Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Amy Bresnen began working at the Texas Capitol in the 2000s as a grunt in the army of college-age students that runs on Red Bull and ambition to complete the behind-the-scenes work critical to each session. The Texas Lawbook recently sat down with Bresnen in a quiet corner of the Capitol cafeteria to discuss her work.
A defamation lawsuit against Rep. Jeff Leach took center stage during a Texas House committee hearing on the Texas Citizens Participation Act. Lawmakers are struggling to address abuses of the popular law while still maintaining its protections for Texans exercising their First Amendment rights.
Senators broke along party lines in advancing legislation to stop “nuclear verdicts.” Senate Bill 30 would limit recoverable medical expenses to 300 percent of Medicare rates, adjusted for inflation. Supporters said the bill is needed to bring down insurance rates, while critics said it would remove discretion from judges and juries to make decisions on facts in individual cases.
The Texas Citizens Participation Act has helped media defendants and public advocates fight meritless lawsuits aimed at intimidating them into silence. Now, legislators are reviewing the anti-SLAPP law’s automatic stay of trial proceedings during an interlocutory appeal of a motion to dismiss. Critics of the 2011 law say it is too broadly written, allowing unscrupulous defendants to delay cases that have nothing to do with free speech. The high-stakes battle is playing out at the Capitol where supporters from across the political landscape face off against powerful business interests — with observers wondering if a compromise is possible.
Advances in technologies to treat water produced from oil and gas fracking operations has made what was a worthless by-product into a potentially valuable resource. It’s now worth fighting for, as evidenced by arguments in the closely watched case of Cactus Water Services v. Cog Operating.
As an assistant attorney general, James P. Sullivan saw his petition in a habeas case struck for its tone and lack of respect. He says he apologized and learned from the incident. Gov. Abbott in January elevated Sullivan from his general counsel to the Supreme Court. Relatively unknown in the Texas legal community, Sullivan’s judicial application sheds some light on his judicial philosophy. Most of his litigation experience was in federal court, the document shows, with only 20 percent in state appellate courts.
Some were surprised by Gov. Greg Abbott’s selection of Jimmy Blacklock as Texas Supreme Court Chief justice, but his eyes were always on big questions about the role of the constitution and development of the law. His leadership is likely to continue the court’s conservative rulings.
Rulings in the two latest cases and a third decided in May set up a demanding standard for when police officers can be sued over injuries and deaths caused while pursuing suspects or responding to calls for help. Although the circumstances varied, the court said none of the cases met the emergency exception to governmental immunity.
Four years after devastating power outages resulted in death and destruction, justices will hear arguments in February on the utility companies’ mandamus effort to end claims by more than 15,000 plaintiffs. The utilities say they had no duty under the exigent circumstances to supply power to any particular customers for any particular duration.
Retiring Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht was greeted by 17 former judicial colleagues and many other well-wishers as he heard his final case. Some of those gathered now sit on federal benches, while others have thriving private practices. All expressed gratitude for his service. (Photo courtesy Supreme Court of Texas)
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