Tag Archives: lawsuit

Paxton sues to block rule protecting abortion information

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this should be bigger news. Texas sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a new rule that seeks to protect the privacy of women living in states that ban abortion who travel out of state … Continue reading →

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“Trump Train” lawsuit goes to trial

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very big deal. It’s been four years since a campaign bus carrying Wendy Davis and others was nearly run off the road by a so-called “Trump Train” — a caravan of Republican activists waving giant flags showing support for Donald … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Travis County over voter registration drive

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

He’s consistent, we’ll acknowledge that. Escalating a series of attacks on voter registration efforts around the state, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued Travis County officials for hiring a company to identify names and addresses of eligible, unregistered … Continue reading →

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More felony charges against Hotze

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Throw the damn book at him. Conservative activist Steven Hotze ha s been charged with two more felonies in connection to a bizarre 2020 confrontation that left an air conditioning repairman facing the barrel of a gun held by a … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Bexar County over voter registration drive

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As promised/threatened. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday followed through on his threat to sue Bexar County over a new program that will mail out voter registration forms to unregistered voters. Bexar County commissioners approved the proposal on Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Texas SCOPE Act partially blocked

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

One of the many Internet/social media-related laws passed in the last legislative session(s) has been partially put on hold by a federal judge. A handful of new laws went into effect Sunday, including the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment … Continue reading →

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Paxton versus the State Fair

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. The state and its third biggest city are set to square off in court over a ban on guns at Texas’ most celebrated tribute to itself — the State Fair. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced … Continue reading →

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Paxton versus Bexar County

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sorry to make Ken Paxton the main character today, but he kind of is. Bexar County is moving forward with plans to hire an outside company to find and register potential voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election — … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton bullying attempt gets knocked down

Posted on August 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Oh for four. I like that. A Travis County judge on Thursday denied an effort from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to question the leader of a Brownsville organization that provides migrants with humanitarian aid, delivering the state’s top civil … Continue reading →

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The current state of voter purging

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here, and there’s a lot to unpack. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that the state has removed over 1 million names from the Texas voter rolls, mainly people who moved out of state or died but including … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Texas anti-ESG law

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. A coalition of progressive business organizations is suing Texas over a 2021 law that blocks the state from investing in and contracting with companies that boycott the fossil fuel industry. The suit, filed in federal court in Austin … Continue reading →

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Another Loving County election tossed

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wow again. The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals overturned results in a third race in the November 2022 general election in Loving County, Texas, the least-populous county in the United States, after a district court overturned two other close races … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declares 15th Court of Appeals to be legal

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for its grand opening. The Texas Supreme Court defended the state legislature’s creation of a statewide district court of appeals, holding the new court is constitutional. Dallas County and Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown challenged the constitutionality … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against FIEL tossed

Posted on August 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Harris County judge has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down local immigration nonprofit FIEL Houston. Paxton originally petitioned to shut down FIEL in July for allegedly violating rules that govern the organization’s nonprofit status. … Continue reading →

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HISD releases its accountability ratings

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are. About half of Houston ISD schools saw their state-issued accountability rating jump by one or more letter grades this year, a dramatic improvement in scores following a turbulent first year under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. HISD released … Continue reading →

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Parents of Santa Fe school shooter found not negligent

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. The parents of the accused gunman in the 2018 Santa Fe school shooting were found not liable for negligence by a Galveston County jury Monday. The civil case was filed shortly after the shooting by parents of the … Continue reading →

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Rep. Nehls sued for allegedly having a homophobic workplace

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It sure has been a year for Rep. Troy Nehls, hasn’t it? A gay former staffer for U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, sued the congressman’s office Friday, saying he was effectively forced from his job after a history of homophobic … Continue reading →

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Paxton finds a new target to bully

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Vile, disgusting, authoritarian – one quickly runs out of adjectives. Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to shut down an immigrants rights group in Houston, alleging it is “systematically” flouting nonprofit rules by advocating too aggressively against state laws and … Continue reading →

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Uplift Harris 2.0

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If at first you don’t succeed… Harris County will relaunch its guaranteed income initiative with added restrictions following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit challenging the legality of the Uplift Harris program. Though the Uplift Harris legal battle is still making … Continue reading →

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Another complaint filed over abortion denial

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not a lawsuit but a federal complaint about improper emergency care. Two women have filed complaints with the federal government alleging that Texas hospitals denied them abortion care necessary to treat their ectopic pregnancies. The complaints were filed August 6 … Continue reading →

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Accountability ratings release halted

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. A Travis County judge has blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its ratings of the state’s school districts and campuses for a second year in a row. Judge Karin Crump on Monday issued a temporary restraining order after … Continue reading →

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RFK Jr qualifies for the ballot

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whoopie. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, will be on the Texas general election ballot this November. The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday afternoon that it had accepted Kennedy’s petition to appear on the state ballot … Continue reading →

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Going younger at HPD

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Mayor John Whitmire wants to tap into a younger audience for police recruits, but doing so may require going to Austin and changing state law. During a news conference introducing new Police Chief Noe Diaz, the … Continue reading →

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Translators needed for non-criminal courts

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Harris County has long afforded free interpreters to people navigating criminal cases, but it does not always offer the same to those with civil cases, local lawyers say. The denial for interpreters has become so routine that some … Continue reading →

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What’s in a name, Bexar County GOP 2024 version

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. Bexar County GOP officials said they may file a lawsuit against Texas House District 118 candidate Kristian Carranza, a Democrat, alleging that she changed her last name from Thompson to appeal to voters on the city’s largely Latino South … Continue reading →

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Questioning the police response to the Santa Fe school shooting

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Testimony by a former Galveston County sheriff’s deputy Thursday raised questions about how fast and effectively police responded to the mass shooting inside Santa Fe High School. Sgt. Brent Cooley, retired from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, testified that … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit overturns Galveston redistricting ruling

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Terrible. They’re just making this shit up as they go. Distinct minority groups cannot join together in coalitions to claim their votes are diluted in redistricting cases under the Voting Rights Act, a divided federal appeals court ruled Thursday, acknowledging … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over another social media law

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be litigating this past legislative session for a long time. Two tech industry groups, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block a new Texas law that would require platforms … Continue reading →

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Meta settles lawsuit with Texas over facial recognition usage

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wasn’t following this closely. Facebook’s parent company Meta will pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of using personal biometric data without users’ authorization. The 2022 lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over San Marcos marijuana decriminalization ordinance tossed

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

For now. A Hays County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the City of San Marcos in response to a proposition decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession. Judge Sherri Tibbe dropped Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s suit against San Marcos on Monday. … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over self-induced abortion charges can proceed

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas woman who was jailed and charged with murder after self-managing an abortion in 2022 can move forward with her lawsuit against the local sheriff and prosecutors over the case that drew national outrage before the charges were … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton attempt to harass a migrant shelter halted by a judge

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How much do you have to hate migrants to keep doing this? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot depose the leader of a McAllen migrant shelter, a Hidalgo County judge ruled Wednesday. District Judge Bobby Flores’ decision shuts down attempts … Continue reading →

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Class action lawsuit #3 filed against CenterPoint

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Once, twice, three times a Beryl-related class action lawsuit related to CenterPoint’s failure to get the power back in a timely fashion. A firm representing 19 medical professionals and other business owners in Harris County filed a class action claim … Continue reading →

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Women affected by the abortion ban banding together

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This story is equal parts heartwarming and rage-inducing. One morning last spring, Hollie Cunningham’s father was drinking coffee and watching “Good Morning America” on his patio when he saw Austin Dennard, a Dallas-area OB-GYN, on the screen. Through tears, Dennard … Continue reading →

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