https://texasappeals.org/topics/supreme-court-of-the-united-states/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2026/06/seat-v-paxton-app-store-age-law/Mon, 29 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2026/06/seat-v-paxton-app-store-age-law/In a published per curiam order, the court granted Texas’s motion to stay two universal preliminary injunctions against Senate Bill 2420 while the State’s appeals proceed. The panel concluded that Texas is likely to show the district court erred by applying strict scrutiny and by enjoining enforcement against anyone, but the order does not decide the merits of the appeals.https://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.https://texasappeals.org/2025/12/abbott-v-lulac-redistricting-stay/Mon, 08 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2025/12/abbott-v-lulac-redistricting-stay/In an unsigned order on an application for a stay, the Court found that Texas was likely to show the three-judge District Court failed to honor the presumption of legislative good faith and failed to draw an adverse inference from the challengers’ lack of an alternative map. The order rests on a “preliminary evaluation” and does not decide the racial-gerrymandering claim.https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/wmm-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-panel/Mon, 22 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/wmm-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-panel/A divided panel held that the President’s fact-findings under the 1798 Act are unreviewable but the statutory labels attached to them are not, and that the findings in Proclamation No. 10903 do not describe an invasion or predatory incursion. Two judges concluded that, on the current record, the Government’s updated seven-day notice satisfies due process; the court remanded for evidence on a sufficient timeframe.https://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.https://texasappeals.org/2025/05/aarp-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-injunction/Mon, 19 May 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/05/aarp-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-injunction/In a per curiam opinion, the Court held that the Fifth Circuit erred in dismissing the detainees’ appeal for lack of jurisdiction, concluded that the notice given on April 18 was inadequate, and enjoined removals under the Act pending further proceedings. The opinion states that it does not address the legality of removals under the Act.https://texasappeals.org/2025/04/fda-v-wages-and-white-lion-flavored-vapes/Mon, 28 Apr 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/04/fda-v-wages-and-white-lion-flavored-vapes/A unanimous Court held that the FDA’s denial orders were sufficiently consistent with its earlier guidance on scientific evidence, comparative efficacy and device type, and so did not violate the change-in-position doctrine. It remanded the question whether the agency’s failure to consider marketing plans was harmless, holding that the Fifth Circuit had read Calcutt v. FDIC too broadly.https://texasappeals.org/2025/03/bondi-v-vanderstok-ghost-gun-rule/Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/03/bondi-v-vanderstok-ghost-gun-rule/Reviewing a Fifth Circuit judgment in a suit filed in the Northern District of Texas, the Court held that the Gun Control Act reaches at least some weapon parts kits and at least some partially complete frames or receivers, so the challenged provisions of ATF’s 2022 rule are not facially invalid. The Court did not decide whether the rule may lawfully be applied to any particular product.https://texasappeals.org/2025/02/mchenry-v-texas-top-cop-shop-cta-stay/Mon, 10 Feb 2025 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2025/02/mchenry-v-texas-top-cop-shop-cta-stay/In an unsigned order without stated reasons, the Court granted the federal government’s application to stay a December 5, 2024 order of the Eastern District of Texas pending appeal and any petition for certiorari. Justice Gorsuch concurred and Justice Jackson dissented; news coverage identified the stayed order as a nationwide preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act.https://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.https://texasappeals.org/2024/11/in-re-texas-house-roberson-subpoena/Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2024/11/in-re-texas-house-roberson-subpoena/The court denied a Texas House committee’s petition, holding that the separation of powers does not permit judicial enforcement of a legislative subpoena that would require canceling a long-scheduled execution. The opinion states that the dispute has nothing to do with Robert Roberson’s guilt or innocence.