Thanks to the efforts of Texas Supreme Court Clerk and Austin Bar Civil Appellate Law Section Council member Blake Hawthorne, video of the recent “Evening with the Texas Supreme Court” event is now available for viewing through the Court’s webcast page. I was honored to moderate this discussion as chair of the ABA Section and… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Texas Supreme Court
An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court v.3.0
Posted in AnnouncementsIn what has become a biennial event, the Appellate Sections of the State Bar of Texas and the Austin Bar Association are sponsoring a program entitled “An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court” on Thursday, April 26, 2012, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel here in Austin. CLE credit… Continue Reading
Follow-Up on Villarreal Argument
Posted in Announcements, Oral ArgumentTo follow up on my last post, Texas Lawyer has run a front-page story on the Villarreal case. Access the article here or here.
SLG’s Brandy Wingate to Argue at Texas Supreme Court
Posted in Announcements, Oral ArgumentAfter just over a year with my firm, Brandy Wingate has landed an oral argument at the Texas Supreme Court. The argument will take place at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow at the John B. Connally Center at the University of Texas School of Law here in Austin. The case is Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc. and… Continue Reading
SCOTX to Hold Hearing on Uniform E-Filing System
Posted in Appellate Practice, TechnologyThis afternoon at 2:00, the Texas Supreme Court will hold a public hearing to explore the feasibility of a statewide uniform system for electronic court filings. The hearing will take place in the Supreme Court Courtroom and will be webcast live here. The Court is considering whether Texas ought to implement a system modeled to… Continue Reading
SCOTX: Attorneys Must E-File Effective 9/12/11
Posted in Appellate Practice, Supreme Court Orders, TechnologyTexas appellate e-filing continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Effective September 12, 2011, attorneys filing documents in the Texas Supreme Court must do so electronically. Pro se parties may e-file, or they may submit paper documents. View the Court’s latest e-filing order here. Don Cruse has broken down the new order over at the… Continue Reading
The Adaptable (Appellate) Lawyer
Posted in Appellate Practice, Briefs, Motions, Procedure, TechnologyI recently attended the 2011 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in San Antonio. As mentioned here before, the Bar asked me to come back as a presenter this year. It was quite an honor. My subject was e-filing in state and federal appellate courts. In conjunction with my talk, I published a short article in… Continue Reading
Texas Appellate E-Filing Goes Live
Posted in Announcements, Appellate Practice, TechnologyHere is the text of an e-mail I received from SCOTX Clerk Blake Hawthorne this morning, along with links he included in the message: Effective March 28, 2011, you may electronically file documents, pay your fees, and serve opposing counsel using the Texas.gov electronic filing system. To use the electronic filing system you must first choose… Continue Reading
E-Filing Launch Delayed
Posted in Announcements, Appellate Practice, TechnologyTexas.gov has pushed back the previously announced March 14, 2011 launch for Texas appellate e-filing, according to Texas Supreme Court Clerk Blake Hawthorne. In the process of addressing performance issues in Harris County, technical problems have arisen regarding electronic payments. A new roll-out date has yet to be announced.
At Last, E-Filing Is Coming to Texas Appellate Courts
Posted in Announcements, Appellate Practice, TechnologyFour years ago, I first asked when appellate courts would catch up on e-filing. Since then, the Fifth Circuit has successfully implemented an e-filing program, which has been mandatory for almost a year now. In state appellate courts, however, the process has been painfully slow. The Texas Supreme Court took a giant step in the… Continue Reading
Chief Justice to Deliver State of Judiciary Address
Posted in News & PoliticsTexas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson (pictured) will deliver his biennial State of the Judiciary address to a combined session of the Legislature on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:30 am. You can watch the address live through this link by choosing "Chamber Stream." Expect the forthcoming budget to be one of the Chief’s… Continue Reading
SCOTX Heading to the Valley
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentI am looking forward to attending the Hidalgo County Bar Association’s “An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court” event next Wednesday, March 2, at The Club at Cimarron in Mission, Texas. Through the efforts of HCBA President-Elect Brandy Wingate, Smith Law Group is among the firms helping to sponsor this event, which will include a… Continue Reading
Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill, 1914-2011
Posted in Announcements, News & PoliticsThe Texas Supreme Court has announced the passing of former Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill (pictured) at age 96. I suggest taking the time to read the Court’s advisory, which briefly traces Judge Greenhill’s remarkable legal career. Although Judge Greenhill had been off the bench many years by the time I clerked at the Supreme… Continue Reading
Lehrmann Appointed to Fill O’Neill’s SCOTX Seat
Posted in Announcements, News & PoliticsGovernor Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann (R) (pictured left) to replace Justice Harriet O’Neill, who will vacate Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court effective June 20. To retain the seat, Judge Lehrmann, must defeat First Court of Appeals Justice Jim Sharp (D) (also pictured) in the November general election. Meanwhile, when not campaigning,… Continue Reading
SCOTX Amends E-Document Order
Posted in Appellate Practice, TechnologyThe Texas Supreme Court has amended its recent order requiring submission of documents in electronic form. Among the changes to the previous version are requirements that attorneys (1) provide an e-mail address when submitting e-copies, (2) e-mail courtesy copies to opposing lead counsel, and (3) register for CaseMail in cases in which they are lead… Continue Reading
Lehrmann to Face Sharp for Open SCOTX Seat
Posted in News & PoliticsThe Associated Press is reporting that Judge Debra Lehrmann (pictured) has defeated Rick Green in the runoff to determine the Republican candidate for Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court. Judge Lehrmann will face Democratic nominee Justice Jim Sharp to fill the seat being vacated by Justice Harriet O’Neill. Judge Lehrmann must have been fairly confident about… Continue Reading
More on Appellate E-Filing
Posted in Appellate Practice, TechnologyEarly this year, I accepted an offer from Texas Lawyer to write a quarterly column on technology issues affecting the publication’s namesake audience. The first article in this series—an update on appellate e-filing in Texas—appeared in this week’s issue. I am happy to report that Law.com picked it up as well. I’ve received some nice… Continue Reading
Webcast of SCOTX Event Available
Posted in Appellate Practice, TechnologyThis past Thursday, the Appellate Sections of the State Bar of Texas and the Austin Bar Association put on a program entitled “An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court” at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel here in Austin. This is the second time this event has been presented. Given the response, it will likely… Continue Reading
Appellate Court E-Filing Becoming a Reality
Posted in Appellate Practice, TechnologyThree years ago, I asked when appellate courts were going to catch up on e-filing. At the time, I noted some of the advantages e-filing presents over traditional methods and observed that appellate courts had been slow to meet the trend. Times are finally changing. Effective today, the Texas Supreme Court requires parties to e-mail… Continue Reading
Justice Eva Guzman Selected for Open SCOTX Seat
Posted in News & PoliticsAs reported in the Houston Chronicle, Governor Perry has selected 14th Court of Appeals Justice Eva Guzman (pictured) to fill the seat recently vacated by former Justice Scott Brister. Justice Guzman will be the first Latina to serve on the Court. Because she is filling an unexpired term, she will stand for election as the… Continue Reading
Breaking Down the SCOTX Shakeup
Posted in News & PoliticsIt seems like something this newsworthy happens every time I go on vacation and unplug for a while. In the wake of Justice Harriett O’Neill’s decision not to stand for re-election in 2010, Justice Scott Brister (pictured) has announced that he will be leaving the Texas Supreme Court in a few weeks to re-join Andrews… Continue Reading
Justice Harriet O’Neill’s Seat Open for 2010
Posted in News & PoliticsIn a news release issued today, the Texas Supreme Court has announced that Justice Harriet O’Neill (pictured) will not seek re-election when her term ends at the end of 2010. Justice O’Neill has not confirmed her post-Court plans, although rumors have swirled that she may run for Attorney General. Two intermediate appellate justices Jim Moseley… Continue Reading
More Recusal Motions Coming in Texas Appeals
Posted in News & Politics, Opinions & JudgmentsThis morning’s release of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. (No. 08-22) could open the door to more recusal motions in Texas appellate courts (and possibly trial courts). In Caperton, the Court held that due process required a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justice to recuse himself… Continue Reading
Texas Supreme Court Orders 3/13/09
Posted in Supreme Court OrdersThe Texas Supreme Court issued no new opinions with this week’s regular orders. The upcoming week is Spring Break in and around Austin. The Court next meets in conference on March 23 & 24.