Tag Archives: lawsuit

You can always count on Sid Miller to be a bigot

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There are other words I could have used as well. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is ordering his employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,” the latest move by the state’s Republican leaders against transgender people. … Continue reading →

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Sexual harassment lawsuit against Collin County DA settled

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. Collin County Commissioners unanimously agreed Monday to settle an amended lawsuit against the Collin County District Attorney’s Office by three current and three former employees of that office. The suit accused District Attorney Greg Willis and First … Continue reading →

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The case of the no-evidence lawsuit

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The lack of evidence in the Harris County election lawsuits is so glaring, I don’t know how we’re talking about anything else. In the weeks following Harris County’s November election, 22 Republican candidates who lost their races filed lawsuits challenging the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS halts the anti-mifepristone ruling

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Supreme Court ruled Friday to pause lower court rulings that would have imposed restrictions on mifepristone, keeping the drug accessible while the case proceeds. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would not have granted the stay. Despite the … Continue reading →

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How was there still an active lawsuit over the 2004 revenue cap referendum?

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I am gobsmacked. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down part of Houston’s revenue cap, creating the possibility that the city may have to comply with an even more stringent cap in the future. Elected officials in Houston long have blamed … Continue reading →

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There were fewer voting sites with paper issues than we thought

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my takeaway from this. On Election Day last year, an unusual problem occurred around 6 p.m. — the polling place at El Lago City Hall ran out of paper ballots. Republican presiding judge Chris Russo, the election worker running … Continue reading →

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Anti-mifepristone order still paused

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

SCOTUS needs a couple more days. The Supreme Court extended its stay on lower court rulings on mifepristone until Friday just before midnight, meaning that the drug will remain accessible and available at least until then. The order, written by … Continue reading →

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Anti-mifepristone litigants respond to SCOTUS appeal

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Today we find out what SCOTUS will do. The anti-abortion doctors who first brought the case seeking to get mifepristone yanked from the markets filed a reply brief Tuesday, starting the clock on the Supreme Court’s response. It’s the latest … Continue reading →

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Harris County versus AG over when election records can be withheld

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Harris County is battling Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office over its ability to withhold election records that have been requested under the state’s public information law. In the case, filed last December, the county argues it should be … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS pauses that anti-mifepristone ruling

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A brief timeout. The Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s emergency request to temporarily halt lower court rulings that would have reimposed restrictions on mifepristone that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had lifted in recent years. The stay … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit barely limits ridiculous anti-mifepristone ruling

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In other words, the Fifth Circuit did Fifth Circuit things. The notoriously right-wing Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld much of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling on mifepristone from late last week in an early Thursday decision that may prompt the … Continue reading →

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Houston rescinds its anti-busking ordinance

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good call. Houston formally abandoned an ordinance Wednesday that banned buskers throughout most of the city, four months after it was struck down by a federal judge. For decades, Houston made busking — musicians and other artists performing on streets … Continue reading →

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Feds take steps to protect abortion health data

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Biden administration released a raft of proposals related to keeping abortion-related health information private Wednesday morning. Some of the measures are specifically targeted to shield providers from prosecution, so far the primary way red states are seeking to … Continue reading →

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The doctors involved in the lawsuit to clarify Texas’ draconian forced birth law

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Last spring, Dr. Judy Levison started to give her routine answer when a patient, who was 15 weeks pregnant, asked why she should receive a blood test that picks up certain fetal defects. Some women simply want to … Continue reading →

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Tuesday mifepristone update

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First things first, that lawless ruling from the wingnut Texas judge has been appealed. The U.S. Justice Department on Monday asked a federal appeals court to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the U.S. market as litigation plays out, days … Continue reading →

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We await what’s next with mifepristone

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“Everything is on the table”, whatever that ultimately means. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said the administration is willing to do whatever it takes to protect access to the abortion drug mifepristone, after a federal judge in Texas suspended the … Continue reading →

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Mifepristone access banned and expanded

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

So as you might have heard, this happened on Friday. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas stayed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of abortion drug mifepristone nationwide Friday, including in blue states with robust abortion protections. The … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead to the inevitable litigation over a trans sports ban

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The feds have weighed in. The Department of Education on Thursday formally proposed a rule change to Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools, that would be at odds with anti-trans bills being signed into … Continue reading →

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Harris County felony bail bond lawsuit ruling coming

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Definitely something to look forward to. Lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit accusing Harris County of unfair bail practices that unjustly imprison lower-income inmates are pressing for a swift resolution, and a judge says a ruling in the four-year … Continue reading →

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Senate re-passes its redistricting map

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly political theater, as there’s little reason to believe they actually need to cover their butts at this point. A year and half after it was first approved, the Texas Senate on Monday voted to rubber-stamp a map setting the … Continue reading →

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Llano County ordered to return books to library shelves

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, this is a thing that is happening in the year of our Lord 2023. Officials in Llano County must return to the public library system books they removed and allow them to be checked out again, a federal judge ruled this week. … Continue reading →

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Hegar caves on phony “defunding” claim again

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Clown the Comptroller II: Electric Boogaloo. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Monday backed off his claim that Harris County “defunded” a constable’s office in violation of a state law intended to prevent cities and counties from cutting their police budgets, … Continue reading →

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Meanwhile, in Ken Paxton crime news…

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Paxton buddy Nate Paul loses an appeal on the contempt charges against him. The Austin real estate investor accused of bribing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton still faces 10 days in jail for contempt of court, after losing an appeal. … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rules for city on pay parity, for firefighters on collective bargaining

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to approach this one at first via dueling press releases. First, from the HPFFA: The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that the City of Houston violated the state constitution in refusing to honor voter-approved fair pay and … Continue reading →

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Jared Woodfill and Paul Pressler

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sleazebags of a feather sleaze together. In 2016, former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill received an urgent warning about Paul Pressler, his longtime law partner and a Southern Baptist leader. In an email, a 25-year-old attorney from Woodfill’s Houston … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds go back to work

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it, but I’m waiting for another shoe to drop. Some abortion advocacy nonprofit groups have resumed paying for Texans to get abortions out of state after a court ruling last month. These groups, called abortion funds, stopped … Continue reading →

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Oklahoma Supreme Court upholds abortion rights

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest, for obvious reasons. A divided Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a portion of the state’s near-total ban on abortion, ruling women have a right to abortion when pregnancy risks their health, not just in a medical emergency. … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State House 2022

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have data. Texas Democrats and Republicans are beginning to gear up for a presidential election cycle in which opportunities to flip seats for Congress and the Legislature appear limited. It’s a natural outcome after Republicans redrew legislative and congressional … Continue reading →

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More on the Denton experience with marijuana decriminalization

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A long story from the Dallas Observer. Nick Stevens stood before the Denton City Council looking equally frustrated and determined. The activist had helped to lead the grassroots charge to decriminalize marijuana in the North Texas college town. Now he … Continue reading →

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Uvalde families ask to be added to the public information lawsuit against DPS

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A direct response to the Uvalde County DA and her questionable claims. Some Uvalde families of victims who were killed or injured during the massacre at Robb Elementary School last year have asked a judge to add them as plaintiffs … Continue reading →

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SCOTx denies pre-election challenge to San Antonio marijuana reform referendum

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First the voters will vote, then as needed the lawsuits will happen. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that any legal challenges to a proposed charter amendment on policing reforms must wait until after voters weigh in on the measure … Continue reading →

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So now we start processing what happened and what will happen with the TEA takeover

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board points to three key items. Still, if this takeover must happen — and Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday that it is indeed happening — we want it to work. Houston’s schoolchildren don’t have time for another … Continue reading →

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Appealing the injunction that halted DFPS investigations of trans kids’ families

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just keeping you informed. Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an appeal, is asking the courts to lift an injunction that stopped the state from conducting child abuse investigations over transition-related medical care for transgender youth. Paxton argued that the families … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit that seeks to clarify exceptions to Texas’ forced birth laws

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of interesting articles to read to enhance our understanding of the lawsuit filed by five women who claim that Texas’ anti-abortion laws have harmed them. From Vox: In theory, even after the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion decision in Dobbs v. … Continue reading →

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