Emma Platoff
summer @TexasTribune, alum @yaledailynews @phillyinquirer & @hartfordcourant. tips and taco recs to [email protected]
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First Court of Appeals justice in Houston serving with Alzheimer's disease, records show
An appeals court justice serving Southeast Texas continues to sit on the bench as she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, all while facing familial discord over the control of her $8 million estate, court records show.
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Emma Platoff
The sons of a 72 y/o justice on a Houston appeals court are fighting to become her legal guardians, arguing her "mental state has deteriorated to the point that she is no longer able to care for her own physical health or manage her own financial affairs"
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Top Texas Republicans order investigation into mother who supports child’s gender transition
A bitter child custody dispute became a flashpoint in the state’s culture wars this week as Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged state involvement.
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offered media access to Empower Texans, suggested it target certain Republicans, recording shows
Bonnen also spoke disparagingly about multiple Democrats, calling one House member “vile” and suggesting that another’s “wife’s gonna be really pissed when she learns he’s gay.”
Crystal Mason's ballot was never counted. Will she still serve five years in prison for illegally voting?
Her lawyers say if her sentence stands, it could discourage low-information voters from going to the polls at all.
U.S. Senate confirms Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown to the federal bench
The nod creates a vacancy on the state's highest civil court, giving Gov. Greg Abbott his third opportunity to make an appointment.
Texas is going to court to end Obamacare. It hasn't produced a plan to replace it.
During a legislative session focused on schools and taxes, Texas lawmakers did little to prepare for the possibility that Obamacare will be struck down in its entirety — even as the state leads the charge to have the law declared unconstitutional.
Texas Senate passes religious liberty bill that LGBTQ advocates fear licenses discrimination
The measure moved quickly through the Senate after the LGBTQ Caucus killed a near-identical proposal on a procedural motion last week in the Texas House.
Texas LGBTQ Caucus marks major victory, killing bill advocates feared would hurt gay communities
The LGBTQ Caucus, formed this year, notched a major victory Thursday evening, defeating a controversial measure as the Texas House raced toward a midnight deadline.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joins fight targeting Texas State Bar
The lawsuit has the potential to upend the structure of the entity responsible for regulating Texas' legal profession. Critics suggest that Paxton's involvement may be politically motivated.
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Emma Platoff
Texas AG @KenPaxtonTX has joined three conservative lawyers in arguing that the Texas Bar's dues structure violates the First Amendment, one of many such cases that emerged after a 2018 #SCOTUS case on union dues. Some are questioning his motivation
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Texas bans chaplains from its execution chamber
The U.S. Supreme Court last week halted the execution of Patrick Murphy because he wasn't given access to a Buddhist chaplain. Now, no chaplains will be allowed in the death chamber.
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Emma Platoff
NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court told Texas it couldn't keep Christian and Muslim clerics in execution chambers if it wouldn't allow spiritual advisers from all faiths.
So Texas is banning all of them
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All 12 Senate Democrats oppose Texas Secretary of State David Whitley. That's more than enough to block his nomination.
If all 12 senators are on the Senate floor when Whitley's nomination comes, he doesn't have the votes to be confirmed.
Houston judge tosses same-sex marriage benefits challenge, but plaintiffs pledge to appeal
A newly elected Democratic judge issued the decision in the latest turn of a 2013 legal challenge to Houston's policy extending benefits to municipal employees' same-sex spouses.
Gov. Greg Abbott appoints Brett Busby to Texas Supreme Court
Busby, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, replaces Justice Phil Johnson, who retired after 13 years on the high court.
Sen. Angela Paxton files bill that would allow her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to issue exemptions from securities regulations
Billed as a consumer protection effort, the proposal would allow approved individuals to serve as investment advisers without registering with the state board — a felony under Texas law that Ken Paxton was charged with in 2015.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking more power this session to prosecute voter fraud and abortion-related crimes
Paxton's office has asked lawmakers for millions more in funding and expanded jurisdiction to go after certain crimes. Critics say the requests are aimed at political gains.
Dan Patrick announces Senate committee assignments, making a few noticeable shifts
Two Democrats and 14 Republicans will chair the upper chamber's committees.
Federal appeals court lifts order blocking Texas from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid
Texas moved to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid years ago after a highly-edited video from an anti-abortion group suggested abortion providers sold fetal tissue.
Donald Trump says Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered Texas' help building the border wall
It's unclear how serious the president is about the idea. "We'll take a look," he said.
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Emma Platoff
"The Lt. Governor told the President that if the federal government will reimburse the state for that money, we will build the wall in the areas where it is needed along our 1,254 mile border," spox tells me
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By gutting Obamacare, Judge Reed O’Connor handed Texas a win. It wasn’t the first time.
The Texas Attorney General's Office has made a habit of filing lawsuits against the federal government that land in O'Connor's court.
Texas Democrats were aiming for historic wins in 2018. What they got instead was hope for 2020.
Republicans won every statewide office in Texas, as they have in every election for the past 20 years. But Democrats are taking heart in their narrow losing margins.