Tag: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

President Trump’s impact on the federal courts was on display Friday when the Fifth Circuit appeals court fell shy of rehearing a case to strike down a federal gun control law, with a unanimous bloc of Trump judges calling the Second Amendment a “fundamental civil right” and suggesting that supporters of this gun-control law were plagued by “hoplophobia” – the medical term for the irrational fear of guns. The president is on the verge of making America’s first pro-MAGA court – but only if he fills its final open seat with another reliable conservative.

President Trump set a new judicial record on Wednesday when the Senate confirmed Judge Andrew Oldham to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 50-49, marking the 23rd appellate judge confirmed in the first two years of a presidential administration.

Establishment politicians appear to be pushing President Trump to nominate a judge to the Fifth Circuit federal appeals court who could deflate the president’s base and deprive him of a historic opportunity to help make the Fifth Circuit the most conservative federal appellate court in the nation.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on behalf of the State of Texas and upheld most of the new anti-sanctuary city law that went into effect September 1, 2017. The three-judge panel unanimously overturned most of the lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocked some provisions of the law.

The U.S. Supreme Court left in place an appellate ruling that a North Texas school district can continue its practice of student-led prayer opening school board meetings.

The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a pleading Wednesday saying the judge should take no more action in the voter ID lawsuit against Texas because the State’s new law “eradicates any discriminatory effect or intent” of the prior law. Moreover, the new law is “constitutionally and legally valid.”

Two federal judges have ruled that Texas lawmakers drew congressional maps to discriminate against minority voters, especially Hispanics. The dissenting judge countered that the ruling is “fatally infected, from start to finish, with the misunderstanding that race, rather than partisan advantage,” was the intent behind the 2011 maps.

An Obama nominee presiding over the photo voter ID lawsuit issued an order on Monday finding that the State of Texas did not meet its burden to show that the law was not passed with a discriminatory purpose in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear another death row case from the Texas County that ranks number one in the nation for sending defendants to the death chamber. The Honduran national urges he should have been given resources to develop his claim of mental illness and drug addiction and prosecutors should not have considered his status as an illegal alien.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Trump Administration will be ending the federal government’s opposition to Texas’ photo voter identification law.

A Mexican family whose son was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that the agent violated their son’s constitutional rights by using unnecessary deadly force. A preliminary issue is whether the Constitution applies to someone who is not a citizen of the U.S. and was standing on Mexican soil at the time of the shooting.

The Texas voter ID “fix” instituted before the November presidential election, which allowed citizens without proper documentation to sign a sworn affidavit indicating why they could not procure one in time, now leaves local election officials considering whether “hundreds” of voters should be referred to prosecutors for abusing the safety net.

The Supreme Court of Texas decided to hear a Texas case fighting taxpayer-funded employment benefits for gay spouses.

A federal magistrate delayed the next hearing in the Texas voter ID case so that the Trump Administration has time to reassess.

Just before city candidates will begin to sign up for running for office, a federal judge has issued a judgment and injunction prohibiting the City of Pasadena from using what she ruled was an unconstitutional redistricting plan. The municipality will also be placed under federal “preclearance” for six years–requiring Justice Department approval to any changes to election rules.

Pasadena, Texas, will be monitored by the Justice Department now that a federal judge has ruled that the City violated the Voting Rights Act by intentionally changing its city council districts to decrease Hispanic influence. The City, which the court ruled has a “long history of discrimination against minorities,” will have to get permission from the DOJ to make any changes in election policy going forward, otherwise known as pre-clearance.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the State of Texas are fighting it out at the Fifth Circuit. Texas House Bill 11 is being challenged by open border advocates who say that it improperly targets illegal alien shelters and those who rent to illegal aliens. Oral argument is being conducted Wednesday.

A Democrat senator from Austin, Texas, has pre-filed a bill that if passed, would add a college or university ID to the list of forms of identification that could be used for voting in Texas.

A joint motion was filed Friday morning by the plaintiff states and the defendants, including the United States, in the executive amnesty litigation. The movants write, “the parties have met and conferred and have reached agreement on how to proceed in this case.” They want a stay until exactly one month after President-Elect Donald Trump is sworn in.

An illegal alien, represented by a George Soros-funded law firm, has filed a lawsuit to fight the judicial action blocking illegal aliens from receiving benefits under President Obama’s executive amnesty program. The injunction was left standing by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the nation’s highest court to fully reinstate the Lone Star State’s voter ID law. The petition will not affect the November 2016 Election.

The Obama appointee presiding over the Texas voter photo ID lawsuit ordered the State to toss some of its voter education materials because federal lawyers did not like the exact language in printed. Although lawyers for the State gave the DOJ and liberal voting rights groups a copy of the proposed language on August 11, they waited until less than 60 days before the November election to complain. This was after financial and other resources had been expended by the State.

FORT WORTH, Tex.—A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of 13 states against President Barack Obama’s directive that public schools must allow students and adults to enter whatever bathrooms or showers they choose, a policy imposing transgenderism on the nation’s schools.

The United States Supreme Court issued two major decisions in Texas cases today. The first leaves in place a block of President Obama’s unlawful executive amnesty order, and the second ruling allows continuation of the affirmative action program in admissions at the University of Texas.

The United States Supreme Court issued three opinions today but left three important cases arising out of Texas pending. The nation’s highest court has not issued a decision on these cases from Texas involving abortion, affirmative action, or the state’s challenge to the federal government’s executive amnesty order.

WASHINGTON—On April 29, the Supreme Court issued an unusual order denying the relief requested by challengers to Texas’s voter-ID law, but also sending a signal to the appeals court currently examining the law, informing the lower court that it only has until July 20 to make a final decision, so that the Supreme Court would have time to act if necessary before the 2016 election.

Abortions in Texas are down by almost 9,000 since 2014 in the Lone Star State. Texas legislators and pro-life activists are saying that this is “something to celebrate.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the appointment of a new first assistant in what appears to be an office shake-up. Paxton appointed Jeff Mateer to be the new first assistant. He replaces former First Assistant Chip Roy who served in that capacity since the beginning of Paxton’s administration.

A man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for filming animal crush videos. These videos were made to satisfy sexual fetishes and included cutting off the limbs of a puppy and kitten and urinating on them in what was intended to be a sexually charged atmosphere.

The death of Justice Antonin Scalia will have an immediate impact on a Texas case scheduled for oral argument March 2nd at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is set to hear a lawsuit claiming that a Texas law unconstitutionally limits access to abortions in the state.

Planned Parenthood is suing the State of Texas in a fight to continue to receive Medicaid dollars. Officials for the state stopped the abortion provider from receiving these funds after numerous undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of baby parts and tissue. The state’s halt of dollars includes millions in federal dollars it distributes, as well as hundreds of thousands of state dollars.

President Obama and the Department of Justice filed a petition on Friday asking the United States Supreme Court to overturn the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit putting a halt to the administration’s executive amnesty program. The administration has asked for an expedited appellate review.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curium decision today reversing a 2014 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit opinion holding that a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper was not entitled to be granted qualified immunity. The officer had used deadly force to stop a driver in a high-speed car chase. Justice Sotomayor chastised the court for allowing a “shoot first, think later approach to policing.”

During the Republican presidential debates on Wednesday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted that he would recommend to the winning candidate that they appoint Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willett to the U.S. Supreme Court. The topic of what kind of judges the candidates would appoint to serve on the nation’s highest court was a question posed to the candidates during the debates.

Proponents of Obama’s executive amnesty traveled to New Orleans and were in full-force on courthouse steps this morning. Oral arguments were held at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on whether the Court will reverse the district court’s injunction on executive amnesty. Pro-DACA and DAPA activists have been aggressive in protesting what they see as a right to these benefits.