Litigation and trial practice

Nine years after the death of Cameron Redus, his family settled their lawsuit against University of the Incarnate Word. I previously wrote about that lawsuit here and here. UIW embarked upon a creative defense in which it argued that its police force was an arm of the state government, and therefore, immune from suit.

The Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. ___, 142 S.Ct. 2111, 213 L.Ed.2d 387 (2022),  is an odd decision. In that opinion Justice Thomas found that no law regarding possession of firearms could withstand judicial scrutiny unless it could be shown that the law fits with

In a very brief order, the Fifth Circuit ordered the release of Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, the two heads of True the Vote. Otherwise, the district court’s order remains in effect. Neither Ms. Englebrecht or Mr. Phillips have yet to disclose the name of the second analyst who supposedly showed them proof that Konnech

Well, Catherine Engelbrect and Gregg Phillips appeared in Judge Hoyt’s court room on Oct. 31, and they did indeed refuse to provide the name of the second analyst. See my prior post on this wild hearing here. So, Judge Hoyt ordered they be confined in jail until they release the name. Engelbrecht and Phillips

There have been a lot of crazy lawsuits since 2020. One of those lawsuits concerns True the Vote. True the Vote is a conservative Texas non-profit that has been around for many years. They participated in the opposition to the recall of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin. True the Vote was the primary

When an appellate decision starts with a quote from the Federalist papers about despotism, you know this decision presents a bumpy ride. In Community Financial Services Assoc. of Ame. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 21-50826 (5th Cir. 10/19/2022), the Fifth Circuit quotes from the Federalist papers six different times. The Federalist papers have

PACER – Public Access to Court Electronic Records – has existed for some 20 years. Prior to PACER, lawyers and parties received court orders via regular old snail mail. But, with PACER, we would receive those orders via fax and then via email. PACER seemed like a good price, because it did not send a

Lex Machina, a service provided by Lexis Nexis, has released its latest report on employment litigation verdicts. That report shows a ten year high with $1.17 billion in jury verdicts between 2019 and 2021.  The report includes results from federal district and appellate courts.  Lex Machina points out that 21,193 employment matters were filed in

The Texas Attorney General’s flubbed a prosecution against six sex traffickers, because they lost contact with the victim. The high profile prosecutions was known as “Operation Fallen Angle.” In the small town of Gatesville, Texas, in central Texas, this prosecution was a big deal. Six persons accused of trading crystal methamphetamine for sex are now