Tag Archives: Texas Office of Court Administration

SCOTx declares 15th Court of Appeals to be legal

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for its grand opening. The Texas Supreme Court defended the state legislature’s creation of a statewide district court of appeals, holding the new court is constitutional. Dallas County and Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown challenged the constitutionality … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTx declares 15th Court of Appeals to be legal

Translators needed for non-criminal courts

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Harris County has long afforded free interpreters to people navigating criminal cases, but it does not always offer the same to those with civil cases, local lawyers say. The denial for interpreters has become so routine that some … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Translators needed for non-criminal courts

Abbott appoints first judges to new statewide business appeals court

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’d forgotten about this. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday appointed three conservative justices to the new 15th Court of Appeals, which lawmakers created last year to oversee appeals involving the state, challenges to the constitutionality of state laws and cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Were these courts really necessary?

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Should have added these two bills to the “will be sued over” list. Republican state leaders’ plan to create two new types of statewide courts is facing backlash from critics who say they are unconstitutional and will unfairly benefit large … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

One small gun loophole may get closed

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Take your wins where you can find them. Texas lawmakers are working to plug a gap in a 2009 law that was meant to keep people with a history of serious mental health issues from legally acquiring firearms. Bipartisan legislation … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One small gun loophole may get closed

The gaps in Texas’ background check law

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From Pro Publica: In the spring of 2009, Elliott Naishtat persuaded his colleagues in the Texas Legislature to pass a bill that he believed would require the state to report court-ordered mental health hospitalizations for Texans of all ages to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The gaps in Texas’ background check law

Debtors’ court, part 2

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Also not good. One day last September, while trying to pay for groceries, Leslie Alvarez got the shock of her life. All the money in her bank account had disappeared. The Houston single mother called her bank. An employee told … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Debtors’ court, part 2

Debtors’ court

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is not good. In this court and others in Bexar County, debt collection lawsuits more than doubled from 2012 to 2020. “I’m trying to manage this behemoth, but there are some guidelines I have to follow as well,” said … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Debtors’ court

Austin aims for pot decriminalization

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how this goes. I suspect the measure will pass, but I’m not sure it will be allowed to take effect. As greater numbers of Texas voters sour on harsh punishment for marijuana offenses, Austin voters will likely decide … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Judges in Harris County implement mask mandate

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what all the responsible public officials are doing. State judges in Harris County voted unanimously Tuesday to implement a mask mandate in courthouses that will supersede Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on such mandates, according to three judges who participated … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Appellate court redistricting

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll need to keep an eye on this. Justices on the state’s 14 intermediate appellate courts are talking—some are concerned—about a pair of bills filed in the Texas Legislature that propose redistricting the courts’ boundaries. House Bill 339 by Rep. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

TxDOT hit with ransomware

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. Texas’ transportation agency has become the second part of the state government to be hit by a ransomware attack in recent days. On Thursday, someone hacked into the Texas Department of Transportation’s network in a “ransomware event,” according … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ransomware attack on state court system

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. Websites for the Texas court system were still down Monday after a ransomware attack late last week left the network temporarily disabled, according to the Office of Court Administration. Officials discovered the breach early Friday and quickly shut … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Marijuana arrests stay down

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We really should view this as the new normal, and not a problem to be “fixed”. It’s been more than six months since Texas lawmakers legalized hemp and unintentionally disrupted marijuana prosecution across the state. Since then, the number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments