Texas

ABA president travels to South Texas, working to fulfill ABA’s promise to reunite families

Two months ago, then-ABA president Hilarie Bass went to South Texas to see the effects of the Trump administration’s family separation policy. There, she promised that the ABA would not stop working until every family was reunited and every detainee was given the due process they’re legally entitled to.

Aug 30, 2018 11:14 AM CDT

Texas federal judge adds quotes, visual aids and warning of Alamo kiss to opinion

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio is once again ramping up his warnings to feuding lawyers, this time in an opinion that quotes Elvis Presley, Joe Friday of the Dragnet television series and Abraham Lincoln. In an Aug. 14 order, Biery tells the lawyers that “there will be…

Aug 21, 2018 6:10 AM CDT

5th Circuit stays judge’s ruling requiring automatic release of indigent misdemeanor suspects

A federal appeals court on Tuesday stayed a portion of a federal judge’s ruling that required the automatic release of misdemeanor defendants in Harris County, Texas, if they were unable to pay bail.

Aug 17, 2018 10:20 AM CDT

Judge tosses Georgetown law grad’s suit over school job fair ban

A federal judge in Texas has tossed a $5 million lawsuit against Georgetown University’s law school by a graduate who claimed he was barred as an employer from a school hiring fair because of discrimination and retaliation.

Aug 17, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones loses a soapbox after FCC seeks fine against pirate radio station

The pirate radio station used by Alex Jones to promote his conspiracy theories is no longer broadcasting over the airwaves after the Federal Communications Commission moved to enforce a fine for operating without a license. The operators of Liberty Radio are refusing to pay the $15,000 fine or to recognize…

Aug 16, 2018 10:29 AM CDT

State commission calls blood-spatter testimony in murder case ‘not ... scientifically supported’

An influential state commission said the blood-spatter analysis used to convict a former Texas high school principal of murdering his wife in 1985 was “not accurate or scientifically supported” and the expert who testified was “entirely wrong.”

Jul 24, 2018 4:00 PM CDT

Dog on a lease? Woman surprised to learn pet she paid for was a rental

New York could become the third state to ban animal rentals after the state attorney general filed a fraud suit against a chain called The Pet Zone that includes allegations about a misleading leasing option. One of the people who complained about The Pet Zone is Chelsea Walrath. She told…

Jul 19, 2018 11:10 AM CDT

Trial on fetal burial law begins with judge’s defense of his motives

A trial on the constitutionality of a Texas fetal remains burial law began Monday with a federal judge proclaiming that he has “no predisposition” in the case.

Jul 17, 2018 1:20 PM CDT

5th Circuit criticizes federal judge for alleged sexist remark about simpler times

A federal appeals court has reinstated an indictment and directed the case be assigned to a new federal judge following the initial judge's alleged remarks about the female prosecutor in the case.

Jul 9, 2018 12:23 PM CDT

Defense lawyers read Declaration of Independence in front of Texas tent city for immigrant children

Since 2010, Robert Fickman has been helping to organize Fourth of July readings of the Declaration of Independence around the state of Texas.

Jul 6, 2018 7:05 AM CDT

Exonerated Texans help wrongfully convicted prisoners find freedom

Texas exonerees Johnnie Lindsey, Christopher Scott and Stephen Phillips are the focus of the PBS documentary True Conviction. Through the House of Renewed Hope, they investigate the cases of inmates who say they’ve been wrongfully accused.

Jul 1, 2018 2:05 AM CDT

ABA president will visit Texas-Mexico border to assess how America’s lawyers can help

Updated: ABA President Hilarie Bass will visit the Rio Grande Valley of Texas on June 25-26 in response to widespread concern about the federal policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Jun 21, 2018 2:15 PM CDT

Texas lawyer’s wife settles suit claiming woman seduced her husband and induced money transfers

The wife of a Texas lawyer and the family’s limited partnership have settled a lawsuit targeting a woman said to have seduced the lawyer and induced him to transfer more than $2 million in assets to her. Sheila Umphrey and the Umphrey Family Limited Partnership filed a notice with a…

Jun 21, 2018 7:05 AM CDT

ABA asylum project attorney describes representing separated families at the border

Attorneys representing asylum-seekers from Central America frequently have worked with traumatized clients. But since the federal government began separating families after arresting parents for illegal entry, Kimi Jackson of the ABA’s South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project says the trauma has gotten far worse.

Jun 20, 2018 3:06 PM CDT

New ethics trial for disbarred lawyer due to bankruptcy judge’s testimony

A Texas appeals court has ruled that a disbarred lawyer should get a new ethics trial because a court erred by allowing a federal bankruptcy judge to testify about the alleged misconduct. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi reversed the April 2016 disbarment of Mark Cantu in a…

Jun 15, 2018 12:59 PM CDT