Tag Archives: Attorney General

The state’s puppet witnesses in the HB2 lawsuit

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Austin Chronicle tells the story. Among the state defense witnesses who took the stand on the third day of trial against Texas’ abortion-restricting House Bill 2 were two women with overt objections to abortion and one physician whose testimony … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s appellate brief on same sex marriage is a complete loser

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How weak does your case have to be to have to rely on this? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed an appeal with the U.S. 5th Circuit Monday regarding the state’s same-sex marriage ban, which was ruled unconstitutional by a … Continue reading →

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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds marriage equality

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s two federal appeals courts, to go along with however many federal district courts and state courts. Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban was ruled unconstitutional on Monday in the first such decision by a federal appellate court in the South. “We … Continue reading →

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TPJ files criminal complaint against Ken Paxton

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: TPJ Calls for Formal Investigation of AG Candidate Ken Paxton – Criminal Complaint Filed With Travis County DA’s Office TPJ has filed a criminal complaint with the Travis County District Attorney against State Senator and Attorney General … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood comes out swinging

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. Planned Parenthood’s political arm is embarking on the most aggressive campaign it has ever waged in Texas, with plans to spend $3 million to turn out voters for Democratic candidates including Sens. Wendy Davis for governor and … Continue reading →

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When is that appeal of the Texas same sex marriage ruling going to happen?

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little later than originally planned. It’s been five months since a federal judge struck down Texas’ bans on same-sex marriage. But Attorney General Greg Abbott says he needs more time to file a brief appealing U.S. District Judge Orlando … Continue reading →

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Sam Houston enters the chemical disclosure fray

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Sam Houston, Democratic Nominee for Texas Attorney General, today promised to reverse the current AG’s letter ruling on the release of the locations of dangerous chemicals, putting the safety of our families and children first. “I have … Continue reading →

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The Trib on the AG race

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What do you do when you have an ethically compromised candidate on your ticket? Thank your lucky stars that you’re the majority party and hope like hell the challenger can’t get any traction. A political candidate’s troubles are supposed to … Continue reading →

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Close enough for Greg Abbott

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What more do you need to know? Attorney General Greg Abbott first stirred things up by saying the state would not release information about the locations and amounts of hazardous chemicals held by private companies, reversing nearly three decades of … Continue reading →

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Next phases of redistricting lawsuit scheduled

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Part One takes place next week. The trial over 2011 House district boundaries begins July 14 in U.S. District Court, where a hearing Tuesday shed light on how the case could unfold. The proceeding are expected to last at least … Continue reading →

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Davis takes her attack on Abbott’s chemical info obstruction on the road

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping it going. Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis on Tuesday recalled the deadly explosion just up the road in West as she lambasted her GOP opponent for governor, Attorney General Greg Abbott, over his decision restricting disclosure of information about chemical … Continue reading →

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Davis presses the attack on Abbott’s obstruction on chemical info

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I know, it’s a little lazy of me to do a post based on a campaign email, but this missive from the Wendy Davis campaign is the best roundup of the incendiary chemical disclosure issue and the potential fallout from … Continue reading →

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Why would you want to regulate that?

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, what are a few fiery explosions among friends? Members of the state House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee have been struggling for several months over how to respond to last year’s massive explosion at the West Fertilizer … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott sure doesn’t like whistleblowers

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He sure does seem to have a lot of them, though. The office of Attorney General Greg Abbott — the Republican gubernatorial candidate — is appealing a whistleblower’s lawsuit and $1.2 million verdict, arguing that an El Paso jury was … Continue reading →

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Convention coverage

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wendy and Leticia and a whole host of others rally the crowd in Dallas. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte shared the spotlight at the Texas Democratic Party convention on Friday night, promising to change the direction of the … Continue reading →

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A Greg Abbott threefer

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Trail Blazers: Dallas appeals court rules fired prosecutor can pursue whistleblowing case against Greg Abbott’s office In May 2009, a former assistant attorney general in Greg Abbott’s office sued the Office of the Attorney General in Dallas County court, claiming … Continue reading →

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More plaintiffs respond to Abbott’s recusal motion

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I think it’s fair to say that the plaintiffs are strongly opposed to Greg Abbott’s attempt to get Judge Dietz recused in the school finance trial. Lawyers representing hundreds of school districts pushed back Thursday against Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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Judge Dietz refuses to recuse himself

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. The Travis County District Court judge overseeing a contentious trial over the state’s school finance system rejected a request by the attorney general’s office to recuse himself from the case. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office asked state District … Continue reading →

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State wants judge removed from school finance case

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Monday sought to remove the judge presiding over the public school finance case, contending that his impartiality is in question due to email exchanges with lawyers that filed the … Continue reading →

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Yes, Greg Abbott opposes the HERO

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He just doesn’t want to be forced to admit it. When the Houston City Council passed its nondiscrimination ordinance including gay and transgender protections, top Democratic statewide candidates such as Sen. Wendy Davis were quick to celebrate. “All people should … Continue reading →

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Some postmortem thoughts

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib leads with the obvious. As the results of Republican primary runoffs began to roll in Tuesday evening, Texas Democrats realized they were getting exactly what they wanted — and exactly what they feared. The victories of Dan Patrick … Continue reading →

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Primary runoff results

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So long, Dave. Riding a wave of conservative sentiment that Texas Republicans were not being led with a hard enough edge, state Sen. Dan Patrick crushed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff election for lieutenant governor, ending … Continue reading →

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California AG office does better on pay equity than Texas AG office

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gotta sting. Female lawyers in the California state prosecutor’s office don’t fall as far behind their male counterparts in pay as do female lawyers in the Texas attorney general’s office, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Since March, the … Continue reading →

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Saturday mini-link roundup

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Three stories you should read that I didn’t have time to devote a full post to: AusChron: Abbott’s abject CPRIT failures The scandal broke after letters between the agency’s chief science officer, Nobel laureate Dr. Alfred Gilman, and CPRIT’s Chief … Continue reading →

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SEC complaint filed against Paxton

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if anything comes of this. Days after Texas regulators fined Sen. Ken Paxton $1,000 for working for a financial firm without registering with the state, a plaintiff’s lawyer filed a similar complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange … Continue reading →

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More on Abbott and Duntsch

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer follows up its earlier reporting on disastrous doctor Christopher Duntsch and the efforts of Greg Abbott to ensure he is never held accountable for his actions. When I wrote about Duntsch last August, there were quite a few … Continue reading →

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Davis steps up attacks on Abbott over CPRIT

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Progress Texas gets the ball rolling. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was supposed to provide funding for cancer research. But soon after its implementation, the multi-billion dollar entity was awarding grants to donors of Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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Why isn’t Ken Paxton releasing his tax returns?

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This DMN story is actually about how Sen. Ken Paxton, currently in a runoff for the GOP nomination for Attorney General after leading the field in March, has done pretty well for himself as a lawyer since his initial election … Continue reading →

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Paxton gets a slap on the wrist

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s it??? State Sen. Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general, violated the Texas Securities Act by soliciting investment clients without being registered as required by law, according to a disciplinary order made public Friday. Under the order … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s disclosure issues

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oopsie. State Sen. Ken Paxton, the leading Republican candidate for attorney general, has launched an internal review of his disclosures to state regulatory authorities and the Texas Ethics Commission to determine whether he violated any laws by failing to report … Continue reading →

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First wage theft complaints filed in Houston

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I hope these workers get the justice they seek. For three years Erik Lopez and his three brothers say they each often worked 80-hour weeks, building highway ramps and trash landfills for city projects. Yet they say their employer refused … Continue reading →

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SA City Council to begin the plastic bag debate

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I look forward to seeing what direction they go. City staffers Wednesday plan to recommend to the City Council’s Governance Committee that San Antonio move forward with a ban on single-use plastic and paper bags. The recommendation comes after vetting … Continue reading →

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No hiding behind privilege

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest voter ID litigation update, from the Brad Blog: Just over a week ago, it was North Carolina legislators ordered by the court to cough up documentation relating to passage of new, draconian restrictions on voting rights in their state. … Continue reading →

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Who’s afraid of the Republican slate?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I was reading this story about a kerfuffle in the Republican runoff for Railroad Commissioner when a thought struck me. A Republican candidate seeking a post that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry said he won’t cut ties to … Continue reading →

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