahmed Mohamed

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, brother. Ahmed Mohamed’s former school district has sued the Texas Attorney General — defying an order to reveal details of a federal investigation related to the Muslim teen’s arrest after bringing a homemade clock to school last year. Dozens of Democratic U.S. … Continue reading →

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State strikes out on Syrian refugees again

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Too bad. Now give up already. A federal judge has again denied a bid by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block the federal government from resettling Syrian refugees in the state. Dallas-based U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey on … Continue reading →

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Paxton takes another shot at Syrian refugees

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. In the latest controversy over Syrians seeking refuge in Texas, the state’s top lawyer on Tuesday again asked a federal judge to halt the resettlement of people fleeing the war-torn country. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told a U.S. … Continue reading →

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Two abortion stories

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The amicus briefs are being filed in the HB2 case. The Obama administration on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas abortion law that has shuttered nearly half the clinics in the state, saying the Republican-backed … Continue reading →

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Our bail policies are unjust, costly, and stupid

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Any questions about how I really feel? “The numbers clearly tell the story: More than three-fourths of the people in Harris County Jail haven’t been convicted of crime, and the majority of them are sitting in jail simply because they … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More jail troubles

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly, both in content and in timing for Adrian Garcia. Over the past nine months, the Houston Chronicle has reviewed more than 1,000 disciplinary reports provided by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Nearly half of those internal affairs investigations … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

State asks for full Fifth Circuit review of voter ID ruling

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As you’d expect them to do. Continuing to protect a voter identification law that courts say discriminates against Hispanics and African Americans, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a full federal appeals court to hear his arguments about why … Continue reading →

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DOJ asks to get voter ID remedy ASAP

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I concur. The Obama administration and several civil rights groups are urging a federal appeals court to fast track the process of temporarily fixing Texas’ voter ID law in time for the upcoming Nov. 3 elections. In court filings Thursday, … Continue reading →

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Sandra Bland’s death being investigated as a homicide

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t mean that’s how it will be ruled, but it’s at least a sign that it’s being taken with appropriate seriousness. The probe into Sandra Bland’s hanging death inside a Texas jail — which a medical examiner ruled a suicide … Continue reading →

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What happened to Sandra Bland?

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is horrible. There are big questions about the final hours of Sandra Bland’s life. The official story is that the 28-year old committed suicide by hanging herself in a Waller County jail cell. Her family doesn’t buy it. Bland, … Continue reading →

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Ready to engage in the next fight

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

No rest for the righteous. On Monday, national and state gay rights leaders and the plaintiffs who sued for marriage equality convened in front of the Texas Capitol to make a different kind of vow: The fight for lesbian, gay, … Continue reading →

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That other big SCOTUS case from yesterday

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another nice surprise from the mercurial Supreme Court. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination, handing a surprising victory to the Obama administration and civil rights … Continue reading →

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Possibly positive sign from the Fifth Circuit on immigration lawsuit appeal

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress: A string of bad luck for immigrants — and for the Obama Administration — might be coming to an end. On Thursday, a federal appeals court indicated that it is not bound by a previous decision that would … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears request to lift immigration injunction order

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Always best to temper one’s expectations with these guys. An argument from U. S. Department of Justice lawyers that the state of Texas doesn’t have standing to challenge the Obama administration’s controversial immigration policy met with resistance from a pair … Continue reading →

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Eversole to seek Presidential pardon

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

For real. Three years after pleading guilty to lying to FBI agents and resigning his post as a Harris County commissioner to avoid further prosecution, Jerry Eversole is seeking a presidential pardon for his misdeeds. In a letter sent to … Continue reading →

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Feds file appeal of immigration injunction to Fifth Circuit

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Time to force the issue. The Obama administration Thursday asked a federal appeals court to do what a Texas-based judge didn’t: allow a controversial immigration program to move forward while the issue plays out in the courts. Attorneys with the … Continue reading →

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Justice Department files request for stay on immigration ruling

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The U.S. government asked a federal judge Monday to lift his temporary hold on President Barack Obama’s action to shield millions of immigrants in the country illegally from deportation. The Justice Department’s motion for a stay was filed … Continue reading →

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