Tag Archives: lawsuit

Here’s the official order in the TDP vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Round One went to the plaintiffs. From there, who knows. A Texas state district judge on Friday issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts … Continue reading →

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Hotze sues Abbott and Paxton

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just another day at the office for this guy. A group of conservative activists and pastors that’s challenging Harris County’s stay-at-home order is now also suing Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming his recent executive order to stem the spread of Covid-19 … Continue reading →

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TDP gets initial win in vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go. A state district judge on Wednesday said he will move forward with an order easing restrictions for voting by mail in Texas in light of the new coronavirus … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows medical abortions to proceed

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. A federal appeals court on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing a ban on medication-induced abortions as part of the state’s curbs on certain medical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of fast-moving … Continue reading →

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And so we go to SCOTUS

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Pardon me while I gird my loins for whatever happens next. Texas abortion providers have taken a back-and-forth legal battle with the state of Texas over its temporary ban on the procedure to the U.S. Supreme Court. The groups on … Continue reading →

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Another view of the lawsuit over expanded voting by mail

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Ian Millhiser at Vox, who is decidedly more pessimistic about the plaintiffs’ chances. He starts by noting how restrictive Texas’ existing vote-by-mail law is. The law only allows Texas voters to obtain an absentee ballot under a very limited … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s stay-in-jail order blocked and then unblocked

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This was Friday. A state district judge in Travis County has temporarily blocked enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to limit jail releases during the new coronavirus pandemic. She cited unconstitutional provisions and overreach of executive power in the gubernatorial … Continue reading →

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Do I need to tell you that the Fifth Circuit did it again?

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to tell you anyway, because it’s what happened. In the latest turn of a whiplash-inducing federal court battle over Texas GOP officials’ near-total ban on abortion during the novel coronavirus outbreak, a federal appeals court on Friday once … Continue reading →

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Ridiculous Hotze lawsuit now in district court

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We are all dumber by the mere existence of this. The Texas Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Harris County’s stay-at-home order, though the legal fight is set to continue in state district court. The Wednesday … Continue reading →

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Abortion ban partially lifted

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. In a second rebuke to Texas GOP officials who have said a ban on nearly all abortions is essential as the state battles the novel coronavirus, a federal judge in Austin ruled Thursday that some abortions … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit sticks the shiv the rest of the way in

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The worst court in the country does its thing again. A New Orleans-based federal appeals court will, for now, allow Texas to enforce a ban on almost all abortions as the state battles the coronavirus pandemic. Overturning the decision of … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed over Abbott’s stay-in-jail order

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no slowdown in the litigation business, that’s for sure. Gov. Greg Abbott’s order restricting the release of some jail inmates during the new coronavirus pandemic is facing a second court challenge arguing his order violates the constitutional separation of … Continue reading →

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TDP files federal lawsuit over expanded vote by mail

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Double your venues, (hopefully) double your chances of success. With primary election runoffs scheduled for July and the November general election on the horizon, the Texas Democratic Party has expanded its ongoing fight for more widespread mail-in balloting to federal … Continue reading →

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DraftKings lawsuit tossed

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for the Astros. A federal judge in New York mixed technical points of law with humor and theatrical flourishes in delivering a rousing defeat Friday to a group of baseball daily fantasy players who sued the Astros, Red … Continue reading →

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SOS moves towards increasing vote by mail

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? Texas is opening the door to an expansion of mail-in voting during the coronavirus outbreak, though the state is unlikely to heed calls to have every voter cast ballots by mail to avoid exposure to COVID-19 at … Continue reading →

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Won’t you join our lawsuit?

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to keep giving me content for years. After filing two sign stealing-related lawsuits against the Astros on behalf of Houston season-ticket holders, a Corpus Christi law firm is asking Dodgers and Yankees fans who attended 2017 postseason … Continue reading →

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That was a statewide stay-at-home order

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re under it now, even if you don’t want to call it that. Gov. Greg Abbott released a new video Wednesday clarifying that his executive order issued on Tuesday “requires all Texans to stay at home” except for essential … Continue reading →

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Intervening in the mail ballot expansion lawsuit

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The ACLU of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday joined a case seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit the Astros want tossed

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It was the first one filed against them relating to the banging scheme. The Astros have asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the team, owner Jim Crane and baseball operations employee Derek Vigoa … Continue reading →

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The state of inmate releases

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County judges are going to follow the federal bail lawsuit settlement agreement and not Greg Abbott. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to restrict the release of people in jail during the coronavirus pandemic — but Harris County’s misdemeanor … Continue reading →

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Harris County stay-at-home order extended

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday extended her stay-at-home order through April 30, as cases of novel coronavirus infections in the Houston area continue to rise, three county officials with knowledge of the plan said. Hidalgo … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Fifth Circuit does what the Fifth Circuit always does

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The fix, as ever, is in. A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily reinstated Texas’s ban on abortions amid the coronavirus outbreak, saying it needs time to review arguments about its impact. The ruling is the latest in a ricocheting … Continue reading →

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More on Abbott’s stay-in-jail order

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that more detailed Chron story I referenced yesterday. I’m just going to quote the newer information about Greg Abbott’s executive order that attempts to basically stop most releases of inmates from the jail regardless of the coronavirus situation. The … Continue reading →

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Steven Hotze’s death wish

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A hardline conservative power broker and three area pastors filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court Monday arguing that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s stay-at-home order violates the Constitution by ordering … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Latest abortion ban halted for now

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We follow the script. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas’ ban on abortions, a prohibition state officials said was necessary to preserve medical resources during the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling came less than a week after Texas abortion … Continue reading →

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Still trying to do something about the coronavirus risk in the jail

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Time is extremely limited for this. A federal judge Friday asked lawyers to hammer out a plan for releasing about 1,000 indigent inmates detained on bonds of $10,000 or less amid fear of a COVID-19 outbreak at the third largest … Continue reading →

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Abortion providers file suit over Abbott executive order

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You can’t let crass opportunism go unchallenged. Texas abortion providers announced a lawsuit against top state officials, challenging an executive order earlier this week that included abortion in a ban of all procedures that are deemed to not be medically … Continue reading →

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Former Bloomberg staffers sue him

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Four former workers for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign in Texas are suing him for fraud, alleging that he went back on a promise to pay them through the November election. In lawsuits filed Monday in Tarrant County, the former … Continue reading →

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Astros move to dismiss season ticket holder lawsuits

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How about some non-coronavirus baseball-related news? I got some for ya. The Astros have asked Harris County district judges to dismiss the three lawsuits filed against the ballclub by ticketholders who claim they were defrauded by the sign-stealing scandal in … Continue reading →

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Harris County settles lawsuit about voter registration records

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure what to make of this. In a victory for government transparency, Harris County officials settled a lawsuit Tuesday with a conservative voting rights group, agreeing to disclose records of foreign nationals who voted in Texas elections and … Continue reading →

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TDP files lawsuit to expand vote by mail

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

All right, then. Following fruitless negotiations over how to proceed with the upcoming primary runoff elections, Texas Democrats are looking to the courts to push for an expansion of voting by mail in the state. In a lawsuit filed in … Continue reading →

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Another review of Judge Hidalgo’s first year

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Though, oddly enough in a story about Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s first year in office, most of the text is about outgoing Commissioner Steve Radack and the two-year-long temper tantrum he’s been throwing. For many years, the Harris County … Continue reading →

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District B lawsuit drags on

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Double ugh. It could be another four to five months before voters in Houston’s District B can select a new city council member, extending a delay that has held up a runoff there since December. The Houston-based First Court of … Continue reading →

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The other TEA takeover

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A preview of things to come, perhaps. The Texas Education Agency announced a new appointed board and a new superintendent Friday for a tiny East Texas school district with two schools that had failed to perform well for years. Although … Continue reading →

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