Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Days before losing his election bid, Texas Supreme Court Justice James Sullivan submitted a questionnaire to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for a federal judicial position on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin. President Donald Trump has yet to make an announcement nominating Justice Sullivan.
A Dallas County jury awarded $16.2 million to a family struck by an alleged drunk driver, finding the defendant was grossly negligent. The jury deliberated for about four hours last week after a four-day trial in Judge Dianne Jones’ courtroom.
For over three decades, Republicans had a tight grip on Texas. That changed on Tuesday. Texans not only elected their first Latina governor, but four Democrats unseated Republican Texas Supreme Court justices. Republicans still hold the majority on the bench, but for the first time in the state’s history, a woman was elected chief justice.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Texas Business Court Judge Marialyn Barnard, recently appointed to her second term on the bench, says serving on the court is the highlight of her career. She also talks about passing the bar at age 39, teaching high school English and why she wants lawmakers to expand the Business Court’s jurisdiction across the state.
Parties in Texas Business Court jury trials have been adding to jurors’ $58 daily pay, with total compensation ranging from $120 to $250 per day with lunch provided. A judge and a veteran trial lawyer say the extra money recognizes the hardship of jury service. It also keeps jurors from resenting litigants fighting over millions of dollars.
Dallas County jurors ruled in favor of a commercial property owner and awarded $1.1 million in damages after finding a real estate broker committed fraud and breached its fiduciary duty. Dallas County District Judge Eric Moyé presided over the three-day trial.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Baker Botts partner Doug Kubehl shares how a temporary move to Dallas became a 30-year patent litigation career, highlighted by overturning an $847 million jury verdict. He also discusses emerging legal risks for data centers and renewable energy, and how fronting a law firm rock band keeps him grounded.
The 12-member jury delivered a complete defense victory for Blackbrush Oil & Gas and affiliated investors Thursday, rejecting clean-energy developer Synergy Thermogen’s $100 million-plus breach-of-contract and fraud claims in the Texas Business Court. Following a two-week trial before Judge Bill Whitehill and seven hours of deliberations, jurors found that Synergy and founder Rich Halvorson fraudulently induced the parties’ advisory agreement, ordering them to return the investors' entire $1.5 million seed investment.
After closing arguments in the Texas Business Court trial, 12 jurors now weigh the 46-page charge. Synergy accuses Blackbrush Oil & Gas of sabotaging its clean-energy technology. Blackbrush says Synergy founder Rich Halvorson squandered its $1.5 million investment.
Texas A&M University School of Law Dean Robert B. Ahdieh has been named president of Pace University in New York. Since taking the helm in 2018, Ahdieh has guided the law school from 83rd to 22nd in national rankings, expanded total enrollment to more than 2,000 and led the school’s expansion in Fort Worth.
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