Texas

SEC sues Texas AG Ken Paxton for securities fraud; his lawyer ‘vehemently denies’ claims

A lawsuit has been filed against the attorney general of Texas by a federal securities regulator over his claimed conduct in recruiting investors to purchase stock in a technology company. Bookending a criminal securities fraud case brought by the state of Texas last year based on similar allegations, the Securities…

Apr 11, 2016 4:10 PM CDT

Former lottery security chief and his brother, an ex-judge, charged with rigging payouts

A computer whiz installed software on random number-generating equipment while working as security director of the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association that enabled him to rig games and direct a number of jackpots to his friends, authorities say. Already convicted last year of rigging a $16.5 million Iowa jackpot, Eddie Tipton…

Apr 7, 2016 2:40 PM CDT

Did mom violate wiretap law by recording coach’s locker-room speech? Top Texas court to decide

A Texas mom who secretly recorded a coach’s locker-room comments to students is asking Texas’ top criminal court to rule she didn’t violate the state’s wiretap law. The mom, Wendee Long, had suspected the girls’ basketball coach at Argyle High School north of Fort Worth was verbally abusing students, the…

Apr 7, 2016 9:28 AM CDT

Texas Lawyer becomes a monthly, but is enhancing website as primary publication

ALM has converted Texas Lawyer from a weekly to a monthly and is enhancing the publication’s website as part of that strategy. In fact, the website is now “complemented by” the monthly print magazine, says a Monday announcement of the change. “Our readers have expressed a desire for a greater…

Apr 6, 2016 3:50 PM CDT

Top Texas court says city’s possession of stray dog didn’t end owner rights

Ruling in a case near and dear to the hearts of animal lovers, the Texas Supreme Court has strengthened the ability of owners to reclaim a stray pet. Siblings Alfonso and Lydia Lira did not lose their property rights in Monte, a German shepherd, simply because the dog had, for…

Apr 6, 2016 1:05 PM CDT

April Fool’s Day tweet after court loss leads to threat of sanction

One of the owners of the Videogames YouTube Channel had to explain on Tuesday why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for his April Fool’s Day tweet. Bryan Martin tweeted the same day he and a co-owner were found liable for more than $20 million for conspiring to breach agreements…

Apr 6, 2016 7:25 AM CDT

Attorney gunned down at Texas mall was de facto drug cartel chief, says defense lawyer for suspect

An attorney from Mexico gunned down at an upscale Texas shopping mall in 2013 was the de facto chief of a Mexican drug cartel, says a defense lawyer for one of the slaying suspects. But Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa was also a U.S. government informant while serving as legal counsel…

Apr 4, 2016 1:20 PM CDT

Cops post Ebola-tainted meth ruse to catch drug users; does it erode trust?

Some police departments are posting hoax warnings online that purportedly alert drug users that methamphetamine and other drugs could contain Ebola. The sting, posted on Facebook by at least two police departments, tells drug users to stop by the police station for testing, the Associated Press reports. The tactic has…

Mar 30, 2016 7:30 AM CDT

Reprimanded judge says presiding over his own divorce case for several months ‘made no difference’

Reprimanded last month for presiding over his own divorce case for four months after it was randomly assigned to his own court, a Texas judge told a local newspaper that doing so did no harm. “This was my personal divorce,” said 383rd District Judge Mike Herrera to the El Paso…

Mar 23, 2016 3:00 PM CDT

Judge who survived driveway attack says she wasn’t told of prior warning to DA’s office

A Texas judge who survived an attack outside her home last year in what she calls “the most terrifying moment of my life” says the crime likely would never have occurred if she had been warned about a prior threat. About two weeks earlier, a caller had told the Travis…

Mar 16, 2016 4:55 PM CDT

Landmark sleep apnea ruling helps plaintiffs collect $6M in Greyhound crash

A court-ordered sleep apnea test of a Greyhound Lines bus driver is said to have paved the way for a $6 million settlement in a Texas rollover crash case. This was the first such overnight assessment ever OK’d by a trial court and upheld on appeal, according to attorney Ryan…

Mar 10, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Lawyer gets 17 years for helping fugitive client with stock scheme

A Texas lawyer convicted in 2014 of helping a fugitive client with fraudulent stock sales while the man was on the run was sentenced Monday to a 17-year federal prison term. Attorney Patrick Lanier, 67, also was ordered to pay $37 million in restitution after his release, the Houston Chronicle…

Mar 9, 2016 11:35 AM CST

Supreme Court blocks enforcement of Louisiana abortion clinic restrictions

Last month, a federal appeals court in New Orleans refused to block a Louisiana law that could close three of the state’s four abortion clinics, staying an injunction issued by a trial court. But on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively reversed that 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling…

Mar 4, 2016 4:55 PM CST

5th Circuit mimics filing’s ‘strange hypothetical conversation’ in their ruling denying motion

Apparently hoping to tell a story that a federal appeals court would find compelling, a Texas lawyer opened his motion for a panel rehearing with a hypothetical talk between lawyer and client. “Sometimes, in deciding a case, the Court ought to put itself ‘into the shoes of the attorney’ before…

Mar 1, 2016 3:10 PM CST

Judge returns to work in Texas, nearly 4 months after targeted attack put her in hospital

When a Texas judge came to work on Monday, she got a standing ovation from a packed courtroom. That’s because it was state district Judge Julie Kocurek’s first day back in court after a targeted attack on Nov. 6 at her Austin home put her in the hospital for nearly…

Mar 1, 2016 11:20 AM CST