The attorney general’s office is charged with defending state agencies when they are challenged in court. But Paxton will not defend a commission sued after it issued a public warning for a Waco judge who refuses to perform same-sex marriages.
Courts
Stay up to date on Texas courts with in-depth coverage of major rulings, judicial elections, criminal justice, and the judges shaping state law from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Here’s your Texas 2020 March primary ballot
The Texas 2020 primary will take place on March 3. See the full list of candidates statewide, and find out who’s on your ballot based on where you live.
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Politics
Advocates have long tried to change judicial selection in Texas. Is Dan Patrick their newest obstacle?
A new commission had barely begun to study Texas’ partisan judicial election system when the leader of the Texas Senate signaled skepticism of reform.
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Texas Voting Rights
Round two of fight over online voter registration for Texas drivers reaches federal court
The state won the first round on a technicality. Now disenfranchised voters are again asking that they be allowed to complete their voter registrations through the online driver’s license portal.
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Health care
Under new Texas law, Planned Parenthood likely to be excluded from state employees’ annual charity drive
A legal opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that facilitating state employees’ donations to Planned Parenthood falls under a 2019 state law prohibiting government entities from entering into “taxpayer resource transactions” with abortion providers or their affiliates.
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Marijuana in Texas
Austin to consider stopping arrests, tickets in low-level marijuana cases after hemp law
Four progressive members of the City Council are pushing the proposal, which needs two more votes to pass.
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Politics
Appeals court rules Trump can use nearly $4 billion in military funds for border wall
The White House called the initial decision to block on the use of military funds for the border wall “illegitimate” and hailed the appeals court decision as a victory.
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State Government
An open-government mystery solved: McAllen paid Enrique Iglesias $485,000 for 2015 performance
The pop star’s contract with the city — long hidden by what critics described as gaping holes in the state’s open-records laws — became public this week after new legislation governing the public’s right to know went into effect.
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Politics
How the Texas Legislature saved billionaire John Paul DeJoria $123 million
The Texas billionaire wanted U.S. courts to throw out a hefty judgment won against him in Morocco. The law wasn’t on DeJoria’s side. So Texas legislators changed it.
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Health care
Individual mandate is unconstitutional, federal appellate court rules in Texas-led Affordable Care Act lawsuit
A panel on the conservative-leaning U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sent the lawsuit back to a district court in Texas to reassess how much of the Affordable Care Act can stand if the individual mandate must fall.
