Tag Archives: SCOTUS

We could get a special session on redistricting

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

At least, that’s what State Sen. Dawn Buckingham thinks. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, expects the Legislature to be called back for another special session — this time to tackle the state’s congressional map. Monday evening at the Central Texas … Continue reading →

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Texas to appeal redistricting ruling

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. If Gov. Greg Abbott calls a second special legislative session this summer, it won’t be for redistricting. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed Friday that Abbott won’t ask lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map — found … Continue reading →

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Houston city employees file their own lawsuit (again) on spousal benefits

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A shame it’s had to come to this, but this is where we are. On Thursday, three married couples from Houston filed a lawsuit in federal court aimed at forcing the city to preserve health coverage and other benefits for … Continue reading →

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Paxton joins defense of Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is backing Wisconsin in a high-profile case asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether lawmakers can go too far when drawing political maps to advantage one party. Paxton, a Republican, filed an … Continue reading →

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How the redistricting case could play out

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li games out how the Texas redistricting litigation may go from the anticipated court ruling to final resolution. So, in short, Texans could end up with a new set of maps (drawn by the Texas Legislature or drawn by … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial wraps up

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait. The state of Texas faced a healthy dose of judicial skepticism on Saturday as its lawyers laid out final arguments in a trial over whether lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minority voters in enacting current Texas House and … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial week begins

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This will be the main event of the week. Eight months ahead of the 2018 primaries, Texas and its legal foes on Monday will kick off a week-long trial that could shake up races across the state. The state and … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court sends same-sex marriage benefits question back to lower court

Posted on July 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Unbelievable. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lower court ruling that said spouses of gay and lesbian public employees are entitled to government-subsidized same-sex marriage benefits. The state’s highest civil court ordered a trial court to reconsider … Continue reading →

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Another look at redistricting in Texas

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in the spotlight right now. The odd shapes tell the story. A huge Republican majority in the Houston-area 2nd congressional district represented by Ted Poe curls around the region from Lake Houston, northeast of the city, makes a meandering, … Continue reading →

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SB4’s day in court

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sparks were flying. Opponents of Texas’ state-based immigration law told a federal judge Monday that allowing the controversial measure to stand would pave the way for a nationwide police state where local officers could subvert the established immigration-enforcement powers of … Continue reading →

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No partisan gerrymandering claims (yet) in Texas

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has issued an order striking the expert report offered by the Texas Democratic Party in connection with its partisan gerrymandering claim. However, the court said that it would allow … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS takes on Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering case

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Monday’s big news. Partisan gerrymandering exists because the Supreme Court allows it to exist. Although such gerrymanders are a form a viewpoint discrimination, which violates the First Amendment, Republican appointees to the Supreme Court have been reluctant to even let … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS will not hear Harris County bail appeal

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Let this please be the end of the line. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has denied Harris County’s request to stop the release of misdemeanor inmates who can’t afford to post cash bail. The county had appealed late Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit reinstates bail order

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County took the fight over its controversial bail system to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, even as county officials scrambled to plan the imminent release of dozens of misdemeanor defendants held behind bars who cannot afford to … Continue reading →

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No special session for redistricting

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in my Wednesday post about the SCOTUS ruling that declared North Carolina’s Congressional map to be an illegal gerrymander was a note that the court in the Texas redistricting case asked the state to consider a special session to … Continue reading →

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The SCOTUS ruling on North Carolina’s gerrymandering could affect Texas

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is potentially a very big deal. In striking down North Carolina’s congressional district map, the Supreme Court sent Texas a firm warning Monday about how the state’s case may fare if it reaches that stage. The 5-3 North Carolina … Continue reading →

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Court denies motion for appeals in redistricting case and sets trial date

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We are moving along in this process after such a long long looooooooooooooooong wait to get here. A three-judge panel on Monday denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to appeal a March ruling that said the Legislature intentionally discriminated … Continue reading →

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Winning the battles but losing the war

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the story of reproductive rights, and access to reproductive health care in general, in Texas. “We have made tremendous gains,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life. He hopes that someday, perhaps under Trump, the … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the “sanctuary cities” lawsuits

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just a matter of time. Now that Senate Bill 4 is on its way to becoming law, opponents are looking to the courts for relief – and a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case is giving them hope. The high … Continue reading →

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Legislative maps found to have discriminatory intent

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Texas lawmakers intentionally diluted the political clout of minority voters in drawing the state’s House districts, a panel of federal judges ruled Thursday. In a long-awaited ruling, the San Antonio-based judges found that lawmakers in 2011 either violated the … Continue reading →

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Attorney’s fees awarded to same sex marriage plaintiffs

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Justice. Texas is on the hook for more than $600,000 in fees associated with its unsuccessful fight to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Affirming a lower court ruling on the fees, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

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The status of Section 3

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Lyle Denniston looks at a key aspect of the voting rights-related lawsuits in Texas. About four years after the Supreme Court took away the government’s strongest authority to protect minority voters’ rights, a backup power under the federal Voting Rights … Continue reading →

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Voter ID law declared discriminatory

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Again. A federal judge has ruled — for the second time — that Texas lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and black voters in passing a strict voter identification law in 2011. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled Monday that … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court hears ridiculous same-sex marriage appeal

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Was this trip really necessary? Same-sex couples are entitled to the same treatment as opposite-sex couples, a lawyer for the city of Houston argued before the Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case challenging the city’s benefits policy for … Continue reading →

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State Supreme Court hears same sex marriage appeal today

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. Almost two years after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, Texas Republicans are still fighting the ruling — and they’re getting another day in court. The Texas Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Wednesday in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jose Garza

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks for the voter ID litigation. There was the motion by the Justice Department to delay the hearing on whether the law was passed with discriminatory intent, which everyone expects is a prelude … Continue reading →

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“Fetal remains” rule blocked

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Texas cannot require health providers to bury or cremate fetuses, delivering another blow to state leaders in the reproductive rights debate. On Friday afternoon, Sparks wrote in his ruling that Texas Department … Continue reading →

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So what will the Justice Department do with voter ID now?

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t know yet. Hours after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the Department of Justice filed to postpone a hearing on the Texas Voter ID law. The request was granted. The DOJ had previously argued that the law intentionally discriminated … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS will not review voter ID ruling

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For now. The Supreme Court issued orders from its January 19 conference this morning. After granting review in two cases from that conference last week, the justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket today. But there … Continue reading →

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Voter ID hearing postponed

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I fear this is a portent of things to come. Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as president Friday, a Corpus Christi federal court postponed a scheduled hearing in the Texas Voter ID case until next month at … Continue reading →

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State Supreme Court will take up same sex marriage appeal

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow, this wasn’t the worst thing that happened yesterday. After pressure from Texas GOP leadership, the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed course and agreed to take up a same-sex marriage case. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of … Continue reading →

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The GLSEN 2015 National School Climate Survey

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the stuff we talk about when we discuss Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill is business – the opposition from businesses, the political ramifications of a GOP/business schism, the economics of the bathroom bill, etc etc etc. But schools … Continue reading →

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Chris Suprun’s eventful year in voting

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How weird is this? The self-described “voting addict” was an apparent casualty of the confusion amid legal wrangling over the state’s 2011 voter ID law. Now, [Texas Republican elector Chris] Suprun is calling for courts to clarify the rules once … Continue reading →

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So what happens to all those Texas lawsuits against the feds?

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It depends, but basically it’s up to the new Solicitor General, since he is the one defending the federal government’s actions. Since Paxton assumed office as AG in January 2015, Texas has sued the federal government more than a dozen … Continue reading →

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