Texas

Law firm ‘wine and dine’ event with client led to insider-trading case against partner’s husband

The husband of a partner at a well-known law firm is facing an insider-trading case, after allegedly using information he obtained in connection with a planned “wine and dine” event with a Silicon Valley client. James Balchan, an information technology specialist in Houston, is accused in a federal complaint filed…

Feb 7, 2013 3:20 PM CST

Investigators of prosecutor’s slaying are still seeking suspects, a motive

As a special U.S. flag was flown at half-staff this week in honor of a veteran prosecutor gunned down on the way to work at a Texas courthouse Thursday, investigators are still seeking to identify a suspect or suspects in the case. Witnesses say as many as two people shot…

Feb 5, 2013 9:53 PM CST

Rare court of inquiry is convened over judge’s work as a prosecutor in 1987 murder case

A Texas judge is facing a rare court of inquiry concerning his long-ago work, as a state prosecutor, in a murder case. If the judge overseeing the inquiry determines that district judge Ken Anderson of Williamson County acted improperly while serving as district attorney for the county, he could potentially…

Feb 5, 2013 7:05 PM CST

‘Ignorance costs,’ judge says in ruling Texas’ school finance system unconstitutional

After nearly 30 years of litigation over the financing of public schools in Texas, a state-court judge in Austin has decided that the state legislature has failed to meet its constitutional obligation to adequately fund an “efficient system of public free schools.” Siding with some 650 school districts that brought…

Feb 5, 2013 6:00 PM CST

Prosecutor gunned down while walking from parking lot to work at courthouse

A veteran prosecutor was fatally shot multiple times while walking to work at a Texas courthouse on Thursday morning from a nearby parking lot. The motive for the attack on assistant Kaufman County district attorney Mark Hasse, 57, isn’t known. Hasse was transported to a nearby hospital after being shot…

Jan 31, 2013 9:39 PM CST

Texas justice illustrates his Twitter prowess with character-limit interview

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett is so adept at Twitter use that he answered an interviewer’s questions with a 140-character word limit. Willett has more than 1,300 Twitter followers, according to Texas Lawyer’s Tex Parte Blog. His posts are “a daily stream of photos, personal factoids, political commentary, legal…

Jan 31, 2013 2:20 PM CST

Texas bill would require state judges to show up for work

Proposed legislation in Texas would require judges and other “elected officers” to show up for work. H.B. 470 would affect Texas appellate and district court judges, according to the Texas Lawyer’s Tex Parte Blog. It would require elected officers to “be physically present on a regular basis at a location…

Jan 23, 2013 6:42 PM CST

City manager apologizes to Texas A&M star for municipal judge’s Facebook posts about ticket

The city manager for a small town about 35 miles from Dallas, Texas, has apologized to Johnny Manziel for a municipal judge’s Facebook posts concerning the speeding ticket the star Texas A&M quarterback recently received there. “Receiving a traffic ticket is not a humorous matter,” read the statement issued Friday…

Jan 22, 2013 4:42 PM CST

Testimony: Lawyers promised then-judge big bucks to ‘make sure things came out OK’

When some local lawyers in South Texas wanted to “make sure things came out OK,” they used to steer their personal injury cases to Abel Limas, the former judge testified in federal court in Brownsville on Thursday. Then a 404th state district court judge, he now admits he ran his…

Jan 18, 2013 7:09 PM CST

Texas attorney general has a message for gun-loving New Yorkers

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is taking aim at New York’s new gun control law with Internet ads seeking to lure unhappy firearms enthusiasts to his state. The pop-up ads, funded by Abbott campaign money, deliver two messages, the Austin American-Statesman reports. One reads: “Wanted: Law-abiding New York gun-owners looking…

Jan 18, 2013 12:00 PM CST

‘My bad,’ municipal judge says in Facebook post

A municipal judge has caused a stir by posting on his Facebook account about a star Texas A&M quarterback who was ticketed for speeding in the same town which the jurist hears cases. While Judge Lee Johnson, who graduated from a rival university, doesn’t identify player Johnny Manziel by name,…

Jan 17, 2013 10:54 PM CST

Reed Smith has opened Houston office, expects 50 lawyers there

Another major law firm is opening an office in Houston. Reed Smith now has a physical presence in the Texas city and is looking to hire attorneys to practice in its new office there, the firm’s chief marketing officer told the Pittsburgh Business Times on Tuesday. “We have opened, and…

Jan 15, 2013 11:23 PM CST

Law school benefactor resigns from its executive board to protest surprising news of dean’s ouster

The longtime dean of Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law will be out the job in May, a decision that comes as a surprise to some members of the law school’s executive board. Law dean John Attanasio learned in mid-December that his contract will not be renewed when it…

Jan 15, 2013 2:11 PM CST

Judge who dismissed racial slur claim as ‘surprising to Colonel Sanders’ gets sensitivity lesson

A federal appeals court has a message for U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes of Texas: A remark about President Barack Obama and fried chicken does indeed have a racial component. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized Hughes in an opinion (PDF) that nonetheless upholds his decision…

Jan 15, 2013 1:14 PM CST

Is a dead goldfish like a dead dog for damages purposes? State’s top court to decide

Hearing oral arguments last week about a Texas law that provides for “sentimental” damages for the loss of treasured objects, but not living pets, some judges on the state’s top court appeared a bit skeptical, the Associated Press reports. If such damages were to be applied to the loss of…

Jan 14, 2013 2:30 PM CST