Category Archives: Legal matters

Harris County redistricting lawsuit kicks off

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the lawsuit that was filed over the redistricting map for Harris County Commissioners Court? It’s been on hold since the beginning of the year, after an interim map was drawn to get us through this election and since the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to review Section 5

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge brought by Shelby County, Alabama to the continued constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In its order taking the case, the high court limited the … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood gains a stay in state lawsuit

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re confused by where the Women’s Health Program stands in Texas, I don’t blame you. Planned Parenthood will continue participating in the Women’s Health Program — for now. Travis County District Judge Stephen Yelenosky on Thursday approved a temporary … Continue reading →

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Children continue to be our future

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The mother of all school finance lawsuits, which commenced on Monday, will take many weeks to conclude. I don’t expect to follow it every day since there’s just so much else going on, but I wanted to point out a … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit starts today

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, the latest school finance lawsuit, which Judge John Dietz has called “the granddaddy of them all”, begins today in Travis County. The Statesman takes a look at the history of school finance and associated litigation, and how … Continue reading →

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Margins tax survives another challenge

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mighty quick ruling from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Texas on Friday struck down a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. Lawyers for Nestle and two Texas-based companies, Switchplace LLC and … Continue reading →

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Texas appeals DC Court redistricting decision

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. Texas is appealing a federal court decision that denied preclearance to legislatively drawn redistricting maps, saying the court overstepped its authority under the federal Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced late Friday. That … Continue reading →

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LULAC files suit against Tax Assessor over voter registrations

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting has the press release. Today, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and a number of Houston residentsfiled suit against Harris County in Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas maintaining that Harris County officials … Continue reading →

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No help from SCOTUS on voter registration

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. The U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday denied an emergency request by a voter registration group that sought to block the state from enforcing changes made last year. The legislation adds hurdles for canvassers or groups that seek to increase … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds Texas Open Meetings Act

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Fifth Circuit federal appeals panel on Tuesday upheld the criminal penalty provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act against a challenge by a cadre of city officials who argued it chills free speech. Texas government officials sued the … Continue reading →

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The “dead voter” saga still has some life in it

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like I spoke too soon when I said that the “dead voter” purge story was over. Remember that lawsuit filed by four voters and the temporary injunction granted by a Travis County judge forbidding the Secretary of State from … Continue reading →

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Once more with the margins tax and the Supreme Court

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. The Texas Supreme Court could blow a hole in the state’s budget if it finds the business tax unconstitutional, as pressed Tuesday in a lawsuit led by food giant Nestlé USA. “The Legislature can’t violate the … Continue reading →

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Voting-related lawsuit updates

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel presiding over the Texas voter ID entered an order this morning adopting a briefing schedule for questions about the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. With minor differences, the schedule tracks … Continue reading →

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More on Texas proving the need for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: “There have been growing arguments that the Voting Rights Act is obsolete and should be struck down,” says University of Michigan law professor Ellen Katz, a nationally recognized expert on the Voting Rights Act. “But [Gov.] Rick … Continue reading →

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Voter registration restrictions back in place

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and AG Greg Abbott remain BFFs. Texas won a stay Thursday of a federal court decision that had barred enforcement of the state’s toughened voter registration law. Attorney General Greg Abbott described the development … Continue reading →

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The state of Texas has already proven the case for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So as you know, the state of Texas had its rear end handed to it in both the redistricting and voter ID preclearance lawsuits. Both of these rulings will be appealed to the Supreme Court, with the ultimate goal being … Continue reading →

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No changes to interim maps

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I noted this Friday afternoon, but in case you missed it the San Antonio court has ruled that the interim maps will be used as is for the November election. Texas will use its current district maps for the upcoming … Continue reading →

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Challenging the interim maps

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One of the questions that came out of Tuesday’s redistricting preclearance ruling was whether or not it would affect the interim maps for this year. Some of the intervenors have asked the San Antonio judges about that. Several key minority … Continue reading →

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Margins tax back before Supreme Court

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another challenge to that unloved tax. The Texas Supreme Court [Friday] accepted a case that will decide whether the state improperly administers its business tax. Nestle USA argues that the tax violates the Texas Constitution’s requirement that taxes be … Continue reading →

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Federal court refuses to preclear Texas voter ID bill

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another bad day in court for Texas Republicans. A federal three-judge panel on Thursday blocked the Texas voter ID law passed by the Republican Legislature, saying the new restrictions would place an unfair burden on Latinos, racial minorities and the … Continue reading →

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The UT admissions lawsuit

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t paid much attention to the latest lawsuit over the University of Texas’ admissions standards and practices – as with school finance lawsuits, I’ve lost count of how many there have been in my lifetime – but there are … Continue reading →

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Federal court denies preclearance on all redistricting maps

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The long-awaited ruling in the preclearance lawsuit by the DC Court

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TREE lawsuit may proceed with the other school finance suits

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We will have one big school finance lawsuit, not multiple separate suits. State District Judge John Dietz ruled on Tuesday that the claims from Texans for Real Efficiency and Equity in Education, a group of charter school supporters and parents, … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit strikes again

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by … Continue reading →

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CSAPR knocked down by federal court

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for the polluters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority with the new regulation. Led by Texas, 14 states and several … Continue reading →

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Count tells EPA to review flex permits

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Texas. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s disapproval of Texas’ Flexible Permits program was not supported by the Clean Air Act. Under the Flexible Permits program, which had been … Continue reading →

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No stay for voter registration injunction

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in Galveston today denied the state’s request for a stay that would have allowed Texas to enforce several of its voter registration laws. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office asked for the stay on Aug. 4 … Continue reading →

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Guess who likes the Obamacare ruling now?

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas, that’s who. But not for any positive reason, of course. The high court decision limited the power of Congress to force states to take certain actions by threatening to withhold federal money – in the Affordable … Continue reading →

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Judge halts anti-voter registration laws

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa of Galveston ruled that a law that prohibits third-party voter registrars from working in more than one county and another that mandates registrars in Texas be residents of the state violate the First Amendment. … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial wraps up

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t follow the day to day reports from the voter ID preclearance trial, mostly because there wasn’t anything in the testimony that was truly unexpected. Lots of numbers, some of questionable provenance, were presented. The state continued to claim … Continue reading →

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How long will those school finance lawsuits take?

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That depends in part on whether they all get heard together or not. The massive lawsuit over the state’s method of financing schools, scheduled for trial beginning Oct. 22, could continue into January if two challenges by charter schools are … Continue reading →

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City wins Renew/Rebuild Houston lawsuit appeal

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our story so far: After the Renew Houston proposition was passed in 2010, the usual suspects led by Paul Bettencourt filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the result on the grounds that they believed the voters were too stupid to … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial, day one

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off, with the state bringing the funny math as part of its case. A Justice Department lawyer, Elizabeth Westfall, argued that the law has the potential to prevent 1.4 million Texans from voting who are eligible but lack … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial starts today

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another big lawsuit in a year that’s seen plenty of them. The decades-old legal battle between states’ rights and civil rights returns to a familiar venue – a federal courtroom – on Monday as lawyers for the state of Texas … Continue reading →

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