The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during January 2024. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of Feb. 7, 2024.  ORIGINAL PROCEEDING: Court grants relief where trial court denied discovery of plaintiff’s medical history.  In re Westside Roofing,

The following are summaries  of selected criminal opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals from August 2023. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. The subsequent history is current as of Feb. 1, 2024. DEFENSIVE ISSUES—MISTAKE OF FACT: In prosecution for failure to stop and render aid, defendant was entitled to

This is the final installment in a series of articles about the Travis County Forensic Mental Health Project. In its Recommendation #3, The Travis County Forensic Mental Health Project compiled a list of what it termed “quick wins”—recommendations that can be implemented relatively quickly with low costs, one-time costs, or low ongoing costs.1  Quick Wins – Low/No Cost  The first

The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism has released statistics on hate crimes and extremism movements in Texas, along with recommendations on how to address such crimes and movements. In 2022, there were 212 antisemitic incidents, up from 112 in 2021, according to “Hate in the Lone Star State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Texas.”1 In 2021 and 2022, there were two

In October 2022, the Texas Supreme Court directed the Texas Access to Justice Commission (TAJC) to study existing rules and recommend actions that would accomplish two goals: 1. Allow qualified non-attorneys to provide limited legal services directly to low-income Texans; and 2. Allow non-attorneys to have economic interests in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans while preserving attorneys’

The opinions expressed in Entre Nous are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Austin Bar Association membership or the Austin Bar Association board of directors. Every culture has its scary legends, usually designed to frighten children into behaving as adults wish—or face horrible consequences. Fear of unnatural and unknowable forces has dominated the

One of my proudest professional accomplishments is being board-certified in criminal law. There are many types of board certifications and professional recognitions for trial work, but three of the most popular in Texas are the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS), the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).  While each has different

Texas law historically has not specifically prohibited discrimination on the basis of hairstyle and texture, despite regular public outcries against such discrimination in practice. Civil rights practitioners, finding Texas law unhelpful, would regularly look to federal anti-discrimination laws to try to remedy instances of hairstyle and texture discrimination. Unfortunately, without a strong state prohibition, this kind of discrimination appeared to

The following are summaries of opinions issued by the Fifth Circuit in October 2023. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. FIRST AMENDMENT: All State Bar speech supported by mandatory dues must be directly related to regulating the legal profession or improving the quality of legal services. Boudreaux v. La. State Bar

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during November and December 2023. The summaries are overviews; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of Jan. 9, 2024.  FAMILY LAW: Court reverses modification order entered without evidence.  Abila v. Miller, No. 03-22-00452-CV(Tex. App.—Austin Dec. 21, 2023, no pet. h.).  In