Tag Archives: lawsuit

DOJ releases its Uvalde report

It’s brutal. Officers had many opportunities as the 2022 school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was still unfolding to reassess their flawed response to the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the US Justice Department concludes in a … Continue reading

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The Texas Freedom to Read Project

Good stuff. A group of Texas parents has a mission: Let their kids follow their curiosity in school libraries. The Texas Freedom to Read Project launched in December to counter the statewide surge in book challenges and removals in public … Continue reading

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Paxton will no longer fight the whistleblower lawsuit

Kind of stunning, definitely a stunt, and also his latest and most desperate ploy to avoid being deposed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his agency will stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit by four former top executives who … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit upholds injunction in book rating lawsuit

Good news. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a new Texas law that requires bookstores to rate books for sexual content and prohibits any deemed “sexually explicit” from the state’s public schools. A panel of three judges … Continue reading

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Texas Medical Board asked to clarify abortion exceptions

If the Supreme Court won’t do it, then what else is there? Two attorneys have asked the Texas Medical Board to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws, following the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection last … Continue reading

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Apparently that challenge to the 2023 Constitutional amendment elections just went away

I’d been wondering about this. Legal challenges that threatened to upend Texas voter-approved property tax cuts and increases to retired teachers’ pensions appear to have been squashed by a coordinated effort between the governor, the attorney general and the secretary … Continue reading

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It’s official, Paxton will get deposed

Excellent. Attorney General Ken Paxton and his top aides will be forced to testify in a lawsuit accusing Paxton of violating the state’s whistleblower protection law after the Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency motion to block the … Continue reading

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Paxton tries his whistleblower deposition luck with SCOTx

This should be the end of the line, one way or another. Embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shield him from being deposed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former agency employees. … Continue reading

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A tale of living at the office

I am oddly fascinated by this. A Republican candidate for Texas Senate who is backed by top state leaders is fighting a multifront legal battle against primary opponents who want to remove him from the ballot over residency questions. The … Continue reading

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Paxton again ordered to sit for whistleblower deposition

Keep on losing, Kenny. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could have to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit that prompted his impeachment last year. In a one-sentence order issued Friday evening, Texas’s Third Court of Appeals denied Paxton’s challenge … Continue reading

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Mayor Whitmire orders negotiations with the firefighters

New regime, new directions. In a major step toward reconciliation with the firefighters union, Mayor John Whitmire has asked the city attorney to drop an appeal that former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration filed just days before the change in city … Continue reading

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Justice Department sues over SB4

As they had threatened to do. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas on Wednesday over a new state law that allows Texas police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. “Texas cannot disregard the United States … Continue reading

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Paxton still desperately trying to avoid being deposed

And still failing. The Texas Third Court of Appeals denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an emergency stay of impending depositions in the whistleblower lawsuit that sparked his impeachment this year, according to a Wednesday court filing. The whistleblower … Continue reading

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Southern Baptist Convention settles Paul Pressler sexual abuse lawsuit

A big deal. The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual … Continue reading

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Realignment roundup

You can officially put a bow on the PAC 12. Oregon State and Washington State have come to an agreement in principle with the 10 departing Pac-12 universities that will end ongoing litigation related to control of the conference, the … Continue reading

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Someday the 2022 election will end

Today is not that day. Tomorrow doesn’t look so good either. It’s an Election Day mishap that will sound familiar to Harris County residents. Voters in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County temporarily were unable to cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election … Continue reading

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Seattle Children’s Hospital sues Texas Attorney General over trans patient records

I have three things to say about this. Seattle Children’s Hospital has sued the Texas Office of the Attorney General to block the release of patient information after the agency sent the Washington-based health care system an investigative subpoena demanding … Continue reading

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Paxton and aides ordered to sit for depositions on whistleblower trial

Good. A Travis County district judge has ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and three top aides to sit for depositions in the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against him. At a hearing Wednesday in Austin, Judge Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ motion … Continue reading

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DOJ sues Colony Ridge developers

Major plot twist. The federal government is suing Colony Ridge, accusing the Houston-area developer of using fraudulent lending practices targeting tens of thousands of Latino buyers with false statements and predatory loans in rural Liberty County. The U.S. Department of … Continue reading

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Another complaint filed over SpaceX launches in South Texas

Have at it. Several organizations have filed a new complaint about the environmental impacts of SpaceX Starship launches even as government agencies face criticism for delaying such launches for environmental reviews. Several environmental groups announced Dec. 15 that they had … Continue reading

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ACLU and immigrants rights groups sue over our latest legislative atrocity

Here we go. Immigrant rights organizations have sued Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott approved one of the strictest state immigration enforcement laws, which authorizes police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. In their lawsuit, the American Civil … Continue reading

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The Texas Medical Board can’t do anything about abortion

I’m sorry, but this is a complete waste of time, and everybody involved knows it. In its ruling this week denying a Dallas woman’s petition for an emergency abortion, the Texas Supreme Court said it was the responsibility of physicians … Continue reading

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SCOTx declines to revive oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto

Good. The Texas Supreme Court said Friday it would not consider Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke after a state appeals court dismissed it earlier this year. The all-GOP court denied Warren’s petition … Continue reading

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City ordered to negotiate a contract with the firefighters

A day of reckoning is arriving. The city of Houston and the firefighters union are sparring over who bears responsibility for their years-long legal battle, following a judge’s request for them to start renegotiating the firefighters’ contracts within the next … Continue reading

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Media Matters sues Ken Paxton

Turnabout is fair play. Whether it’s justiciable or not, we’ll see. Media Matters for America sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court late Monday, alleging that Paxton violated the First Amendment last month and chilled its work when … Continue reading

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One key takeaway from the SCOTx ruling in the Kate Cox case

I’m sure you’re as mad about the Kate Cox case as I am. The thing you need to know is there is very much something you can do about it. Like, right now. When a majority of Texans want the … Continue reading

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SCOTUS takes up mifepristone appeal

Get ready. The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hear arguments on the accessibility of the abortion drug mifepristone in the biggest abortion case since Dobbs. The case stems from a widely panned decision handed down by notorious Donald … Continue reading

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Texas TiKTok ban upheld

Sorry, professors. A U.S. judge on Monday upheld Texas’ ban on state employees’, including public university employees, using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in July … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit does its thing with Galveston redistricting

Death, taxes, and the Fifth Circuit being terrible. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a new political map imposed on Galveston County by a lower court from taking effect. Plaintiffs are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to … Continue reading

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Kate Cox leaves Texas to get her abortion

My heart goes out to her and her family. After the Texas Supreme Court temporarily put a pregnant woman’s efforts to get an emergency abortion on hold, her lawyers said Monday that she had left Texas to get care in … Continue reading

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Two Loving County 2022 elections overturned

Wow. State District Judge David Rogers ruled that 10 Loving County voters did not have enough connection to the area to legally vote there. As a result, two local November 2022 elections must be redone because the number of ineligible … Continue reading

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Montana TikTok ban blocked

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading

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Paxton asks SCOTx to stop the emergency abortion

Welp. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and stop a Dallas woman from having an abortion. Paxton’s office petitioned the high court just before midnight Thursday, after a Travis County district judge granted … Continue reading

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Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit on hold as federal courts screw around with VRA

Frustrating. A federal lawsuit that aims to change Spring Branch ISD’s election system to bring more representation to the school board will likely be delayed for months, pending decisions in several other cases that could impact the legality of the … Continue reading

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