Tag Archives: SCOTUS

Republicans gear up for full blown gay panic in 2017

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You have been warned. Still angry about the Supreme Court’s mandate, some conservative lawmakers hope that it is someday overturned. In the meantime, they expect to propose a series of what they call religious liberty bills to blunt its impact. … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS punts on immigration order

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. ealing a major blow to President Obama’s controversial executive immigration order, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it had failed to produce a majority opinion on the policy — meaning that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ November … Continue reading →

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Where’s the abortion data?

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The ACLU would like to know. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to decide the biggest abortion case in nearly a decade, the ACLU of Texas is demanding that the Department of State Health Services “stop concealing” abortion statistics for … Continue reading →

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Just waiting on SCOTUS’ HB2 ruling

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll know by the end of the month, one way or the other. In the next few weeks the U.S. Supreme Court, in one of the most significant reproductive rights cases in more than two decades, is expected to determine … Continue reading →

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Darlie Routier, 20 years later

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on one of the more notorious murder cases in recent history. If it hadn’t been for that crazy Silly String, Darlie Lynn Routier might be a free woman today. At least, that’s what many people believe about … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS declines to hear Ted Cruz birther lawsuit

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not that it really matters at this point. The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a lawsuit arguing that Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is ineligible to be president because his Canadian birth means he is not a “natural born … Continue reading →

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Justice Department asks Judge Hanen to reconsider his last order

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask, I guess. The Obama administration has asked a Brownsville-based judge to rethink an order that requires the federal government to turn over the private information of thousands of undocumented immigrants. The May 19 order from U.S. … Continue reading →

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Voter ID’s day before the full Fifth Circuit

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. A top lawyer for Texas fiercely defended the state’s strictest-in-the-nation voter identification law on Tuesday, in a high-profile case that could ultimately determine at what point states that assert that they are protecting the integrity of … Continue reading →

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Judge Hanen’s bizarre order

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? A federal judge with a history of anti-immigrant sentiment ordered the federal government to turn over the names, addresses and “all available contact information” of over 100,000 immigrants living within the United States. He does so in a strange … Continue reading →

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Full DC Circuit Court to review Clean Power Plan

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress, an update on yet another federal lawsuit involving Texas. The Clean Power Plan will get its day in court, but in September, not June — and by the full en banc D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, not the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS punts on birth control lawsuit

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Zubik v. Burwell was supposed to be an epic showdown over the power of religious objectors to limit the rights of others. A sequel to the Court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Zubik involved regulations expanding women’s access … Continue reading →

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New methane rules finalized

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Gentlemen, start your lawyers. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued its final rule for methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The rule limits methane emissions from new oil and gas infrastructure and requires operators to submit to … Continue reading →

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Use of abortion pill rises

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Until the Lege reconvenes, anyway. There’s been a sharp increase in the number of Texas women who are using the abortion pill to end their pregnancies now that federal officials have eased restrictions on the drug, according to officials at … Continue reading →

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A new way to attack gerrymandering

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Think Progress: America’s anti-gerrymandering law is an incoherent mess. Thirty years ago, in Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that a partisan gerrymander may be struck down as unconstitutional upon proof of “both intentional discrimination against an identifiable … Continue reading →

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Republican attorneys general file briefs in support of Texas’ voter ID law

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Birds of a feather. Fifteen Republican-controlled states are wading into the contentious court fight over Texas’ voter ID law, arguing in a legal brief that similar laws around the country have already been upheld by the courts. […] Ahead of … Continue reading →

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Meyers’ voter ID lawsuit gets appellate hearing

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I hope he gets to keep it going. [Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Lawrence] Meyers filed his state lawsuit in October 2014, while another legal challenge to the state’s voter ID law was pending in federal court in Corpus Christi. … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS declines to intervene in voter ID case for now

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not what I would have wanted, but not the end of the line. Even as a federal appeals court prepares to review the constitutionality of Texas’ controversial voter ID law, the law will remain in effect, the U.S. Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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The DAPA arguments at SCOTUS

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to say how this will go. A shorthanded Supreme Court heard a Texas-led challenge against President Barack Obama’s 2014 immigration plan Monday with sharp questions about whether the state could bring the case to begin with and if the … Continue reading →

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DAPA’s day at SCOTUS

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another day, another huge Supreme Court case involving Texas, a big policy item from President Obama at stake, and the fate of millions of people hanging in the balance. The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the matter, one of … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court dismisses effort to dissolve state’s first same-sex marriage

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I could be wrong, but I believe this closes the books on all the same-sex marriage litigation from last year. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday tossed out Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to undo the union of the first gay couple to … Continue reading →

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I now pronounce you man and machine

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, no. Chris Sevier says he’s being denied his right to marry – his computer. The persistent Tennessee lawyer – who has carried his challenge to same-sex marriage to courthouses across the nation – has filed a lawsuit in federal … Continue reading →

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Texas-filed birther lawsuit against Ted Cruz dismissed

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. A Houston federal judge tossed out a lawsuit Wednesday that challenged Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s eligibility to run for president. U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning that Houston lawyer Boris Schwartz cannot … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS asked to rule on Cruz birther lawsuit

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What fun. A Utah man became the first to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a “birther” lawsuit against Ted Cruz which challenges the White House hopeful’s eligibility for office. The request by Utah attorney Walter Wagner, who … Continue reading →

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Is the Evenwel decision the last word on “one person one vote”?

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not. With a long-running legal struggle raging over one of the nation’s strictest voter identification laws, Texas was already a prime battleground in a war between conservatives and liberals over voting rights. And on Monday, experts here and elsewhere … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds “one person, one vote”

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. In a unanimous decision released Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold Texas’ current system for drawing legislative districts so that they are roughly equal in population. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a victory for legislators — … Continue reading →

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FDA makes medical abortion safer

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, at least until the Legislature reconvenes. Texas women will be able to obtain medical abortions later into their pregnancies under newly approved changes by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The FDA on Wednesday announced revised rules for … Continue reading →

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Texas AG files SCOTUS brief against Obama immigration plan

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what he does. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Monday arguing against President Barack Obama’s plan to shield from deportation nearly 5 million people here illegally and give them temporary work permits. … Continue reading →

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Can SCOTUS please intervene in the voter ID case?

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The plaintiffs would like to know. Civil rights groups challenging Texas’ voter identification law are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the measure from being used during the 2016 general election. […] The civil rights groups filed a motion … Continue reading →

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Once more with SCOTUS and birth control

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. In another major case concerning Texas women’s reproductive care, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider if the right to religious freedom is broad enough to completely exempt nonprofits with religious objections to birth control from … Continue reading →

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The New Mexico abortion option

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This should come as a surprise to no one. Though abortions among residents are down the number of out-of-state women traveling to New Mexico for abortions has grown significantly over the past three years. According to state Department of Health … Continue reading →

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How much more “undue” does it need to be?

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

HB2 is doing exactly what it was intended to do. A new report released Thursday shows Texas abortion patients traveled farther for services and experienced higher out-of-pocket costs following the closure of more than half of the state’s legal abortion … Continue reading →

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One State Bar complaint against Paxton dismissed

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A little bit of good news for our embattled AG, but not much. The State Bar of Texas has dismissed one of two pending complaints against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The dismissed complaint, filed in February by attorney and blogger … Continue reading →

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New EPA rules for methane coming

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know what will follow. Building on already pending rules to cut methane leaks from both new oil and gas wells and those on federal lands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now plans to bring to the oil sector the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds same-sex adoption rights

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. The U.S. Supreme Court in a victory for gay rights ruled Monday that states must honor adoptions by same-sex parents who move across state lines. Citing the Constitution’s “full faith and credit” clause, the justices in a unanimous opinion … Continue reading →

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