The year’s list of top 10 Texas legal stories as determined by the staff of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing follows.
10. First Case Against Accused Serial Murderer Ends in Mistrial
Dallas’ biggest-ever serial killer case finally went to trial in 2021, but the result was not what prosecutors or victims’ families had hoped.
Authorities charged Billy Chemirmir in the deaths of 18 elderly Dallas-area women over a two-year period. In November, he went on trial for the deaths of one of those women, 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. But after deliberating 11 hours over two days, jurors released a note indicating they were “hopelessly deadlocked 11 to one” forcing Dallas County District Court Judge Raquel Jones to declare a mistrial.
The Chemirmir case dates to 2018, when a woman at an independent living center for seniors in Plano accused him of forcing his way into her apartment and attempting to smother her with a pillow. Police later tracked down Chemirmir and found cash and jewelry, along with keys to the door of Ms. Harris’ home. Following his arrest, police reviewed similar cases, leading to 18 capital murder indictments in Dallas and Collin counties. To date, he has been linked through police records, civil lawsuits and medical examiner reports as a suspect in at least two dozen deaths.
Following the mistrial, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said he would retry the case.
Attorneys: For the state – Glen Fitzmartin, Jaclyn O’Connor, Jerry Varney; For Chemirmir – Kobby Warren, Mark Watson
9. Outrage Over Traffic Enforcement After Deaths of Cyclists on Texas Roadways
“Still in Texas. Worst drivers so far.”
Those were the tragic words 51-year-old Kent Wosepka posted on a social networking site one day before he and a group of cross-country cyclists passing through Liberty County were hit by a Texas driver. Although Wosepka was killed and two others injured, the 66-year-old driver accused of driving his SUV into the group was set free and is yet to be charged.
One month earlier, dozens of cyclists were on a training ride in Waller County when a teenaged pickup driver struck six of the riders. The teen, who witnesses say had been taunting the cyclists, was questioned and released. It was only after a six-week investigation by the Waller County District Attorney’s office that the teen was eventually charged.
The incidents are just two of several that happened on Texas roadways in 2021. And if it seems like there are more cyclist-related fatalities recently, that’s because there are. The Texas Department of Transportation says the state saw a dramatic rise in the number of people killed while biking on roadways in 2020, despite a decrease in traffic crashes. The increase is part of an alarming trend over the last five years.
So, what’s being done to protect cyclists on Texas roadways? A new Texas law, which went into effect September 1, is aimed at ensuring reckless drivers don’t go unpunished. Under the Lisa Torry Smith Act, drivers can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor if they cause bodily harm to a pedestrian or cyclist. If the pedestrian or cyclist is seriously injured, drivers can face a state jail felony.
8. ‘Stop the Steal’ Insurrectionists Included more than 60 Texans
A “Stop the Steal” rally stoked by former President Donald Trump turned deadly when thousands of attendees stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory. More than 700 have been charged in connection to the riots, including at least 61 Texans. Among those arrested are a real estate agent from Frisco who took a private jet to the rally and live-streamed herself in the scrum, a former sheriff’s deputy, five members of the same family, and even a North Texas man who is now running for a seat in the Texas House.
Woefully understaffed police found themselves in hand-to-hand combat as the mob stormed inside the Capitol building where they threatened to hang Vice President Pence and looted the hallowed halls as lawmakers cowered. Five people died and approximately 140 officers were injured.
The attack caused an estimated $30 million in damages and shook the public’s notion of free and fair elections. The FBI is still seeking public assistance in identifying individuals who took part.
7. New Year, New Border Crisis
In response to geopolitical pressures in Haiti and Central America that created an unprecedented surge of illegal entry attempts, and a federal court order, the Department of Homeland Security officially relaunched the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy in September. Under that edict, asylum-seekers trying to enter Texas must remain south of the border while they await hearings to begin the legal immigration process.
Border apprehensions rose to nearly 1.7 million in the 2021 fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That’s the highest number ever, surpassing the record set under the Clinton administration in 2000.
Meanwhile Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to use state law enforcement to enforce immigration laws by arresting migrants for trespassing has overwhelmed local courts and resulted in few convictions. Most of those arrested are waiting weeks or months in jail for their misdemeanor trespassing cases to be processed.
6. Oil Rebounds While Investors Increasingly Eye Sustainable Deals
Energy dealmakers were back in 2021.Rebounding from a pandemic year that saw the price of West Texas Intermediate plummet below zero, oil producers ramped up drilling and production again.
A suddenly booming economy needed more oil. That led to a raft of merger and acquisition work, keeping M&A lawyers busy and taking pressure off energy bankruptcy groups that saw a booming business in 2020. One example: Royal Dutch Shell sold off its Permian Basin holdings to Houston-based ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion.
At the same time, another kind of dealmaking was ramping up as investors turned their interest to renewable energy technologies. The appetite for conventional oil and gas isn’t what it used to be. Shareholders burned by past boom-and-bust cycles in the oil patch and increasingly worried about climate change are demanding a dramatic transformation in the energy industry. It’s not just the energy sector; the trend is playing out across industries as law firms and investor groups are aggressively advising clients across industries how to meet new goals set by environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, said Sidley Austin partner Kevin Lewis. The aviation sector led the pack with large investments in carbon capture, experimental electric and supersonic aircraft, and sustainable fuel.
“It’s really the environmental and climate-related initiatives under ESG that are driving deal-making, so in boardrooms, private equity offices, banking … there’s a large and growing appetite for ESG investing,” said Mr. Lewis, co-leader of Sidley’s Aviation and Airlines practice.
Looming ahead are tougher new government regulations on ESG disclosures. So while Texas producers are still pumping to provide a return for investors, many energy companies and private equity groups are pursuing technologies like wind power and carbon capture, or they’re buying up businesses that already have renewable tech capabilities. The oil patch of the future may look different.
5. Culture Wars, Critical Race Theory Go to School
While public schools across Texas struggled in 2021 with questions of mask mandates and whether to continue remote learning during the pandemic, a new front in the culture wars erupted surrounding how, or even if, teachers should present issues related to race and racism.
Depending on your point of view, “critical race theory” is either a way of understanding how historical racism has shaped American law and public policy or a means of creating and radicalizing racial division.
Although instances of CRT being taught in K-12 are exceedingly rare, school board meetings in Texas – and across the country – became ground zero for the polarizing debate. Carroll ISD in Southlake drew national attention for a series of racially charged incidents – including an administrator caught on tape suggesting that even instruction on the Holocaust would require an opposing viewpoint – and the creation of a well-funded political action committee that elected a slate of candidates opposed to CRT.
The debate over CRT did not escape scrutiny in Austin. Earmarked by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as a legislative priority, a bill banning CRT in public schools passed, with Gov. Greg Abbott signing it into law. However, Abbott did not feel the law went “far enough” and sought a more restrictive measure. That law, SB 3, went into effect December 1. It not only limits how teachers can present current events, but also prohibits students from receiving class credit for participating in civic activities that include political activism or lobbying elected officials on a particular issue.
4. Mass Casualties at Astroworld Music Festival
Outdoor music festivals were just starting to return to pre-pandemic interest levels when a living nightmare unfolded at Houston’s Astroworld Music Festival on November 5.
Exuberant concertgoers rushed the stage for hometown hero Travis Scott, trapping pockets of the audience in a deadly crush. Security personnel appeared ill-equipped and unprepared and Mr. Scott – seemingly unaware of the unfolding mass-casualty disaster – continued to perform. Ten people died from injuries and many more were hospitalized.
In the aftermath, questions swirled about whether organizers had done enough to ensure safety, as well as previous incidents in which Mr. Scott had encouraged rowdiness during performances. Hundreds of lawsuits are now filed against an array of defendants, from concert promoters to Mr. Scott himself.
3. Texas Abortion Law Attempts to Skirt Judicial Scrutiny
In their latest effort to ban abortions, Texas lawmakers crafted a unique end-run around judicial review and the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 1, one of Texas’ most controversial laws to-date went into effect. SB 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortions at six weeks, regardless of the circumstance.
What makes the law unique is found in the details of who could enforce the law. Written to remove judicial review from the legal equation, instead of the state enforcing the law, SB 8 empowers private citizens to sue if they believe a person assisted with an abortion. That means an Uber driver, a neighbor, a family member and, of course, the doctor all face litigation, and $10,000 plus legal fees if they lose in court.
The law was immediately challenged by abortion providers and the Department of Justice. In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case twice, hearing final arguments in November and ruling more than a month later to allow abortion providers to proceed with challenges while the ban on abortions remains in effect.
The issue has abortion opponents hoping to see an end to Roe v. Wade as the Supreme Court will decide in 2022 on a Mississippi law with a 15-week mark for illegal abortions, and those against the new Texas law continuing the fight for women’s rights.
The case is Whole Woman’s Health et al v. Jackson, Judge, in the District Court of Texas, 114th District, et al.
2. The Texas Deep Freeze
The mid-February weather event known as Uri froze Texans from border to border, sparking a wave of fatalities, property damage, litigation, deadly crashes on state roadways, and second-guessing about regulatory reform to improve the readiness of the state’s power grid.
More than two out of three Texans lost electricity at some point during the storm, almost half lost access to running water and nearly one-third of residents reported water damage in their homes. A report by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston revealed that, at its peak, Uri left close to 4.5 million homes and businesses without power, left more than 100 people dead, and caused an estimated $295 billion in damage. The storm is the single biggest insurance claim event in state history.
The blackout also exposed how a generation of deregulation had hobbled the statewide electricity grid. Despite ample warning about the storm, the state’s power generators and natural gas providers were not optimized for the conditions leading to frozen coal-fired generator equipment and a snowballing series of power failures.
“The tragedy is that this all could have been prevented,” said trial lawyer Majed Nachawati of Dallas-based Fears Nachawati. “The Texas legislature, including the governor, deregulated the electricity market decades ago. As a result of that, big companies that stood to make billions in profits were allowed to essentially regulate themselves.”
In the aftermath, state lawmakers enacted a number of new requirements, including the establishment of an energy emergency alert system, deferrals of bill collection during extreme weather events, and the weatherization of power generation and transmission systems. However, some critics have questioned the anticipated effectiveness of the regulations and the legitimacy of the related pass-through costs to businesses and consumers.
1. Shuttered Courthouses Reopen for In-Person Trials
Thanks to the pandemic, civil and criminal courts started 2021 in a full embrace of remote technology for hearings and for trials for low-level criminal offenses and certain civil matters.
By February 2021, Texas courts had logged a million proceedings conducted via remote technology. But it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. Presidio County attorney Rod Ponton made headlines when he was unable to figure out how to turn off a cat filter during a Zoom hearing in Texas’ 394th Judicial District Court. His anguished “I’m here live. I’m not a cat.” was the laugh everyone needed coming out of the shutdown.
Trials for jailable offenses and major civil cases were largely off the table until March 5 when the Texas Supreme Court reopened courthouses for in-person civil and criminal jury trials. The order allowed for in-person court business without the previously required state safety review, while mask requirements and social distancing were left up to local officials.
The pandemic shutdown created a backlog of cases that could take years to overcome, but the reliance on technology did have some positive results. Judges and lawyers on both sides of the bar saw firsthand that videoconference technology can be an effective and efficient way to conduct certain court proceedings, depositions, arbitrations and mediations.