the texas supreme court the only court in which the texas attorney general can argue a case

by Giuseppe McGlynn 6 min read

The first attorney general of Texas also was given the duty "to prosecute and defend all actions in the supreme court of the State, in which the State may be interested." (24) Under this division of authority the attorney general appeared in criminal cases before the state's only appellate court, the Supreme Court.

What is the Texas Supreme Court of Texas?

Dec 15, 2021 · The attorney general can only get involved in a case when asked to by a district or county attorney, the court said. Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who has been aggressive in trying to ...

Who is the defendant in a Texas Court case?

Oct 18, 2021 · As part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general, Attorney General James urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Texas’ unconstitutional six-week abortion ban, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), by vacating a Fifth Circuit order that let the abortion ban continue to take effect. The amicus brief was filed in the case of United States of America v.

Who is the Attorney General of Texas?

Dec 07, 2020 · Attorney General of Texas Brent Webster First Assistant Attorney General of Texas Lawrence Joseph Special Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Austin, TX 78711-2548 [email protected] (512) 936-1414 * Counsel of Record

What did Texas say in its response to the defendant states?

Dec 07, 2020 · Attorney General of Texas Brent Webster First Assistant Attorney General of Texas Lawrence Joseph Special Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Austin, TX 78711-2548 [email protected] (512) 936-1414 * Counsel of Record

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What does the Supreme Court of Texas do?

The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), is the court of last resort in criminal matters.

Can you appeal a decision by the Texas Supreme Court?

By court rule and by statute, the Supreme Court takes only appeals from a court that ruled a law unconstitutional, from a court of appeals ruling on a legal issue different from how another court of appeals ruled in the same type of case or in a matter the Court determines is important to the “jurisprudence of the ...

What is the Texas Supreme Court's jurisdiction?

appellate jurisdictionJURISDICTION: The Supreme Court of Texas has statewide, final appellate jurisdiction in civil and juvenile cases, and original jurisdiction to issue writs.

Does the Texas Supreme Court handle criminal cases?

The basic structure of the present court system of Texas was established by an 1891 constitutional amendment. The amendment established the Supreme Court as the highest state appellate court for civil matters, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, which makes the final determination in criminal matters.

Which cases can the Supreme Court hear only on appeal?

The Supreme Court will consider only cases for which at least four of the nine justices vote to grant a “writ of certiorari,” a decision by the Supreme Court to hear an appeal from a lower court.Jan 4, 2021

Which court does not require the judge to be a lawyer quizlet?

​Which court does not require the judge to be lawyer? state district courts.

Who is the Supreme Court justice in Texas?

Nathan L. Hecht is the 27th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. He has been elected to the Court seven times, first in 1988 as a Justice, and in 2014 and 2020 as Chief Justice. He is the longest-serving member of the Court in Texas history and the longest-tenured Texas judge in active service.

Does Texas have a Supreme Court?

Composed of the chief justice and eight justices, the Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for civil matters in the state. The Supreme Court is in Austin, immediately northwest of the state Capitol. Supreme Court justices are elected to staggered six-year terms in statewide elections.

What types of cases does the Texas Supreme Court hear quizlet?

What types of cases does the Texas Supreme Court hear? Civil and juvenile cases only, and at state level, it has appellate jurisdiction.

What types of cases are heard by the Texas Supreme Court?

THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS It has statewide, final appellate jurisdiction in all civil and juvenile cases. Most of the cases heard by this Court are appeals from an appellate ruling by one of the intermediate Courts of Appeals.Sep 1, 1981

What is the main difference between the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?

The Supreme Court has final appellate jurisdiction in civil matters while the Court of Criminal Appeals has final appellate jurisdiction for criminal matters.Feb 3, 2021

What does the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals do?

The Texas Supreme Court has jurisdiction over all civil cases, while the Court of Criminal Appeals exercises discretionary review over criminal cases. This means the court may choose whether or not to review a case.

What is the right to vote?

The right to vote is protected by the by the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. U.S. CONST. amend. X IV, § 1, cl. 3-4. Because “the right to vote is personal,” Reynolds, 377 U.S. at 561-62 (alter-ations omitted), “[e]very voter in a federal … election, whether he votes for a candidate with little chance of winning or for one with little chance of losing, has a right under the Constitution to have his vote fairly counted.” Anderson v. United States, 417 U.S. 211, 227 (1974); Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 208 (1962). Invalid or fraudulent votes debase or dilute the weight of each validly cast vote. Bush II, 531 U.S. at 105. The unequal treatment of votes within a state, and unequal standards for processing votes raise equal protection concerns. Id. Though Bush II did not involve an action between States, the concern that illegal votes can cancel out lawful votes does not stop at a State’s boundary in the context of a Presidential election.

Which amendment is the Plaintiff State challenged in?

Plaintiff State challenges Defendant States’ administration of the 2020 election under the Electors Clause of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Is the 2020 election deadline constitutional?

None of the looming election deadlines are constitutional, and they all are within this Court’s power to enjoin. Indeed, if this Court vacated a State’s appointment of presidential electors, those electors could not vote on December 14, 2020; if the Court vacated their vote after the fact, the House of Representatives could not count those votes on January 6, 2021. Moreover, any remedial action can be complete well before January 6, 2020. Indeed, even the swearing in of the next President on January 20, 2021, will not moot this case because review could outlast even the selection of the next President under “the ‘capable of repetition, yet evading review’ doctrine,” which applies “in the context of election cases … when there are ‘as applied’ challenges as well as in the more typical case involving only facial attacks.” FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 463 (2007) (internal quotations omitted); accord Norman v. Reed,502 U.S. 279, 287-88 (1992). Mootness is not, and will not become, an issue here.

What is the Article III criteria for a case?

Like any other action, an original action must meet the Article III criteria for a case or controversy: “it must appear that the complaining State has suffered a wrong through the action of the other State, furnishing ground for judicial redress, or is asserting a right against the other State which is susceptible of judicial enforcement according to the accepted principles of the common law or equity systems of jurisprudence.” Maryland v. Louisiana, 451 U.S. 725, 735-36 (1981) (internal quotations omitted). Plaintiff State has standing under those rules.3 With voting, “‘the right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizen’s vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise.’” Bush II, 531 U.S. at 105 (quoting Reynolds,377 U.S. at 555). In presidential elections, “the impact of the votes cast in each State is affected by the votes cast for the various candidates in other States.” Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780, 795 (1983). Thus, votes in Defendant States affect the votes in Plaintiff State, as set forth in more detail below.

What rights do plaintiff states have?

The citizens of Plaintiff State have the right to demand that all other States abide by the constitutionally set rules in appointing presidential electors to the electoral college. “No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.” Wesberry, 376 U.S. at 10; Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370 (1886) (“the political franchise of voting” is “a fundamental political right, because preservative of all rights”). “Every voter in a federal … election, whether he votes for a candidate with little chance of winning or for one with little chance of losing, has a right under the Constitution to have his vote fairly counted.” Anderson v. United States, 417 U.S. at 227; Baker, 369 U.S. at 208. Put differently, “a citizen has a constitutionally protected right to participate in elections on an equal basis with other citizens in the jurisdiction,” Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330, 336 (1972), and—unlike the residency durations required in Dunn—the “jurisdiction” here is the entire United States. In short, the rights at issue are congeable under Article III.

What did non-legislative officials do in Georgia?

Non-legislative officials in Defendant States either directly caused the challenged violations of the Electors Clause or, in the case of Georgia, acquiesced to them in settling a federal lawsuit. The Defendants thus caused the Plaintiff’s injuries.

What authority does the Supreme Court have to redress Plaintiff State's injuries?

This Court has authority to redress Plaintiff State’s injuries, and the requested relief will do so. First, while Defendant States are responsible for their elections , this Court has authority to enjoin reliance on unconstitutional elections: When the state legislature vests the right to vote for President in its people, the right to vote as the legislature has prescribed is fundamental; and one source of its funda-mental nature lies in the equal weight accorded to each vote and the equal dignity owed to each voter.

What is the right to vote?

The right to vote is protected by the by the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. U.S. CONST. amend. X IV, § 1, cl. 3-4. Because “the right to vote is personal,” Reynolds, 377 U.S. at 561-62 (alter-ations omitted), “[e]very voter in a federal … election, whether he votes for a candidate with little chance of winning or for one with little chance of losing, has a right under the Constitution to have his vote fairly counted.” Anderson v. United States, 417 U.S. 211, 227 (1974); Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 208 (1962). Invalid or fraudulent votes debase or dilute the weight of each validly cast vote. Bush II, 531 U.S. at 105. The unequal treatment of votes within a state, and unequal standards for processing votes raise equal protection concerns. Id. Though Bush II did not involve an action between States, the concern that illegal votes can cancel out lawful votes does not stop at a State’s boundary in the context of a Presidential election.

How many people cast ballots in 2020?

According to the Pew Research Center, in the 2020 general election, a record number of votes— about 65 million —were cast via mail compared to 33.5 million mail-in ballots cast in the 2016 general election—an increase of more than 94 percent. 35.

Which amendment is the Plaintiff State challenged in?

Plaintiff State challenges Defendant States’ administration of the 2020 election under the Electors Clause of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Is Texas a sovereign state?

Plaintiff is the State of Texas, which is a sovereign State of the United States. 23. Defendants are the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the States of Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, which are sovereign States of the United States. LEGAL BACKGROUND .

What authority does the Supreme Court have to redress Plaintiff State's injuries?

This Court has authority to redress Plaintiff State’s injuries, and the requested relief will do so. First, while Defendant States are responsible for their elections , this Court has authority to enjoin reliance on unconstitutional elections: When the state legislature vests the right to vote for President in its people, the right to vote as the legislature has prescribed is fundamental; and one source of its funda-mental nature lies in the equal weight accorded to each vote and the equal dignity owed to each voter.

How many electoral votes does Trump have?

Without Defendant States’ combined 72 electoral votes, President Trump presumably has 232 electoral votes, and former Vice President Biden presumably has 234. Thus, Defendant States’ electors will determine the outcome of the election. Alternatively, if Defendant States are unable to certify 37 or more electors, neither candidate will have a majority in the Electoral College, in which case the election would devolve to the U.S. House of Representatives under the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Is the 2020 election deadline constitutional?

None of the looming election deadlines are constitutional, and they all are within this Court’s power to enjoin. Indeed, if this Court vacated a State’s appointment or certification of presidential electors, those Electors could not vote on December 14, 2020; if the Court vacated their vote after the fact, the House of Representatives could not count those votes on January 6, 2021. There would be ample time for the Defendant States’ legislatures to appoint new presidential electors in a manner consistent with the Constitution. Any remedial action can be complete well before January 6, 2020. Indeed, even the swearing in of the next President on January 20, 2021, will not moot this case because review could outlast even the selection of the next President under “the ‘capable of repetition, yet evading review’ doctrine,” which applies “in the context of election cases … when there are ‘as applied’ challenges as well as in the more typical case involving only facial attacks.” FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 463 (2007) (internal quotations omitted); accord Norman v. Reed, 502 U.S. 279, 287-88 (1992). Mootness is not, and will not become, an issue here.

What does the red light on a syringe mean?

A yellow warning light informs you when you have two minutes remaining in your argument. A red light indicates that your time has expired. When the red light comes on, you should acknowledge that your time has expired and request permission to conclude your remarks.

Where is the Supreme Court located?

The Supreme Court's Courtroom is located on the First Floor. The Clerk's Office is also located on the First Floor, Room No. 104. Parking is available in the State Visitor Parking Garage at 1201 San Jacinto, across the street from the Texas State Library and Archives. The Supreme Court normally holds oral arguments once a month on three consecutive ...

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