U.S. Senator Ted Cruz returns to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as a party — not as a practitioner — to argue federal campaign-finance limits violate his First Amendment rights. At issue: a 20-year-old federal law that prohibits candidates from raising more than $250,000 after an election to repay a personal loan to their campaigns.
First Up Before SCOTUS in New Year: Scott Keller
Scott Keller, the former Texas solicitor general and a new kid among private practitioners on the appellate block in Washington, will be first up before the U.S. Supreme Court in the new year when he urges the court to halt the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees. The argument, tomorrow, is a rare Friday session for the Supreme Court.
Sarah Weddington, Advocate in the Landmark Case Roe v. Wade, Dies in Austin at 76
Austin attorney Sarah Weddington’s death Sunday left a legion of colleagues and admirers following her abortion-rights legacy from her world-shaking win in Roe v. Wade.
SCOTUS Grants Review in Texas Dispute Over Sovereign Immunity
In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to take a Texas sovereign-immunity case that originated from one of the state appellate courts rather than from the Texas Supreme Court.
The Latest ‘Bar Wars’ Wrinkles: a Final Judgment and a Cert Petition
As lawyers who oppose mandatory membership in the Texas State Bar ask the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a Fifth Circuit decision, the trial judge in the case has issued a final judgment that may allow the bar to proceed with its plans to comply with the circuit’s holding.
Evan Young’s Journey to Texas Supreme Court
Sworn in Nov. 10 as the next justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, Evan Young hit the ground running. He is immersed in reading briefs to sit for an oral argument soon after Thanksgiving. “It wasn’t so long ago that I was the one who had to prepare for oral argument on the other side of the bench,” Young said in an exclusive Texas Lawbook interview.
Texas Lawbook correspondent Tony Mauro interviewed Young about leaving a $1 million-plus paying partnership at Baker Botts to become a justice and his plans to run for re-election.
It’s Texas Week at SCOTUS
The Supreme Court is hearing five oral arguments this week, and all five of them have a Texas connection. Two of them were scheduled to be argued 10 days after the court agreed to take up the cases – an extraordinarily fast track for the advocates. Lawyers involved in the SCOTUS cases are from Haynes and Boone, Beck Redden and Rogers, Morris & Grover. Texas Lawbook correspondent Tony Mauro has the rundown of Texas lawyers playing a role in each case.
Texas Supreme Court Approves Changes to State Bar That May Calm “Bar Wars”
The Supreme Court of Texas on Wednesday issued an order that redefines aspects of the State Bar of Texas so that the organization’s leaders cannot be viewed as speaking for all bar members or suggesting that all members support the bar’s views or statements. Tony Mauro has the details.
SCOTUS Term Begins, Facing Hot-Button Issues Plus Thorny First Amendment Texas Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court started its 2021 term Monday and its business docket so far is “ridiculously light.” But Texas will make its mark this term in a different area of the law: the First Amendment. Four pending cases arising from Texas will test issues of free speech and free exercise of religion. So here is a quick rundown of the Texas cases as well as the business cases of possible interest.
Texas State Bar Unveils Sweeping Membership Changes To Comply With Court Order
The State Bar of Texas on Thursday made public a broad range of rule changes to comply with a federal appeals court ruling in July that the bar association violated the First Amendment by imposing membership and dues on lawyers who object to certain bar activities.