Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In a dissent from a denial of rehearing en banc, Judge James C. Ho pointed to two other recently decided cases to illustrate his argument that First Amendment protections are being eroded for those who live in the Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction. He decried circuit precedent that has kept free speech cases from making it to trial.
After initially entering a not guilty plea last year, Christiane Kathleen Irwin on Tuesday pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. The government accused her of inflating her $140,000 salary at Simon Greenstone Panatier when she submitted biweekly payroll, taking home an extra $1.48 million over three years.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Southwest Airlines’ attorneys get a temporary stay of an order that they undergo religious liberty training, the Texas Supreme Court declines to grant Harris County emergency relief in its lawsuit over a new law that abolishes the county’s office of election administration, and the full Fifth Circuit revived a lawsuit brought by female Dallas County jailers alleging sex discrimination.
A jury of 12 sat through six days of trial and deliberated for about eight hours before determining the Baehr family was entitled to $3.1 million in damages. The toxic mold that infested their Austin home also sickened the family of six and prompted Kristina Baehr to launch her own firm to help others in the same situation.
The defendants in a breach of contract dispute had argued that Dallas County District Court Judge Ashley Wysocki’s appointment of her campaign treasurer, James Stanton, as receiver in the case mandated her recusal. Judge Wysocki and Regional Presiding Judge Ray Wheless disagreed.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Houston jury awards a woman $1.2B in a revenge porn case she brought against her ex-boyfriend, the state of Texas is facing another lawsuit over a new law set to go into effect Sept. 1, and McCathern teams up with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump in a suit against Harris County over its treatment of jailed individuals.
A Dallas-area pain management clinic, American Pain and Wellness, argues that the arbitrator of a dispute with a former employee over payment and reimbursement “intentionally” failed to disclose details about his education and religious preferences that amount to evident partiality and dooms the award. Fort Worth lawyer John Chalk of Whitaker Chalk served as the arbitrator.
The Ticket’s parent company is accusing Jacob Kemp and Daniel McDowell, the former hosts of popular sports talk radio show The Hang Zone, of violating a noncompete agreement by launching a new podcast after leaving the station in July.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, mootness ends Surfside Beach property owners’ dispute with the Texas General Land Office in a 2-1 ruling from the Fifth Circuit, a challenge to the Inflation Recovery Act’s medication pricing controls keeps rolling and a conservative activist sues Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over an impeachment-related gag order.
Over the last three years the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has sent more certified questions annually to the Texas Supreme Court than it has in decades. The recent increase — five in 2021, six in 2022 and four so far this year — is notable when compared to the average of 1.8 a year the Fifth Circuit had sent for the 24 years prior. Does accepting the questions — a discretionary decision by SCOTX — strain the court’s ability to decide disputes percolating through Texas’ 14 intermediate appellate courts?
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