preemption on Texas Appeals Journalhttps://texasappeals.org/topics/preemption/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 20 Jul 2026 07:00:00 -0500Fifth Circuit Affirms Denial of Intervention in United States’ Suit Over Texas In-State Tuition Provisionshttps://texasappeals.org/2026/07/united-states-v-texas-dream-act-intervention/Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2026/07/united-states-v-texas-dream-act-intervention/The court held that intervention to defend two Texas Education Code provisions was futile because 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a) preempts them as to aliens not lawfully present, and dismissed the would-be intervenors’ remaining claims for want of appellate jurisdiction. Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez dissented.En Banc Fifth Circuit Vacates Preliminary Injunction Against Texas Senate Bill 4, Holding Plaintiffs Lack Standinghttps://texasappeals.org/2026/05/united-states-v-texas-sb-4-en-banc/Mon, 11 May 2026 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2026/05/united-states-v-texas-sb-4-en-banc/Sitting en banc, the court held that two legal-services nonprofits and El Paso County had not shown an Article III injury and vacated the preliminary injunction against the state immigration law. The majority stated that it did not address whether S.B. 4 is preempted by federal law.Third Court of Appeals Dismisses Cities’ Challenge to Texas Regulatory Consistency Act for Lack of Standinghttps://texasappeals.org/2025/08/state-v-city-of-houston-hb-2127/Mon, 04 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/08/state-v-city-of-houston-hb-2127/The court held that Houston, San Antonio and El Paso did not plead an injury-in-fact or an injury traceable to the State of Texas, reversed a trial-court judgment declaring House Bill 2127 unconstitutional, and dismissed the suit without prejudice. The court did not decide whether the Act is constitutional.Supreme Court of Texas Holds Attorney General May Seek to File Quo Warranto Action Against Annunciation Househttps://texasappeals.org/2025/06/paxton-v-annunciation-house-quo-warranto/Mon, 16 Jun 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/06/paxton-v-annunciation-house-quo-warranto/The court held that criminal acts are not categorically excluded as grounds for quo warranto, that the trial court applied the wrong standard in denying the Attorney General leave to file, and that the records-request statutes are not facially unconstitutional. The opinion states that it does not decide the merits of the harboring allegations.Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Is Entitled to Preliminary Injunction Against Border Patrol Cutting of Concertina Wire Near Eagle Passhttps://texasappeals.org/2024/12/texas-v-dhs-eagle-pass-concertina-wire/Mon, 23 Dec 2024 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2024/12/texas-v-dhs-eagle-pass-concertina-wire/The court held that § 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act waives the United States’ sovereign immunity for Texas’s state-law trespass claims, that neither intergovernmental immunity nor 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1) bars the suit, and that Texas satisfied the preliminary-injunction factors. It granted a modified injunction; Judge Ramirez dissented.