Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Justice Laura Carter Higley has submitted her resignation to Gov. Greg Abbott, the clerk for the First Court of Appeals confirmed Tuesday. Higley has served on the Houston appellate court since 2002. Her resignation comes days after reports that she was sitting on the bench while diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
A bankruptcy judge who brought an ethics complaint against McAllen lawyer Mark Cantu should not have been excluded from testifying in the resulting disciplinary trial, SCOTX has ruled in a per curiam decision. Janet Elliott explains why it was even a question.
Texas Supreme Court oral arguments Thursday in the dispute over judicial sanctions against Dallas trial lawyer Bill Brewer featured lawyers on all sides making factual allegations, highly engaged justices actively interrupting and pushing back and one attorney threatening to quit the legal profession if the court ruled in favor of Brewer. One of the lawyers went so far as to argue that Texas law gives the justices no choice but to uphold the sanctions against Brewer. The Texas Lawbook has full details.
On Tuesday morning, lawyers for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners will square off before the Texas Supreme Court to argue over reinstatement of a $535 million jury verdict. At the heart of their battle, however, is not just money; it's a case that could determine the nature of business relationships in Texas. Lawbook litigation writer Natalie Posgate outlines the history of the dispute, the legal arguments for both sides and what's at stake for Texas businesses.
As the opening of the U.S. Supreme Court term nears, Texas is still a big player at One First Street. Legendary SCOTUS journalist Tony Mauro touched base with a cadre of Texas lawyers who specialize in U.S. Supreme Court work about the cases they are watching in a term that is shaping up to be “a potential blockbuster.”
A five-year battle over sanctions against NRA lawyer Bill Brewer will be argued Oct. 10 before the Texas Supreme Court. The issue is whether Brewer conducted a poll of potential jurors in Lubbock to gauge public attitudes or to improperly influence the jury pool. Both sides agree that the case presents “multiple questions of law and policy that have far-reaching implications and are important to the jurisprudence of the state.”
A new study by Haynes and Boone shows that the newly-elected appellate judges in Texas are reversing lower court litigation decisions equally for defendants and plaintiffs - a dramatic shift from only one year ago when Republican judges controlled the state appellate benches and favored defendants over plaintiffs by an overwhelming margin. The Texas Lawbook has the full details.
Carl Stewart’s term as chief judge of the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals expires at the end of September. In an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook, Judge Stewart looks back at seven tumultuous years, his plans for the future, the need to integrate five new appellate judges and what others say his legacy as the Fifth Circuit's only African-American chief judge will be.
Former Houston judge and appellate law expert Jane Bland will soon have her third job in nine months: Justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Gov. Abbott announced Monday that he intends to appoint Bland, who is now a partner at V&E in Houston, to the state’s highest court.
The ruling ends substantial confusion in Texas federal courtrooms, where use of the Anti-SLAPP defense varied from judge to judge and court to court. Allen Pusey has the story.
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