Texas Supreme Court Halts Compelled Remote Jury Trial

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday agreed with two parties on opposite sides of a dispute headed for trial and held that a Harris County district judge who tried to compel them to a remote jury trial despite their agreed objection was out of line. 

The state’s high court issued its ruling in the case without hearing oral argument. Jenna East, who is the plaintiff in the underlying automobile crash lawsuit before Harris County District Judge Dedra Davis, and Owen J. Merrell, the underlying defendant, appealed to the Texas Supreme Court in the wake of a July 8 ruling from the First Court of Appeals in Houston that denied their requested relief without explaining why.