Texas

Federal appeals court strikes down ATF rule banning rapid-fire bump stocks

Updated: The en banc 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans has struck down a Trump administration ban on bump stocks, which are used to accelerate gunfire on semi-automatic weapons.

Jan 9, 2023 9:55 AM CST

Holland & Knight will merge with Tennessee law firm

Holland & Knight has announced a merger with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, a Nashville, Tennessee-based law firm with more than 280 lawyers.

Jan 6, 2023 2:44 PM CST

Texas AG seeks records from immigration nonprofits, seeks funding sources for ‘border invasion’ aid

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking information from three immigration and legal nonprofits to determine whether they are receiving funds from the Texas Bar Foundation and using the money to “support the border invasion.”

Dec 15, 2022 2:45 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: Accused ‘my guns are bigger’ judge resigns; Texas district attorney resigns, takes the Fifth

Judge who displayed gun on bench resigns Judge David W. Hummel Jr. of West Virginia has resigned from the bench after a video confirmed that he placed a gun on the bench during a hearing. Hummel had been accused of taking out the gun after refusing to let a lawyer’s…

Dec 2, 2022 3:02 PM CST

Meet the two Texas attorneys behind the Children’s Immigration Law Academy

Dalia Castillo-Granados had just begun her fellowship with the St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance, a program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, when she met Yasmin Yavar in 2008.

Nov 23, 2022 1:24 PM CST

Biden administration extends pause on federal student-loan payments as SCOTUS review is sought

The Biden administration on Tuesday extended the pause on federal student-loan payments, interest and collections to allow time for the courts to resolve litigation over plans to forgive some loans.

Nov 23, 2022 10:28 AM CST

‘We’re just mean people’ excuse fails to persuade Texas court on sanctions

A Texas appeals court has rejected a lawyer’s argument that his colleague can’t be sanctioned for “aggressive and even unkind” comments if there was no interference with justice and “we’re just mean people.”

Nov 22, 2022 9:08 AM CST

Supreme Court declines to block 4 executions in 2 days; 1 inmate spared, for now, because of vein issues

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to block four executions over the course of two days, rejecting petitions claiming incompetence for execution, difficulty inserting intravenous lines, lack of a clear policy on religious rights and new exculpatory evidence.

Nov 18, 2022 10:00 AM CST

Texas lawyer is accused of spiking wife’s drinks with abortion drug

A Texas lawyer is facing two charges for allegedly spiking his wife’s drinks with an abortion drug after they began trying to reconcile their marriage.

Nov 17, 2022 1:23 PM CST

Convicted welfare fraudster had no Second Amendment right to own gun, 3rd Circuit says

A man who pleaded guilty to understating his lawn-mowing income to obtain $2,458 in food stamps had no Second Amendment right to own a gun, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Nov 17, 2022 11:39 AM CST

Texas governor invokes obscure constitutional provision to repel ‘border invasion;’ judge strikes down Title 42 next day

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he is invoking the U.S. Constitution’s invasion clause and taking “unprecedented measures” to repel a “border invasion.”

Nov 16, 2022 10:22 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Biden can’t grant student-debt relief, judge says; $32.3M malpractice award left in place

Judge strikes down student-debt relief U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman of Fort Worth, Texas, ruled Thursday that the Biden administration’s plan to forgive some federal student-loan debt was an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power. “In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a…

Nov 11, 2022 3:14 PM CST

Last-minute election lawsuits target absentee ballots; Florida clashes with DOJ over monitors

Election litigation was heating up in battleground states as voters went to the polls Tuesday. Lawsuits were filed over undated absentee ballots in Pennsylvania, unmailed absentee ballots in Georgia, and plans to hand count ballots in Arizona and Nevada.

Nov 8, 2022 12:45 PM CST

It isn’t contempt if ‘we’re just mean people’ and disparaging comments caused no harm, lawyer argues

A Texas lawyer acknowledged during a contempt hearing Monday that his law partner’s pleadings “may be aggressive and even unkind to the court sometimes.”

Nov 2, 2022 9:28 AM CDT

Expect litigation over absentee ballots, and expect delays in the vote count, Common Cause warns

Absentee voting is facing a double wallop as the Nov. 8 midterm elections approach. Voting in advance of Election Day has been restricted by new state laws that make it more difficult to obtain and cast absentee ballots. And the validity and counting of some of those ballots are likely to be challenged in litigation.

Nov 1, 2022 2:24 PM CDT