Nothing better exemplifies the Gramscian “long march through the institutions” than the role of the American Bar Association in transforming America’s legal establishment.
Bradley is pleased to announce that 17 attorneys have joined the firm as associates across the firm’s offices in Birmingham; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Huntsville, Ala; and Nashville, Tenn.
Utopian social movements often degenerate into unruly—and sometimes vicious—mobs. During the French Revolution, the slogan “liberty, equality, fraternity” quickly led to the guillotine as the Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror. We are witnessing a softer version of this at Harvard, America’s most elite university, where Ronald Sullivan, an African-American law professor, faces professional retribution for the sin of representing a (presumed innocent) client (Harvey Weinstein) accused of sexual assault. Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz denounced the incident as “The new McCarthyism comes to Harvard.”
The bail system has existed in America since colonial times. It addresses a timeless problem: how to ensure the appearance of a criminal defendant at trial without the need for pretrial incarceration.
AUSTIN – On May 30, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a 10-state friend-of-the-court brief supporting Arkansas in its legal fight to preserve the venerable principle of legislative immunity that first appeared in the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and was incorporated into the Constitution at the founding to ensure that legislators can do their jobs without fear of retribution.
GALVESTON – A federal class action lawsuit alleges Galveston County implements a bail system that is unfavorable towards individuals who cannot afford to post bail.
This is the first installment of a two-part post on the long-running lawsuit involving Texas’ foster care system, styled M.D. v. Abbott. I begin with an overview of the numerous problems for democratic governance that are created by “institutional reform litigation.”
I recently attended a panel discussion at my alma mater, the University of Texas in Austin. The topic was “Free Speech on College Campuses: Where to Draw the Line?” The event, held during Free Speech Week, was co-sponsored by UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE), the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis (IUPRA), and The Opportunity Forum, all funded in whole or in part by the state of Texas. IUPRA’s mission “is to use applied policy research to advocate for the equality of access, opportunity, and choice for African Americans and other populations of color.”
SAN FRANCISCO – A pregnant 17-year-old unaccompanied immigrant known only as Jane Doe has been added to a case pending in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California that seeks to preserve her right to have an abortion in Texas.
HOUSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has filed a lawsuit in district court against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for allegedly failing to provide documents or respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed back in February.
HOUSTON – Texas’ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said that women’s health and right to an abortion will be threatened if three proposed anti-abortion bills are passed.
The widely publicized judicial resistance to President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily limiting entry into the United States by foreign nationals from certain countries has focused public attention as never before on the enormous power wielded by activist judges.
AUSTIN – LGBTQ advocates in Texas are sounding a clear warning that legislation under consideration in the state’s legislature pose a threat to the state’s economy and its reputation nationwide.
AUSTIN -- Texas filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court Sept. 23, requesting reinstatement of the Lone Star State's voter ID law. The petition comes as growing numbers of states enact voter identification laws in a bid to allegedly prevent election fraud.
AUSTIN – On Aug. 25, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a guidance letter to educational institutions in Texas regarding the nationwide injunction issued by a federal court that blocked enforcement of the federal guidance letter on transgender restrooms. Paxton’s letter explains that, in light of the injunction, no educational institution in Texas needs to change its policies regarding intimate facilities to comply with the unenforceable federal guidelines.
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled mostly against a Utah-based molecular diagnostic company in its attempt to patent a pair of genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.
