affirmance on Texas Appeals Journalhttps://texasappeals.org/topics/affirmance/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 16 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0500Supreme Court of the United States Holds Trial Judge Could Bar Lawyers From Managing Defendant’s Ongoing Testimony During Overnight Recesshttps://texasappeals.org/2026/03/villarreal-v-texas/Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2026/03/villarreal-v-texas/The Court held that a Texas trial judge did not violate the Sixth Amendment by instructing a testifying defendant’s lawyers, during a 24-hour overnight recess, not to manage his ongoing testimony while permitting all other discussion. Seven Justices formed the majority; Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Gorsuch, concurred in the judgment only.Supreme Court of the United States Holds Texas Age-Verification Law for Sexually Explicit Websites Is Subject to, and Survives, Intermediate Scrutinyhttps://texasappeals.org/2025/07/free-speech-coalition-v-paxton-age-verification/Mon, 14 Jul 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/07/free-speech-coalition-v-paxton-age-verification/The Court held that H.B. 1181, which requires certain commercial websites publishing content that is obscene to minors to verify that visitors are adults, only incidentally burdens adults’ protected speech, triggers intermediate scrutiny rather than strict scrutiny, and satisfies that standard. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented.