Supreme Court of Texas Blog

Last week, I wrote about In re Loban, No. 08-0336 which was one of the few cases in which the Court had requested briefing in the past month.

This past week, the Court really made up for lost time, requesting full briefing in eighteen cases. I guess that makes Memorial Day Weekend a little happier [...]

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In re Tex. Dep’t of Fam. & Protective Health Servs., No. 08-0391 (orig. proceeding)

Filed: May 23, 2008

This afternoon, the Texas Department of Family & Protective Health Services sought mandamus relief from the Texas Supreme Court to overturn yesterday’s decision of the Austin Court. The State also sought an emergency stay.

The Austin paper has this [...]

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In re Citigroup Global Markets, No. 06-0886 (per curiam) (orig. proceeding)

Decided: May 16, 2008

The court of appeals held that Citigroup’s (successful) attempt to remove a case to federal court, its (successful) attempt to get an MDL transfer of that case, and then its (successful) request that the MDL court remand the case back to state [...]

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In re Steed, No. 03-08-00235-CV (Tex. App.—Austin) (orig. proceeding)

Mandamus Issued: May 22, 2008

It was a per curiam opinion of the Third Court in Austin. The opinion came out today at 11:30AM.

In a nutshell, the Court held that the State had failed to carry its burden that all of the children were in physical danger, [...]

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In re Cahill, No. 08-0372

Mandamus Denied 05-19-2008

Today’s Corpus Christi Caller Times reports on a new election mandamus petition filed in the Texas Supreme Court last Friday by Vanessa Cahill against the chair of the Nueces County Republican Party. It seeks records from the county convention so that Cahill can challenge the delegate selection.

It turns [...]

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In re Jason Loban, No. 08-0336.

Briefing Requested: May 16, 2008

The Texas Supreme Court has just requested full briefing in a case involving what procedural protections a pet owner has when a local animal-control official declares a pet to be dangerous.

The Legislature has created of a statutory right to appeal an adverse determination from a municipal [...]

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So begins today’s dissent by Justice Wainwright in In re McAllen Medical Center, Inc, No. 05-0892:

A whole new world A new fantastic point of view No one to tell us no Or where to go Or say we’re only dreaming . [...]

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City of Dallas v. Reed, No. 07-0469 (per curiam) Decided: May 16, 2008

In this interlocutory appeal, the Texas Supreme Court rejected the argument that a two-inch difference in elevation between two lanes on a city road was a “special defect” that imposed a heightened duty on the city under the Texas Tort Claims Act. In [...]

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Higgins v. Randall County Sheriff’s Office, No. 06-0917 (Higgins II) Decided: May 16, 2008

Normally, appellate filing fees are a prerequisite to an appeal. An appellant can, however, avoid the fees by establishing indigence under Rule 20.1. What happens if an appellant files an affidavit of indigency that is plainly lacking as to some of [...]

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Merck & Co. v. Garza, No. 04-07-00234-CV, in the San Antonio Court of Appeals

Justice Marion wrote today’s opinion, joined by Justice Stone and Justice Speedlin. The judgment was a reversal and rendition of judgment for Merck, although on grounds that may not help Merck in any future cases. The Court decided that the [...]

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