Recent Articles

Race and jury selection ...

Jeff Rambin
September 26, 2008 17:08

A while back, I posted on a Batson case in the criminal context.  Today, the Supreme Court of Texas handed down a Batson decision in the civil context -- a case of alleged racial discrimination in the workplace. Today, the Supreme Court of Texas held that the employer's attorney struck...

Supreme Court finds jurors struck on account of race.

Jeff Rambin
September 26, 2008 17:08

A while back, I posted on a Batson case in the criminal context.  Today, the Supreme Court of Texas handed down a Batson decision in the civil context -- a case of alleged racial discrimination in the workplace. Today, the Supreme Court of Texas held that the employer's attorney struck...

Petition granted on a Tyler case ...

Jeff Rambin
September 26, 2008 16:33

In this week's orders, the Supreme Court of Texas granted review on Kappus.  Kappus is an estate case where an ex-wife got her ex-brother in-law disqualified as executor of her ex-husband's estate.  James and John owned some land together.  James died.  John was named his...

Constitution Week: Supreme Court of Texas

Jeff Rambin
September 19, 2008 16:46

The Supreme Court of Texas did not issue any opinions this week.  There were no Tyler cases in their orders.  So, as discussed in the Last Word post, there remains only one Tyler case that the Supreme Court of Texas has agreed to hear.  As before, there are 10...

Friday Night Lights Out

Jeff Rambin
September 13, 2008 02:09

Not long ago, the Tyler court threw out a case by a high school football coach who felt like he had been defamed in a rival town's newspaper.  The coach asked the Supreme Court of Texas to review the Tyler court's decision.  Today, the coach got his answer: No.  Game Over. Please...

Open season on anyone forty or over.

Jeff Rambin
September 09, 2008 03:35

Sieber v. Carson and Brookshire Grocery Company (Published Memo): If you are forty or over when you get hired, it's presumed that there's no age discrimination if you get fired. Sieber got hired at age sixty seven when he granted hunting privileges to a Brookshire's manager.  Five years later,...

Tyler before the Supreme Court of Texas

Jeff Rambin
September 08, 2008 03:30

This past Friday the Supreme Court of Texas issued a grand total of zero opinions.  They were entitled to a rest.  They'd issued a boatload the week before.  There were a few cases dismissed in the weekly orders.  A few new cases were filed, too.  But nothing from Tyler.

Was the inmate appointed to run the asylum?

Jeff Rambin
September 05, 2008 03:44

In the best interest and protection of R.M. (Published Memo): Civil commitment case under Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 574.034(a) (Vernon 2003).   R.M.  threatened his brother.  When the police came, he threatened them, too.  He was taken into custody and given...

Not gonna take it, Part II

Jeff Rambin
September 05, 2008 03:22

In the best interest and protection of B.L. (Published Memo): Another case where a defendant declared incompetent to stand trial refuses the medication that could render him competent.  Here, the doctor for the State filed an application to force B.L. to take his meds.  But the Tyler...

Advanced Civil Appellate Practice CLE

Jeff Rambin
September 05, 2008 03:08

I'm in Austin tonight.  Drove in this morning to attend the first day of the CLE.  I'll be attending the second day of the CLE tomorrow.  I'll blog on some of it later.  Had a good visit with fellow law blogger Todd Smith.  For now, I've got a boatload of Tyler cases to...