Judge Newell on Texas Appeals Journalhttps://texasappeals.org/topics/judge-newell/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500Court of Criminal Appeals, on Rehearing, Withdraws 2024 Opinion and Holds Ethics Commission Referral Is Not a Precondition to Election-Law Prosecutionhttps://texasappeals.org/2025/09/ex-parte-charette-rehearing/Mon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/ex-parte-charette-rehearing/On the State’s motion for rehearing, the court withdrew its September 2024 opinion and affirmed the denial of pretrial habeas relief to a former judicial candidate. It held that neither the Texas Constitution nor Government Code Chapter 571 categorically bars a criminal prosecution for election-law offenses brought without a referral from the Texas Ethics Commission or exhaustion of its civil process, while reaffirming that the habeas claim was cognizable.Court of Criminal Appeals Vacates Travis County Restraining Order That Had Blocked Robert Roberson’s Executionhttps://texasappeals.org/2024/11/in-re-tdcj-ex-rel-paxton-roberson-subpoena/Mon, 11 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2024/11/in-re-tdcj-ex-rel-paxton-roberson-subpoena/In a per curiam opinion, the court held that a district court’s temporary restraining order enjoining the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from carrying out a death warrant had the effect of staying a scheduled execution and was subject to the court’s mandamus authority. The court vacated the order itself. Four judges dissented.