NEW ORLEANS – The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a preliminary injunction granted to plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that challenged the state of Mississippi’s Religious Liberty Accommodations Act (HB 1523), according to a statement from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court's May 22 decision to reduce the states in which patent owners are allowed to file infringement lawsuits is expected to reduce 1,000 cases per year in Eastern Texas and increase cases in the District of Delaware by 500, Unified Patents has predicted.
AUSTIN – In an effort to protect Texas consumers, Attorney General Ken Paxton on June 19 urged the Federal Communications Commission to deny a petition by the broadband industry to strip states of their authority to investigate and settle claims over false and misleading advertising about broadband Internet speed.
The Texas Supreme Court has a unique structure, reflecting the state’s stubbornly independent-minded culture. Most state supreme courts have jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases and have seven (or fewer) members, who are appointed by the governor and face the voters — if at all — only for periodic “retention” elections. The Texas Supreme Court, in contrast, hears only civil appeals (criminal cases are decided by the co-equal Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) and has nine members, all of whom are subject to statewide partisan elections. The last feature is quite unusual; only seven states select judges in this manner. Despite this distinctive design, the Texas Supreme Court succeeds at steering a steady jurisprudential course in a cautious, low-key style.
“The High Court put a dent in plaintiffs' long-established freedom to shop for the venue of their choosing when pressing patent infringement claims – potentially dealing a blow to the Eastern District of Texas’s prominence in hearing patent cases.”
That's the assessment made of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision by intellectual property firm Morrison & Foerster, and we hope it proves accurate. An end to our prominence in these dubious endeavors would be a good thing and might prompt us to find some more acceptable kind of distinction.
HOUSTON – Earlier this year, a Montgomery County judge was sued by a nonprofit secularist foundation for having prayers during the beginning of his courtroom sessions.
YLER – Trend Micro won a minor victory in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas earlier this month when it was successful in requesting a change of venue to the Northern District of Texas.
EAST TEXAS – The rocket docket fueling patent litigation in Texas’ Eastern District may soon be crashing back to earth, as the U.S. Supreme Court has grounded forum shopping for infringement lawsuits.
AUSTIN – On May 1, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the state would be joining 13 others in petitioning to help grant Arizona the right to deny driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.
The legal academy is a strange place.
It differs from other intellectual disciplines in that legal scholarship is published mainly in student-edited law reviews, not peer-reviewed journals. Most faculty members at elite law schools have never practiced law, or have done so only briefly and usually without professional distinction. The curricula at many of the nation’s law schools are larded with trendy courses devoted to identity politics and social issues du jour. Elite law schools eschew the teaching of “nuts and bolts” fundamentals, deriding such practical instruction as resembling a “trade school.”
AUSTIN – On April 28, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded an appeals court decision that should allow the Trump administration to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments to determine whether patent infringement actions should be restricted to judicial districts where a defendant lives or where the infringement occurred.
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was on hand as President Trump signed an executive order blocking the previous administration's Clean Power Plan.
Last October, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the reversal of a $32 million settlement against Domino's pizza chain won by former Provost Umphrey (PU) attorney Paul Ferguson Jr.
In a prior post, I discussed the Pidgeon v. Turner case, now pending before the Texas Supreme Court, involving a taxpayer challenge to same-sex spousal benefits. Oral argument was held on March 1. The taxpayers challenging the city of Houston’s policy of granting same-sex spousal benefits to city employees were represented at oral argument by Jonathan Mitchell, a former Scalia clerk, former Texas solicitor general, and now a visiting professor at Stanford law school. The city of Houston was represented by Douglas Alexander, a leading appellate practitioner in an Austin law firm whose partners include former Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson. The oral argument was superb, and both counsel fielded numerous questions from the fully-engaged justices.
&&& AUSTIN – The Texas Supreme Court in January ruled that it will decide whether the husbands and wives of gay city employees in Houston deserve spousal benefits, a rare reversal reportedly driven by pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and dozens of other top Republicans.
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an amicus brief on behalf of six states in the case of Portico Benefit Services v. Bacon, a case Paxton's office called
