Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins' name on behalf of Texas turns up on the Supreme Court’s online docket 50 times, many representing multi-state amicus briefs, others involving other cases brought for or against Texas. At age 39, he has waded into almost all of the headline-making cases the high court is handling these days. This is Tony Mauro's first article as a Texas Lawbook correspondent.
When a brown recluse spider bit Henry McCall, no one could have anticipated that the aftermath would shape the future of tort litigation. But that may well have happened in the recent Texas Supreme Court case of Hillis v. McCall. In addressing McCall’s spider bite, the court’s opinion sets legal rules that will likely control future cases involving novel coronavirus exposure.
Just two weeks ago, a deeply splintered en banc Fifth Court of Appeals made the unusual decision to withdraw a panel opinion in a case that settled after the panel’s decision. This case involves interesting questions about the Texas Election Code, judicial power and the public interest in stare decisis.
A seemingly mundane child custody battle between two divorced parents has attracted an extraordinary collection of Texas appellate talent. It has also attracted the amicus attention of the Texas attorney general. Janet Elliott explains.
Harris County is the first jurisdiction in Texas to postpone all civil jury trials due to the coronavirus outbreak. Other jurisdictions are considering similar actions. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht told The Texas Lawbook in an interview late Wednesday night that Texas judges need to weigh the health and well-being of individuals with the requirement that the courts remain open and accessible to those who seek justice.
Tony Mauro has covered thousands of court cases during his nearly five decades as a legal journalist – from Tiny Tim’s divorce to Bush v. Gore. Mauro, one of the most respected legal journalists in the world, is joining The Texas Lawbook as a contributing writer. He will write articles about Supreme Court cases important to Texas business lawyers and about lawyers who regularly practice before the nation's highest court.
Emails can be useful tools for negotiation, but they aren't definitive until both sides agree they are, wrote Nathan Hecht in Chalker Energy Partners III v. Le Norman Operating. Janet Elliott has details.
Seventy years ago, utility companies were routinely granted easements across private property of no fixed width. Those "general easements" have become a concern for landowners who fear they give the companies too much power over their private land. Last week, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled on such a case made by three North Texas landowners. Their ruling offered sympathy, but not a lot of help.
This week the First Court of Appeals in Austin rejected an appeal by Mikel Peter Eggert to reverse his 2008 disbarment after his conviction for conspiring to falsify evidence. Although his appeal failed, it stirs up a convoluted tale about a newly-minted lawyer in Erath County who briefly followed in his father's messy footsteps practicing law outside the law.
“Birds of a feather flock together,” says the old proverb. But in the Dallas Court of Appeals this year, justices of the same political party do not always rule together, as shown by two recent opinions from that court.
Two cases decided by the Texas Supreme Court last week involved lawsuits against lawyers. One involved representational immunity, the other criminal defense malpractice. Not all they had to say favored lawyers. Janet Elliott explains.
An Ohio bridal shop lost its claim against Dallas Presbyterian Hospital Friday for its handling of the 2014 Ebola scare in Dallas, when the Texas Supreme Court decided unanimously that the shop's claim failed to meet an essential requirement of the Texas Medical Liability Act. The court ruled, in effect, that when it comes to medical claims bridal shops are people, too.
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