Category Archives: Legal matters

The courts giveth, and the courts taketh away

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, the Fifth Circuit lifts the stay on the district court’s voter ID ruling, paving the way (for now) for it to be enforced in November. Texas should require photo voter identification in this year’s general election, the 5th … Continue reading →

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Appeals court rules against KSP

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From last week, from the inbox via the Texas Democratic Party: (Yesterday), the Texas Democratic Party prevailed in King Street Patriots v. Texas Democratic Party, when the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District confirmed a lower court decision … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s appellate response brief is the same old junk

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. Attorney General Greg Abbott says Texas’ same-sex marriage ban should remain in place because legalizing it would do little or nothing to encourage heterosexual couples to get married and have children. Writing in a brief filed to the 5th … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs ask for no stay

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve filed their response to the Fifth Circuit. Attorneys challenging Texas’ voter ID law — which was struck down by a federal judge on Thursday — asked a federal appeals court on Sunday not to allow the state to enforce … Continue reading →

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Court strikes down Texas voter ID law

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Less than two weeks before the start of early voting, a federal judge ruled the state’s photo voter ID law unconstitutional late Thursday and ordered state officials to drop the new requirements. “The Court holds that SB 14 creates … Continue reading →

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HB2 plaintiffs ask SCOTUS for review

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Be careful what you ask for. After a federal appeals court ruled that the state could temporarily enforce new requirements for abortion facilities, Texas abortion providers are looking to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, attorneys for the abortion providers … Continue reading →

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Other AGs for same sex marriage

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone like one of these 15 Attorneys General representing Texas? A majority of the states that have legalized same-sex marriage are throwing their support behind two couples fighting Texas’ ban, arguing their own experiences … Continue reading →

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Texas same sex marriage plaintiffs want the get oral arguments scheduled

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They would like to get on with their lives, if it’s not too much trouble to Greg Abbott and the Fifth Circuit. Austin lawyer Nicole Dimetman is pregnant and expects to give birth for the first time on March 15, … Continue reading →

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Another voter ID lawsuit filed

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. While a federal judge in Corpus Christi mulls whether the state’s requirement to show photo ID to cast a ballot violates the federal Voting Rights Act, a judge on the highest criminal appeals court in Texas … Continue reading →

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HB2 is about overturning Roe v Wade

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A cheery thought from Think Progress. Nevertheless, the single most ominous paragraph of the opinion, at least for people who care about reproductive freedom, is this one: Plaintiffs argue that the district court’s balancing approach is used by other circuits. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit lifts injunction on HB2 enforcement

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This court is the worst. As it hears arguments in an appeal of a federal judge’s decision overturning new requirements for Texas abortion facilities, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the state … Continue reading →

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Abbott appeals school finance case to Supreme Court

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Friday appealed to the Texas Supreme Court a district court finding that the state’s school finance system is unconstitutional. State District Judge John Dietz’s Aug. 30 ruling called Texas’ current school finance … Continue reading →

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County appeals Wilson decision

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Harris County officials are asking an appeals court to reconsider the question of where Dave Wilson lived when he ran for his seat on the Houston Community College board, The Harris County Attorney’s office is appealing … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial concludes

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait for the judge. Texas’ voter ID law is discriminatory because it was designed to thwart emerging minority voting power in the state and should be dropped, attorneys for the law’s opponents said in closing arguments in a … Continue reading →

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Law enforcement for same sex marriage

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Bravo, y’all. The Democratic sheriffs of Texas’ two most populous counties have signed on with more than 60 other Texas law enforcement officials and first responders saying the state’s ban on same sex marriage not only disrespects but endangers front-line … Continue reading →

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Texas woman denied driver’s license over same-sex marriage

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the headline of this Observer story, and it’s just as infuriating as you think it is. A woman who recently relocated from California says the Texas Department of Public Safety refused to issue her an accurate driver’s license because … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears HB2 arguments

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As always with anything that involves the Fifth Circuit, pessimism is called for. Federal appeals court judges who got their first look at the latest challenge to Texas’ tough new abortion law Friday appeared to show support for the law … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs respond to Abbott’s brief in same sex marriage appeal

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They give it the respect it deserves. Lawyers for two same-sex couples who are trying to overturn Texas’ gay marriage ban said Tuesday that the state’s attempt to defend its prohibition has defied both logic and a stream of recent … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial testimony ends

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas put on its case in the voter ID trial. Lawyers from the Texas attorney general’s office presented witnesses Wednesday in federal court defending the state voter ID law as necessary and attempting to rebuff claims that … Continue reading →

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Defense to begin in voter ID lawsuit

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Entering the home stretch. The Texas voter ID trial with national implications is shifting its focus in U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos’ courtroom Tuesday. After a week of testimony largely opposed to the law, the State of Texas’ legal … Continue reading →

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The best coverage of the voter ID trial

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You want to know what’s going on with the voter ID trial, which enters its second and likely final week today, go check out the Brennan Center for Justice, which has daily coverage that would put any newspaper to shame. … Continue reading →

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Abbott issues bag ban opinion

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Do plastic bag bans and restrictions in cities like Austin, Laredo, and Brownsville violate Texas law? According to an opinion issued by Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office handed down on Friday afternoon, that depends on how you define … Continue reading →

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Louisiana breaks the streak

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One in every crowd, I guess. A federal judge [in New Orleans] upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, going against what had been a unanimous trend of federal court decisions striking down such bans since the Supreme … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit will hear HB2 enforcement arguments next Friday

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The temporary reprieve will last at least one more week. Texas abortion providers’ next hurdle in their legal fight against strict abortion regulations is set for next week in a hearing scheduled for federal court. State attorneys and lawyers representing … Continue reading →

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All married city employees may continue to receive spousal benefits for now

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Married same-sex couples will continue to receive health and life insurance benefits from the city of Houston, a federal judge ruled Friday, pending the outcome of an appeal in a separate lawsuit. […] [Mayor Annise] Parker’s policy change … Continue reading →

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What next for school finance?

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That depends on the Attorney General and the Supreme Court, but one way or the other it’s up to the Legislature. State lawmakers from both parties agreed the responsibility for funding public schools falls on them. But history suggests the … Continue reading →

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Abbott appeals HB2 ruling

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. As expected, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court Sunday to overturn a recent federal court ruling that found parts of Texas’ abortion law, House Bill 2, unconstitutional. Abortion providers filed suit … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial starts today

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As one trial ends, the next one begins. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi will begin hearing arguments Tuesday on one of the nation’s most stringent voter ID measures, which Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law … Continue reading →

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Second phase of redistricting trial over

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Much like the first phase, with some insults for one of the state’s key players thrown in for effect. Lawyers with the U.S. Justice Department and minority groups said in closing arguments in federal court Tuesday that state lawmakers illegally … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over same sex benefits for city employees moved back to state court

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and the efforts to put a repeal referendum on the ballot have been one of the big local stories this year, but you may recall that before we were all talking about … Continue reading →

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Ambulatory surgical center requirements of HB2 struck down

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A last minute reprieve, though who knows for how long. A federal judge on Friday struck down new requirements for Texas abortion facilities — a decision that could have shuttered all but a few abortion clinics in the state. The … Continue reading →

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School finance system ruled unconstitutional again

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little light reading for your holiday weekend. Nearly three years after more than 600 Texas school districts filed litigation challenging the state’s school finance system, a Travis County district judge has ruled in their favor. In an almost 400-page … Continue reading →

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HERO repealers try their luck with the Supreme Court

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Because sure, why not? Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have asked the Texas Supreme Court to force the city secretary to certify the signatures on a petition they submitted seeking to trigger a repeal referendum on the law. Houston’s … Continue reading →

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“Environmental tort reform”

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, hell no. After failing in their attempt to limit cities and counties’ ability to take industrial polluters to court, some Houston businesses and statewide lobbyists now want to limit how much local governments can collect in penalties, a sort … Continue reading →

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