Category Archives: Legal matters

Abbott opines against domestic partnership benefits

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This should not come as a surprise to anyone. The state Constitution prohibits government entities from recognizing domestic partnerships and offering insurance benefits to those couples, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote in an opinion on Monday. In the nonbinding … Continue reading →

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“One person, one vote” upheld

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More accurately, a challenge to the constitutional doctrine of “one person, one vote” was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has rejected a conservative challenge to the common practice of counting everyone, not just U.S. citizens, when adjusting … Continue reading →

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Advising the court on redistricting

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last Friday, all parties to the Texas redistricting lawsuit submitted their advisories to the San Antonio court, in which they told the court what they think it should do once the Supreme Court has rendered a decision on the Voting … Continue reading →

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Abbott asks for the interim maps

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The recently dormant Texas redistricting issue woke up Thursday with a disagreement between the state’s attorney general and a Latino legislators’ group. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has called on the Legislature to make the current — and … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS same-sex marriage cases likely won’t affect Texas

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, anyway. But it’s a matter of time. Charles “Rocky” Rhodes is a professor at South Texas College of Law. He says the case that involves the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is narrowly focused. “The provision of … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against anti-feeding ordinance dropped

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: The plaintiffs suing the city of Houston over its charitable feeding ordinance have abruptly dropped a suit they filed over the issue, just hours after the judge in the case recused himself. The ordinance, which requires property … Continue reading →

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In case you didn’t have enough Supreme Court business to worry about

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s Texas Redistricting to give you more to worry about, in the form of Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. Although the case has gotten far less attention than challenges to the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting … Continue reading →

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More time for redistricting advisories

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The San Antonio court entered an order late Thursday afternoon extending the time for parties to file map advisories through March 22 and the deadline for responses through April 5. The original deadline for the advisories had been today. … Continue reading →

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Austin bag ban lawsuit filed

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This bears watching. The Texas Retailers Association is suing the city of Austin over a disposable bag ban set to take effect [today], saying the ban violates state law and should be tossed out. The ban will prohibit all Austin … Continue reading →

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Is Section 5 doomed?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

While there’s been a lot of reporting and analysis suggesting a grim future for the Voting Rights Act, SCOTUSBlog’s Lyle Denniston suggests that maybe, just maybe, Section 5 ain’t dead yet. Sometimes, in Supreme Court argument, a single phrase can … Continue reading →

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Houston loses air pollution permit lawsuit

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston may not effectively void a state air pollution permit. The justices agreed with Southern Crushed Concrete that Houston’s 2007 law restricting the location of concrete-crushing facilities violates state statute by nullifying … Continue reading →

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How should the San Antonio court proceed after SCOTUS rules on Section 5?

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the San Antonio judges in the redistricting case asked the parties to help it figure out. In its order, the court told parties what has been widely assumed – namely that the panel would “not issue any opinion, … Continue reading →

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Single member districts for Farmers Branch

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Another long battle comes to an end. A Dallas federal judge has directed Farmers Branch to implement single-member City Council districts after the U.S. Justice Department signed off on the city’s proposed map. The move could set the stage for … Continue reading →

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This time it’s different

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Why is this school finance ruling different from all other school finance rulings? For one thing, it was way more comprehensive. The changes needed to correct the constitutional violations [Judge John] Dietz identified could comprise the most far-reaching overhaul of … Continue reading →

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School finance system ruled unconstitutional

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Surely no one is surprised by this. The system Texas uses to fund public schools violates the state’s constitution by not providing enough money and failing to distribute the money in a fair way, a judge ruled Monday in a … Continue reading →

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County settles with Treasures

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s over, at least for now. When city of Houston lawyers settled a public nuisance lawsuit against Treasures last December, Harris County attorneys continued to pursue the jointly filed case, saying they needed more assurances from the strip club that … Continue reading →

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Another setback for open beaches

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

At this rate, the concept of “open beaches” is on its way to becoming an anachronism. The Texas Supreme Court dealt another blow Friday to the Texas Open Beaches Act in a case pitting beachfront property owners against the city … Continue reading →

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Looks like we’ll be waiting on SCOTUS for awhile

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The Texas redistricting appeal wasn’t on the list of cases reviewed by the Justices at their screening conference today. With the passage of time – and the case not even being listed for review – the calendar now … Continue reading →

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No injunction in state lawsuit for Planned Parenthood

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Travis County District Judge Stephen Yelenosky on Friday refused to grant Planned Parenthood’s request for a temporary injunction to be included in the Texas Women’s Health Program. “Probable injury is not really sufficient,” said Yelenosky, who ruled in favor … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS has not taken up the Texas redistricting lawsuit yet

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: No decision announced [Friday at the Supreme Court about whether the court will hear the Texas redistricting case. The court, however, could issue additional orders on Monday. The Justices haven’t had these briefs for long, so it’s not … Continue reading →

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Yet another Planned Parenthood ruling coming today

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the last day that federal money will be sent to Texas for the Women’s Health Program – it officially gets cut off on January 1. The state tried and failed to get an injunction forcing the feds to … Continue reading →

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State fails to get injunction against terminating Womens Health Program funds

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, last year the Lege passed a law that forbade Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women’s Health Program on the grounds that PP does abortions even though none of the PP clinics that participate in the Women’s … Continue reading →

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Three things in life are certain

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Death, taxes, and Bruce Hotze filing a lawsuit every time he loses an election. A local anti-tax activist filed a lawsuit Thursday to block the city of Houston from borrowing $410 million to add, expand and repair parks, libraries, police … Continue reading →

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Student RFID case in federal court

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck sorting it all out, Your Honor. Because she has a religious objection to Northside Independent School District’s new student tracking system, Andrea Hernandez and her father testified in federal court Monday, she should not be transferred to another … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS voter ID update

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The matter is officially with the Supreme Court now. A federal court deferred further proceedings in a lawsuit filed by Texas over the state’s voter identification law until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on whether part of the Voting Rights … Continue reading →

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Where redistricting stands with SCOTUS

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: What happens now in the Supreme Court? With the filing of motions to affirm or dismiss last week by the Justice Department and intervenors, Texas’ appeal of the preclearance ruling is now ready for review by the … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood files another lawsuit

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping the heat on the state. As a tumultuous year in women’s health draws to a close, Planned Parenthood is turning up the heat on Texas, today filing a new lawsuit that challenge the state’s move to ban the nonprofit … Continue reading →

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What will Doggett do?

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Does Rep. Lloyd Doggett want his old district back or not? The congressional and legislative districts used in this year’s elections were temporary maps drawn by panel of federal judges in San Antonio. The maps were designed to be used … Continue reading →

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Is there more redistricting for Texas in the cards?

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The short answer is it depends. For the most part, Republicans are content to keep the interim map used for the 2012 elections — if the courts allow it. “I don’t sense a lot of anxiousness from either the state … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs rest their case in school finance lawsuit

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Phase one is over. Hundreds of districts suing the state over its school finance system wrapped up their case Wednesday with testimony that largely blamed the Legislature for creating the current funding crisis that stripped away an unprecedented $5.4 billion … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs want to proceed with new redistricting maps

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: Plaintiff groups in the Texas redistricting litigation in San Antonio told the court that it should go ahead and start the process of drawing remedial state house and congressional maps for use in 2014, but disagreed slightly about … Continue reading →

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Parties split on waiting for SCOTUS

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: Lawyers for the Justice Department and intervenors in the Texas voter ID case told the court yesterday that the court should put off consideration of Texas’ claim that section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional until … Continue reading →

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Voter ID case will likely wait for SCOTUS, too

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: In a move not too surprising, the three-judge panel in the Texas voter ID case also has asked the parties to brief the question of whether the court should delay taking up questions about the constitutionality of section … Continue reading →

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Shall we wait for SCOTUS?

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in San Antonio overseeing redrawing of Texas’ redistricting plans has signaled that it is at least considering the possibility of delaying action on new maps until the Supreme Court decides questions about the constitutionality of … Continue reading →

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