Tag Archives: Supreme Court

Texas Medical Board may issue guidance on abortion exceptions

I trust you will forgive my skepticism about this. The Texas Medical Board will consider language to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws at an upcoming March 22 board meeting. The meeting agenda was … Continue reading

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Three Ken Paxton updates

I missed these in the recent news rush, but spotted them all more or less at once via the Google News app on my phone. Doomscrolling for the win, I guess. Whistleblowers: Texas Supreme Court must reject Ken Paxton’s ‘scheme’ … Continue reading

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Abortion and IVF roundup

Texas IVF patients are dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now. Heather Burzlaff has four embryos in a freezer in Dallas and she doesn’t know what to do with them. After seven years of medications, egg retrievals and waiting, … Continue reading

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The worst judge in Texas

I admit, the competition for this is fierce, and we should draw a distinction between state and federal jurists, but no matter how you define it, Supreme Court Justice John Devine is a strong contender for the title. Speaking to … Continue reading

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PFLAG sues Paxton over intrusive data requests

Time for more deep breathing. An LGBTQ advocacy group is suing the Texas attorney general after his agency requested information that the group said would reveal the identities of its members, including those who sought to stay anonymous in recent … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For Teare

The Chron makes their choice in the biggest local primary, and their choice is Sean Teare for District Attorney. When we endorsed Harris County’s top prosecutor, District Attorney Kim Ogg, for a second term in 2020, we credited the Democrat … Continue reading

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The Devine connection to Woodfill and Pressler

Birds of a feather. A very rancid feather. In 2022, the Texas Supreme Court declined to kill a high-profile sex abuse lawsuit against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler and his longtime law partner, Jared Woodfill. For Justice John … Continue reading

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Today’s Ken Paxton whistleblower trial update

He’s basically a professional defendant now. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could face a potentially expensive and uncomfortable jury trial to defend himself against former deputies after a Travis County judge declined Wednesday to end the case in the whistleblowers’ … Continue reading

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SCOTx pauses Paxton deposition

Delay, delay, delay… The Texas Supreme Court has halted depositions that were scheduled to begin Thursday in the whistleblower case against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The all-GOP court issued an order Tuesday staying the depositions and giving the parties until … Continue reading

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We’re beginning to quantify the effect of the abortion ban

Three stories from the Chron about abortion and forced births. The first one involves rape victims. Read carefully. More than 26K rape-related pregnancies estimated after Texas outlawed abortions. Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after … Continue reading

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No, really, Paxton ordered to sit for deposition

Oh yeah. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to end a whistleblower lawsuit against him has been dealt another blow after a Travis County judge denied his attempt to end the case without being deposed. The ruling, which Paxton’s office publicized … Continue reading

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Lawsuit seeking January 6 emails from Abbott and Paxton can proceed

There’s a lot of lawsuits out there against the state and/or the likes of Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton. I do my best to be aware of them and keep track of them, but inevitably some things get lost in … Continue reading

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Paxton ordered to sit for deposition anyway

Bwa ha ha! A Travis County judge issued an order Friday for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit for a deposition on Feb. 1 in the lawsuit brought by four of his former employees. However, some of those plaintiffs … Continue reading

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Paxton will no longer fight the whistleblower lawsuit

Kind of stunning, definitely a stunt, and also his latest and most desperate ploy to avoid being deposed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his agency will stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit by four former top executives who … Continue reading

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Texas Medical Board asked to clarify abortion exceptions

If the Supreme Court won’t do it, then what else is there? Two attorneys have asked the Texas Medical Board to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws, following the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection last … Continue reading

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It’s official, Paxton will get deposed

Excellent. Attorney General Ken Paxton and his top aides will be forced to testify in a lawsuit accusing Paxton of violating the state’s whistleblower protection law after the Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency motion to block the … Continue reading

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Paxton tries his whistleblower deposition luck with SCOTx

This should be the end of the line, one way or another. Embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shield him from being deposed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former agency employees. … Continue reading

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Paxton again ordered to sit for whistleblower deposition

Keep on losing, Kenny. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could have to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit that prompted his impeachment last year. In a one-sentence order issued Friday evening, Texas’s Third Court of Appeals denied Paxton’s challenge … Continue reading

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Mayor Whitmire orders negotiations with the firefighters

New regime, new directions. In a major step toward reconciliation with the firefighters union, Mayor John Whitmire has asked the city attorney to drop an appeal that former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration filed just days before the change in city … Continue reading

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Paxton still desperately trying to avoid being deposed

And still failing. The Texas Third Court of Appeals denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an emergency stay of impending depositions in the whistleblower lawsuit that sparked his impeachment this year, according to a Wednesday court filing. The whistleblower … Continue reading

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Paxton and aides ordered to sit for depositions on whistleblower trial

Good. A Travis County district judge has ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and three top aides to sit for depositions in the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against him. At a hearing Wednesday in Austin, Judge Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ motion … Continue reading

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The Texas Medical Board can’t do anything about abortion

I’m sorry, but this is a complete waste of time, and everybody involved knows it. In its ruling this week denying a Dallas woman’s petition for an emergency abortion, the Texas Supreme Court said it was the responsibility of physicians … Continue reading

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SCOTx declines to revive oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto

Good. The Texas Supreme Court said Friday it would not consider Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke after a state appeals court dismissed it earlier this year. The all-GOP court denied Warren’s petition … Continue reading

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City ordered to negotiate a contract with the firefighters

A day of reckoning is arriving. The city of Houston and the firefighters union are sparring over who bears responsibility for their years-long legal battle, following a judge’s request for them to start renegotiating the firefighters’ contracts within the next … Continue reading

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One key takeaway from the SCOTx ruling in the Kate Cox case

I’m sure you’re as mad about the Kate Cox case as I am. The thing you need to know is there is very much something you can do about it. Like, right now. When a majority of Texans want the … Continue reading

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More filing deadline news and notes

I’m going to use the Erik Manning Spreadsheet, the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, and the Secretary of State webpage to put together some notes and observations about the 2024 filing deadline and primary lineups. Note that some of this may still … Continue reading

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Kate Cox leaves Texas to get her abortion

My heart goes out to her and her family. After the Texas Supreme Court temporarily put a pregnant woman’s efforts to get an emergency abortion on hold, her lawyers said Monday that she had left Texas to get care in … Continue reading

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Paxton asks SCOTx to stop the emergency abortion

Welp. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and stop a Dallas woman from having an abortion. Paxton’s office petitioned the high court just before midnight Thursday, after a Travis County district judge granted … Continue reading

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Emergency abortion approval granted

Good, with the obvious proviso that no one should ever have to go through this. For the first time in at least 50 years, a judge has intervened to allow an adult woman to terminate her pregnancy. When Travis County … Continue reading

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Texas woman seeks emergency abortion approval

Boy howdy is this a big ol’ can of worms. A Texas woman is asking a judge to allow her to get an emergency abortion after learning that her baby has a rare and typically fatal condition. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit, … Continue reading

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SCOTx has its abortion case hearing

Here we go. The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Tuesday in a landmark case that could impact how the state’s abortion laws apply to medically complicated pregnancies. In August, state District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled that the near-total abortion … Continue reading

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Idaho appeals EMTALA injunction to SCOTUS

Brace yourselves. Idaho asked the Supreme Court Monday to stay a lower court injunction, or to take up its case directly, as it attempts to fend off the Biden administration’s challenge of the state’s abortion ban. The government filed suit … Continue reading

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Harris County drops its lawsuit over the law banning its Elections Administrator

The right move at this time, though the whole thing still rankles. Harris County dropped its lawsuit against the state on Wednesday, ending its challenge to a law that went into effect weeks ago eliminating the county’s elections office. The … Continue reading

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Paxton whistleblowers demand depositions

As always, I am rooting for them. Lawyers for the Ken Paxton whistleblowers are moving forward with their lawsuit in Travis County after another judge cleared the way, asking the Austin-based court to force the attorney general and his top … Continue reading

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