Category Archives: Legal matters

A cheat sheet for the school finance lawsuits

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a useful guide to the six (so far!) lawsuits that have been filed over school finance. Texas’ latest round of school finance litigation adds some new players to the courtroom, with interests that are more varied than … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit #6

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were six. The Texas Charter School Association announced Tuesday that it would enter the legal fray, arguing that the state has short-changed charter schools because it does not provide funding for facilities. “Just because a parent puts … Continue reading →

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It all depends on what your definition of success is

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

By any objective measure, tort “reform” has been a failure. A new study found no evidence that health care costs in Texas dipped after a 2003 constitutional amendment limited payouts in medical malpractice lawsuits, despite claims made to voters by … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit rules for EPA against Texas

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always a pleasure seeing our litigious Attorney General get slapped down by whatever court he’s bothering this week. In the latest turn in a saga pitting environmental regulators in Washington against those in Austin, a panel of federal judges … Continue reading →

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Yet another voting-related lawsuit

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I had completely forgotten about this. A federal judge in Galveston is to consider motions in a lawsuit filed by a Washington-based voters’ rights group that contends Texas laws make it illegally difficult to register voters. The group Voting for … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood and Texas back in court

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I presume this was the appeal of the injunction that was granted to Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to destroy the Women’s Health Program. A federal appeals court will review a new Texas rule that prohibits … Continue reading →

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Abbott gives on legislative privilege

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. In an effort to move to trial more quickly, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has quietly dropped his opposition to the Department of Justice’s request to take depositions from state lawmakers in the voter identification case. In March, … 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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Bench slaps come in threes

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the tongue lashing they got from the DC Court in the voter ID preclearance trial, the Greg Abbott gang took fire from judges in two other cases recently. Trail Blazers has the highlights. First, some incredulity from … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial likely to be delayed

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And if it is, it’s all the fault of the State of Texas. In another blow to advocates of Texas’ voter ID law, a federal district court ruled today that the law will likely not be in place by the … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit lifts its stay of Planned Parenthood injunction

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Whiplash alert! U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on Monday granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood in the case, saying the state couldn’t bar the group until the lawsuit is decided. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly sought a stay … Continue reading →

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TAB joins school finance litigation

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

But not as a force for good. The Texas Association of Business announced today that it will join a school finance lawsuit against the state, demanding a study of Texas school system efficiency. “The Constitution of Texas calls for the … Continue reading →

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Texas gets stay of injunction

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And just like that, we’re back where we started. Late last night, a federal appeals court judge granted Texas an emergency stay halting Planned Parenthood’s participation in the Women’s Health Program. Justice Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Injunction granted to Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from preventing Planned Parenthood from getting state funds through the Women’s Health Program. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled there is sufficient evidence that a law banning Planned Parenthood from … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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Delay in voter ID trial requested

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Li: Intervenors in the Texas voter ID case asked the court today to delay the scheduled July 9 start of trial in the case, citing discovery delays by the State of Texas.  The intervenors said the delays had … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit to start October 22

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The school finance lawsuit will go to trial beginning Oct. 22, state district Judge John Dietz decided, and lawyers in the case agreed to a schedule for exchanging briefs. That agreement resulted in a status hearing being … Continue reading →

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Texas continues its fight against clean air

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas was back in court last week, arguing for its right to pollute other states’ air. The latest round in the state’s fight with the Environmental Protection Agency will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues Texas

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Two can play at that game. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a rule aimed at excluding their health centers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, … Continue reading →

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Who testifies about voter ID?

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That was the question before the federal court on Tuesday. U.S. Justice Department lawyers told a federal three-judge panel Tuesday that Texas legislators should not be shielded from testifying in a voter ID case. But lawyers for state Attorney General … Continue reading →

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Voter ID lawsuit action this week

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow, the DC Court will hear “oral argument on the State of Texas’ request to block the depositions of 12 Republican legislators who were involved with the voter ID bill, including State Sen. Dan Patrick and state representatives Debbie Riddle … Continue reading →

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School finance litigation gets underway

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We ought to get a decision in the school finance lawsuits by the end of the year. This case has become the largest of its kind in Texas’ decades-long history of school finance litigation. The school districts that have signed … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court keeps beaches closed

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Phooey. Affirming the private-property rights of shoreline landowners, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the public’s right of access to state beaches cannot be guaranteed when hurricanes or storms reshape the coast. The sharply divided ruling will limit the … Continue reading →

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Harris County rejecting fewer voter registrations

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In other lawsuit-related news: Harris County officials have rejected far fewer would-be voters since 2008, but Democrats are demanding more proof that voter rolls are not being illegally suppressed – particularly among Hispanics – as another U.S. presidential election approaches. … Continue reading →

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If it walks like a PAC and talks like a PAC…

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

…the odds are pretty good that it’s a PAC. A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally … Continue reading →

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Why no ID?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Grits asks an interesting question. Why do so many adult Texans lack ID? In part because 2 million drivers have had their drivers licenses revoked because of nonpayment of the Driver Responsibility Surcharge, which readers will recall is a stiff … Continue reading →

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Abbott files suit over WHP

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Say what? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is filing yet another lawsuit against the federal government, this one, no surprise, over the Women’s Health Program. Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders had predicted for weeks: that they are … Continue reading →

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Texas goes long on voter ID

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Li: The State of Texas is seeking permission from the three-judge panel in the voter ID case to file an amended complaint that would directly challenge the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The amended … Continue reading →

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More on the feds’ rejection of the Texas voter ID law

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Trib story. The U.S. Department of Justice has rejected Texas’ application for preclearance of its voter ID law, saying the state did not prove that the bill would not have a discriminatory effect on minority voters. “The department’s … Continue reading →

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DOJ refuses to preclear Texas voter ID law

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. I’m not in a position to do any analysis of this now – I’ll have something for tomorrow morning – but for now I wanted to note this development. The state will proceed with its lawsuit, so we … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit #5

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The plaintiffs keep on coming. A lawsuit by a small group of parents claims Texas is not getting enough bang for its educational buck, and asks the state’s courts to address inefficiencies in how education funding is spent. Attorneys plan … Continue reading →

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Texas Watch on the Supreme Court

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Watch: The Texas Supreme Court has a long history of favoring corporate defendants over families and small businesses, according to a decade-long review of the Court’s decision making by Court Watch, a project of the non-profit Texas Watch Foundation. … Continue reading →

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Meet the voter ID three judge panel

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the state of Texas has filed a lawsuit in the DC District Federal Court – the same court that is hearing the preclearance lawsuit – to get the odious voter ID law precleared. Michael Li introduces us … Continue reading →

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On free speech and reproductive rights

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I must say, I was a bit flummoxed by this story. The City of Austin might repeal a 2-year-old ordinance requiring some facilities that counsel women with unplanned pregnancies to post signs saying they don’t offer abortions or contraceptive services. … Continue reading →

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