Tag Archives: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit rejects DREAM Act intervention effort

Posted on July 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort to defend the Texas Dream Act, leaving in place a ruling that ended a longstanding state law that allowed some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS lets Texas app age verification law be enforced for now

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for Texas to enforce a new state law that requires Apple and Google to verify the age of app store users as part of an effort to give parents more control … Continue reading →

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Brackenridge Park religious liberties plaintiffs petition SCOTUS

Posted on July 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll keep an eye on this. The legal fight over the future of a sacred Native American religious site at San Antonio’s Brackenridge Park is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. First Liberty Institute and the University of Texas … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS asked to intervene in app age verification case

Posted on June 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. A trade group whose members include Google, Apple, and other major app store operators asked the US Supreme Court to halt a Texas law requiring age verification to download smart phone apps after a district judge’s injunction was … Continue reading →

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Texas DREAM Act appeal heard

Posted on June 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them all the best. A group of college students asked a Fifth Circuit panel Thursday to overturn an agreement that blocked a state law allowing students without permanent immigration status to receive in-state tuition at Texas public colleges … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit keeps on doing its thing

Posted on June 1, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Item one: Texas’ app age verification law allowed to go into effect for now. Texas’ law requiring app marketplace operators like Google and Apple to verify all users’ ages and seek parental permission before minors can download apps or make … Continue reading →

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Where have the public school students gone?

Posted on May 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is worrisome. Roughly 76,000 fewer students enrolled in Texas public schools this academic year — the first non-pandemic decline in nearly four decades — with Hispanic students accounting for the overwhelming majority of the loss, according to a report released … Continue reading →

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Texas’ 2023 anti-immigrant law blocked again

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope this injunction lasts longer. A Texas law that would allow state and local police to arrest people suspected of having crossed the southern border illegally is once again halted, a day before it was supposed to take effect. … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS halts Fifth Circuit’s bogus ban on mailing mifepristone

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

For now. As always, we must say “for now”. The Supreme Court will keep mifepristone available as usual, it ruled in a Thursday order, blocking a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that would reimpose in-person dispensing requirements and prevent … Continue reading →

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I assume that Spring Branch ISD redistricting ruling is toast

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This article doesn’t explicitly say it, but I can’t see any other ending at this point. A federal court ruled last year that Spring Branch ISD violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the Hispanic vote — but that decision could be … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS puts administrative stay on unhinged Fifth Circuit mifepristone ruling

Posted on May 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

On hold for now. The Supreme Court on Monday restored nationwide access to a widely used abortion medication in a temporary order that will, for now, allow women to once again obtain the pill mifepristone by mail. In a brief … Continue reading →

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ACLU files another lawsuit against 2023 Texas anti-immigrant law

Posted on May 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, ACLU, and the Texas Civil Rights Project have filed a class-action lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block several provisions of Senate Bill 4 (88-4) from going into effect May … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit invents new law to block mifepristone

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is bullshit. A federal appeals court packed with conservatives has handed abortion opponents a major victory against the US Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone and shutting down telemedicine providers—at least temporarily—from prescribing the … Continue reading →

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Thankfully, a lot of those recent forced birth lawsuits are crappy

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They have a key thing in common, beyond the misogynist zealot lawyer who runs them. Jerry Rodriguez appeared to be a deeply aggrieved man—the victim of a scheme orchestrated by his girlfriend’s domineering ex-partner to “murder” not one, but two, of … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Ten Commandments law to be enforced

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They do what they always do. Texas can enforce a state law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A 9-8 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds ruling overturning federal home distilling ban

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good for the home distillers. A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for ​Congress to exercise its power to tax. The 5th U.S. Circuit … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court reaffirmed in a new ruling on Wednesday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Lousiana’s Ten Commandments law to go into effect

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not great, but not the end of the line. A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit hears SB4 appeal

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

As always, brace yourselves. Three years ago, Texas lawmakers passed a landmark law that would let state police arrest people suspected of having entered the country illegally by crossing the border. Such authority has long been the sole responsibility of the federal … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears Ten Commandments appeal

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves…From the inbox: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state laws in Texas and Louisiana that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds award for Harvey reservoir flooding

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A bog deal. Homeowners whose properties were damaged in 2017 by Hurricane Harvey floodwaters upstream of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in west Houston can expect compensation after an appeals court panel affirmed this week that the government was liable. The … Continue reading →

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App store age verification law blocked

Posted on December 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Texas law adding restrictions on children’s use of app stores. Senate Bill 2420, which was supposed to activate on Jan. 1, establishes age verification requirements and mandates parental … Continue reading →

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App store age verification lawsuit heard

Posted on December 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Might get a quick ruling on this one. On Tuesday morning, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman heard arguments for and against blocking a new law requiring parental consent for children under 18 to use their mobile device’s app store. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds dismissal of land ownership ban lawsuit

Posted on December 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. On Thursday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit against Senate Bill 17, a new law that restricts people with citizenship, permanent residence or political ties to China, Russia, … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS lets Llano County ban books

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

No other way to put it. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge against a small Central Texas county’s removal of 17 books from its public libraries, including some that focus on race and gender. The Monday move by … Continue reading →

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Both Tarrant County redistricting lawsuits have been dismissed

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Both lawsuits accusing Tarrant County of racial gerrymandering are now over. A group of Tarrant County residents who sued over the new commissioners court precinct map withdrew their lawsuit Monday without a clear explanation. A second lawsuit, brought by … Continue reading →

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Class action lawsuit filed over the Ten Commandments law

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

About time. After receiving two favorable rulings from judges, a coalition of advocacy groups filed their third lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in Texas. The new … Continue reading →

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Another ruling against the Ten Commandments law

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Two for two so far. A federal judge sided with 15 Texas families suing public school districts — including Conroe ISD — to stop the Ten Commandments from being displayed in classrooms, saying the requirement interferes with their religious freedoms. … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Galveston ISD over Ten Commandments display

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We need some real guidance here. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Galveston Independent School District on Friday for not following a new state law requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms while the legislation is challenged in … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not quite sure how to interpret this. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit to hear Ten Commandments case in January

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. The U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals says it will hear appeals in January in the legal fights in Texas and Louisiana over whether public schools must display copies of the Ten Commandments. Oral arguments for the … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds Tarrant County redistricting map

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. A group of Tarrant County residents who sued over the county’s redistricting process did not prove the new map is racially discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Tarrant County’s Republican commissioners pushed through an unusual mid-decade redistricting … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit to reconsider West Texas A&M drag ban

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hrmph. A federal appeals court will take a second look at whether West Texas A&M University can ban drag shows, setting aside an earlier ruling that found the university’s ban likely violated students’ free speech rights. The Fifth Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Book ban law permanently enjoined

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Very good. A Waco federal judge has permanently blocked Texas from enforcing the key provision of a 2023 law restricting the content of school library books, ruling Wednesday that a requirement that vendors rate each title for sexual explicitness … Continue reading →

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