The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
A group of students at Prairie View A&M University sued the county, claiming it set up an election schedule in 2018 that offered students — most of them Black — fewer opportunities to vote early than the county’s white residents. Full Story
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The Supreme Court ruled that the state likely violated death row inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberties when it denied his request to have his pastor lay his hands on him and pray during his upcoming execution. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the other Republican senator from Texas, asked the nominee about the court case legalizing gay marriage and questioned her defense of Guantánamo Bay detainees who allegedly faced mistreatment. Full Story
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The temporary injunction was issued as part of a lawsuit brought on behalf of parents being investigated by child welfare workers for letting their transgender teenager access gender-affirming health care. Full Story
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The former child care investigations director said there are agency-wide communication issues that led to a breakdown in relaying key information, but two of his staff members are the ones who suffered the consequences. Full Story
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A jury awarded Evdokia Nikolova damages for past and future pain and suffering after finding UT-Austin illegally discriminated against her when the school denied her tenure. Full Story
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Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has sued the Biden administration 20 times in Texas federal courts over everything from mask mandates to immigration policies. Trump-appointed judges have ruled in seven of them, all in favor of Texas. Full Story
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Paxton tweeted Friday that investigations into parents of transgender children would continue as a result of his appeal. But the state’s child welfare agency won’t confirm the status of the investigations. Full Story
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The Refuge, which closed Friday, said it fired an employee accused of coercing the victims to sell nude photos as soon as it found out. The Bastrop-based shelter has not addressed the other eight staff members also accused of causing harm to the girls. Full Story
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The children were sexually abused and neglected while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to a report from a current employee. Full Story
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Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse. Full Story
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The appeals court’s decision allows a lower court to hold a hearing on whether Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate certain gender-affirming care as child abuse can stand. Full Story
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Paxton is accused of professional misconduct for suing to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Full Story
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The professor alleges the school violated his First Amendment rights when he advocated for the removal of Confederate statues and criticized the college’s COVID-19 plans. Full Story
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Guy Reffitt of Wylie was found guilty of five felonies committed during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Full Story
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Ever since Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children, LGBTQ-affirming family lawyers statewide have been deluged with calls. Full Story
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In opening statements for the first trial related to the 2021 riot, prosecutors said Guy Wesley Reffitt, a member of Texas Three Percenters, spearheaded those near him to charge police. His defense said he was engaging in “hyperbole.” Full Story
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The ACLU suit looks to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services investigate parents seeking gender-affirming care for their transgender children. Full Story
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President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday morning. If confirmed, she’d be the nation’s first Black woman to sit on the high court. Full Story
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Around 40% of the foster children in the state’s care who are ages 5 and older have not received a COVID-19 vaccine despite being eligible. Full Story
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