Tag Archives: Third Court of Appeals

It was a bad week for the strip clubs

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another adverse court ruling. A state appeals court on Friday upheld the legality of the state’s so-called “pole tax” on nude entertainment clubs, the latest decision in a six-year battle by Texas officials to collect the $5-per-customer fee from more … Continue reading →

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CCA to review dismissal of DeLay conviction

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The criminal justice system isn’t done with Tom DeLay just yet. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday agreed to review whether a lower court correctly decided last fall to toss out the prison sentence handed to former House … Continue reading →

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Bell lawsuit award against RGA tossed by appeals court

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some old history got raked up recently. An attorney for failed 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell is considering appealing a state appeals court’s decision to throw out a $2 million award to Bell in a lawsuit where Bell contended … Continue reading →

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DeLay wants to sue

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever you say, dude. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, reveling in victory Thursday against Texas prosecutors in a money-laundering case, said his political career is over but he’s eager to return to the courthouse. If he can find a … Continue reading →

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DeLay gets off

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay’s political money laundering conviction was overturned by the state’s 3rd Court of Appeals on Thursday. “Based on the totality of the evidence, we conclude that the evidence presented does not support a conclusion that … Continue reading →

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Colyandro takes a plea

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this on Friday. It took five minutes for Capitol figure John Colyandro to end a decade-long saga that swept his boss, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, out of Congress and politics altogether. Colyandro, the last individual with … Continue reading →

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DeLay argues his case before the appeals court panel

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an old, familiar argument. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should not go to prison on money-laundering charges because the 2002 campaign transaction involved a $190,000 check and not cash, his lawyer argued before the Third Court of … Continue reading →

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Henson removed from DeLay appeals case

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Team DeLay. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has won a tactical victory with the removal of Justice Diane Henson, a Democrat, from his appeal. A motion to remove Henson was granted late Friday without comment … Continue reading →

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Former DeLay aide Ellis pleads guilty

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This was out of the blue. Tom DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of making an illegal campaign contribution during the 2002 election. Ellis, who headed DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority political … Continue reading →

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The exoneration that wasn’t

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but I’d forgotten about this. A Texas judge who reviewed the controversial 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham planned to posthumously exonerate the father who was put to death for killing his three daughters in … Continue reading →

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A trio of trial updates

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Planned Parenthood versus Texas: A ruling affecting health care, including contraception, for some 130,000 low-income Texas women probably won’t come until late this year as Planned Parenthood and the state of Texas plan for mid-October oral arguments in their legal … Continue reading →

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Will the last judge on the Third Court of Appeals please issue a ruling on Tom DeLay?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The way this is going, we may have to start importing judges from other states. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s appeal has taken an unexpected turn as three Republican justices removed themselves from his money laundering case in … Continue reading →

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“Checks aren’t cash” back before 3rd Court of Appeals

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes when you least expect it, Tom DeLay pops up in the news. It would defy common sense to reverse the three-year prison sentence of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay because his money-laundering case involved a check instead … Continue reading →

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Supremes uphold strip club tax

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In a ruling that reverses the 3rd Court of Appeals, the State Supreme Court has unanimously held that the so-called “pole tax” is constitutional. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a $5-per-customer fee on strip clubs that serve alcohol … Continue reading →

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DeLay files appeal of his conviction

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The man has been a boon for the defense bar, I’ll say that much for him. Tom DeLay’s appellate lawyer tapped a movie musical and Shakespeare in a wide-ranging appeal that argues the former U.S. House majority leader was wrongly … Continue reading →

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Austin gay divorce upheld

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Gay divorce seekers are one for two in the state of Texas. Over the objections of state Attorney General Greg Abbott, an Austin appellate court has upheld the divorce of a lesbian couple married in Massachusetts. When a lower court granted … Continue reading →

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Abbott wants to block Austin gay divorce

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Attorney General Greg Abbott is once again fighting to protect the sanctity of divorce in Texas. Texas law not only limits marriage to opposite-sex couples, it forbids any action — including divorce — that recognizes or validates a same-sex marriage … Continue reading →

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Off to the appeals courts for DeLay

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever sentence awaits Tom DeLay – I strongly suspect it will be probation, but you never know – it will be a long time, if ever, before he begins serving it. DeLay’s lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, expressed confidence on Friday … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Kurt Kuhn for 3rd Court of Appeals

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not paying a huge amount of attention to races outside of Harris County, but one that is of interest is for an open seat on the 3rd Court of Appeals, whose district includes Travis County and which has been … Continue reading →

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CCA overturns “checks aren’t cash” appeals verdict

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For once, their pro-prosecution proclivities were good for something. The Austin appeals court erred in deciding that the state’s money-laundering statute – used to prosecute associates of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – did not apply to transfers … Continue reading →

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Keep talking, Tom

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll leave the commentary on Tom DeLay’s dancing prowess to the experts and simply note that he has succeeded in getting himself back in the news. Which means people are asking him for his opinions on things, which in turn … Continue reading →

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Strip club fee appealed to Supreme Court

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The legal battles continue to spin around Texas’ so-called “pole tax,” a $5 entrance fee at strip clubs that has been ruled an unconstitutional regulation of free expression. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and state Comptroller … Continue reading →

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Appeals court upholds strip club tax ban

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Score two for the state’s strip clubs. The 3rd Court of Appeals panel sided against the $5 per-patron fee, passed by the Legislature in 2007 with the goal of raising sexual-assault prevention funds, in a divided 2-1 opinion released Friday. … Continue reading →

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