Texas | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 44
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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 05, 2015 34 Comments
Joining Lou Dobbs earlier this week, Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was asked to explain his stance on illegal immigration and border security. "I think we need to flesh everyone out from the stand point of of just the rhetoric. When somebody says, "let's build a wall," then I think it's appropriate to say, it's good to have this conversation, it's good that we are having this conversation that now for thirty years, this border has not been secured. We've known it's been a problem," said Perry. Dobbs interjected that he doesn't believe a single candidate talking about immigration issues because, "we've heard it all before."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 04, 2015 2 Comments
Following the senseless murder of Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth last Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a statewide call encouraging all Texans to stand with law enforcement officers today. The state-wide show of support will take place beginning at 11:00 AM CST. Governor Abbott's office released the following statement earlier this week:
As Texas continues to mourn the loss of Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth, Governor Greg Abbott today issued a statewide call to stand with law enforcement in Texas. To honor Deputy Goforth and all officers across the state, Governor Abbott is asking Texas law enforcement officers turn on their red and blue flashing lights for one-minute at 11:00 a.m. this Friday – the time Deputy Goforth’s funeral is set to begin. “Respect and pride in our law enforcement must be restored in this state and nation,” said Governor Abbott. “It is time to unite in solidarity to support the men and women who serve and protect our communities. I ask that communities across Texas support this cause for unity and remember the essential role that law enforcement plays in keeping Texas safe and strong.” Additionally, law enforcement patrol cars will line the North drive of the Capitol on Friday to join in unity in turning on their red and blue flashing lights.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 03, 2015 24 Comments
Today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton surrendered at the Collin County Jail to be arrested and booked on three counts of felony securities law violations. Earlier, a grand jury handed down an indictment addressing Paxton's July 2011 efforts to sell stocks on behalf of a McKinney, Texas-based corporation while he was still a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Paxton followed in the footsteps of fellow embattled Texas politicians Tom DeLay and Rick Perry by putting on a confident smirk for his mugshot. According to local media sources, however, Paxton avoided the press after he was booked. (I don't blame him---the Texas Democratic Party organized a rally outside the building demanding he resign on the spot.) The New York Times explains the charges:
The charges — two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of third-degree failure to register — are tied to Mr. Paxton’s work soliciting clients and investors for two companies while he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, before he was elected attorney general in November.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 27, 2015 14 Comments
Score one for the good guys---an appeals court in Texas has dropped one of two felony charges currently pending against former governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry. Last August, a grand jury indicted Perry on two separate counts of abuse of power and coercion of a public servant after it was revealed that Perry used his veto power to address corruption in the Travis County District Attorney's office. Perry's political opponents cried intimidation, and managed push forward with the case. Earlier this year, Perry's team suffered a setback when an attempt to get the entire indictment dismissed proved futile; but last week, Perry scored a win on appeal, and overcame count 2---the coercion charge. The court cited the First Amendment right to free speech in their opinion, saying that “[t]he statute on which the ‘coercion of a public servant’ is based, as written, and as we are bound to construe it, violates the First Amendment and, accordingly, cannot be enforced.” More via Politico:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 20, 2015 17 Comments
Last week, damning investigative footage showed a Planned Parenthood doctor nonchalantly discussing dismembering and selling baby body parts. “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact,” said Dr. Deborah Nucatola. Democrats flocked to stand with Planned Parenthood, while Republicans spoke out en masse after watching the horrifying video footage. Following the investigation, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for an investigation into the sale of baby body parts.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 14, 2015 10 Comments
Texas Entrepreneurs are celebrating a recent state Supreme Court decision. The decision involved Texas Occupational licenses. "Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) violated the state constitution when it ordered eyebrow threaders—who practice a traditional South Asian method of using only cotton thread to remove eyebrow hair— to stop working unless they obtained 750 hours of conventional cosmetology training and passed two licensing exams," said a release. The release from the Institute for Justice continued:
Today, Texas entrepreneurs celebrated as a landmark Texas Supreme Court decision became final following the passing of the deadline for the government to seek further review. This means countless entrepreneurs, like Ash Patel, can go back to work after having to shut down their businesses for nearly six years. The sweeping decision will have huge implications not just for all Texans, but for entrepreneurs across the U.S., and means Texas occupational licensing laws now face real scrutiny. In late June, the Texas Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) violated the state constitution when it ordered eyebrow threaders—who practice a traditional South Asian method of using only cotton thread to remove eyebrow hair— to stop working unless they obtained 750 hours of conventional cosmetology training and passed two licensing exams. Not a minute of the training or a single question on the exams was devoted to eyebrow threading.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 07, 2015 26 Comments
Somewhat overshadowed by the Independence Day holiday weekend, Rick Perry's unorthodox jobs and economic growth speech ruffled all the right feathers. Candidate job plans tend to blur together because regardless of party affiliation, they're virtually indistinguishable. Reduce/raise taxes, decrease/increase regulation, "get America working again!", "yada yada yada middle class!" Then there's always "something strangling something." Whether it's speech writer laziness or well tested imagery I don't know, but there's always something being strangled. "Bring jobs back to America!" [insert story of someone candidate met while campaigning and how current administration/elected official's policies have made it hard for anecdotal individual to find work] and so on. And that's pretty much every single economic policy speech in modern history. Or at least it was until last Thursday. Perry's economic opportunity speech at the National Press Club last week was unlike any other speech of its kind and brilliantly so.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 29, 2015 16 Comments
Could the Supreme Court's latest actions result in a set-back for the pro-life community?
Wednesday, 10 of Texas' 19 abortion clinics were set to close thanks to a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2013. The law that would've required abortion clinics to maintain hospital-like standards was enough to force 10 clinics out of the abortion business. Those standards included, "minimum sizes for rooms and doorways, pipelines for anesthesia and other infrastructure," according to the Texas Tribune. In addition to the hospital-like standards requirement, physicians conducting abortions were required to, "have admitting privileges at local hospitals," reported the Washington Post.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 05, 2015 8 Comments
Speaking from a plane hanger in a Dallas suburb Thursday afternoon, Governor Perry officially launched his second bid for the White House. Flanked by Navy SEALs, Perry was introduced by his wife, Anita. Meet the former first lady of Texas, Anita Perry. Over the years, I've often heard Governor Perry refer to Anita as, "his rock" and it's easy to see why. Perry's Coaxer in Chief as CNN called her, addressed one of the most crucial issues of Perry's 2016 campaign -- his glasses. "He's got these new glasses that have gotten a lot of attention," observes CNN, "What do you think? Did he need a new image?" "No, he needed the glasses to see! I mean, this really just tickles me, it makes me laugh. He needed those glasses from a childhood injury when he was 16 or 17-years-old and the vision in one eye deteriorated such that he had to have the glasses. So I picked them out. Really, I like him without the glasses, but he had to have them to see."

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 14, 2015 17 Comments
We don't like to kick a loser when she's down, but when this story appeared on Legal Insurrection's radar we thought it was too good to keep to ourselves. The pink sneaker wearing hope of progressives isn't finished with her fall from grace. Terri Langford of the Texas Tribune:
Wendy Davis Fined $5,000 for Ethics Violation The Texas Ethics Commission has fined former state senator and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis $5,000 after finding "credible evidence" that she failed to include her relationship with two lobbyists on financial disclosure forms filed during her 2012 senate re-election campaign. The commission issued an order detailing its findings and the fine on Thursday, nearly three years after a complaint was filed by Davis' Republican opponent, Mark Shelton, who narrowly lost the election to Davis by 2 percentage points. Shelton complained that Davis' personal financial documents for 2010 and 2011 did not properly indicate that her law partner, Brian Newby, was a registered lobbyist. The firm's unpaid executive director, Marcy Weldin Foster, was also a registered lobbyist in 2011, and that was not disclosed. The commission found Davis received fees for services from her own firm and another that she worked for "of counsel," Cantey Hanger, in 2010 and 2011. Both firms paid Newby as a lobbyist, and Cantey Hanger paid Foster as a lobbyist.
What a shame. Just as she was getting ready to launch the next phase of her career.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 05, 2015 22 Comments
We have been following the fallout from the shootings that centered around a “Draw Mohammed” event. Most of the media is honing in on blaming the victims, as if Pam Geller had it coming to her. Noah Rothman at Hot Air writes, The toxic implication that Pamela Geller had last night’s terror attack in Texas coming:
When political commentators note that there is no justification for sexual violence, they aren’t adhering to doctrinal feminism but the tenets of civilized Western thought. No woman, a responsible citizen would say, invites violence merely because their assailant was uncontrollably stimulated by their victim’s choice of attire. This is such a bedrock principle of human decency that it barely needs to be said. Only the most brutish and crude among us would contend otherwise. Why then does it appear vogue to imply that a terrorist attack on a Texas American Freedom Defense Initiative event organized by the group’s president, Pamela Geller, was the inevitable result of provocation on the part of the victims?
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and promises more:
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack outside a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas -- and warned of more attacks to come. In a broadcast on its official radio channel Tuesday, the group said two Al Khilafa soldiers opened fire outside the event in Garland, a Dallas suburb. Al Khilafa is how ISIS refers to its soldiers. The gunmen, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, wounded a security guard before police shot and killed them. The ISIS radio announcer also referred to Simpson and Soofi as the terror group's "brothers." The announcement ended with this warning: "We say to the defenders of the cross, the U.S., that future attacks are going to be harsher and worse. The Islamic State soldiers will inflict harm on you with the grace of God. The future is just around the corner."
It turns out that the winner of the "Draw the Prophet" contest, Bosch Fawstin, was previously featured at Legal Insurrection when I covered a special conference organized by conservative talk show host Tammy Bruce:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 05, 2015 9 Comments
By early yesterday morning, we knew half the story regarding the allegedly aspiring jihadists who opened fire at a "draw Mohammed" free speech rally in Garland, Texas. Elton Simpson, the first of the two men to be identified, was no stranger to run-ins with the law. In 2010, he was charged with plotting travel to Somalia to "[engage] in violent jihad"; a judge at the time ruled that the government did not have enough evidence that Simpson was actually planning to engage in terrorism, but sentenced him to three years probation for lying to federal agents about his travel plans. Simpson's associates were purportedly "shocked" that he would go on the attack in Garland---but then again, when are associates of dead terrorists ever not surprised that the subject of an investigation would go to desperate lengths? Simpson's story has played out in the media, but what about the other guy? Two men attacked the event---and we now know a little bit more about Nadir Soofi, the second shooter. This photo, taken from Facebook, has circulated amongst both new and mainstream media outlets:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 04, 2015 21 Comments
Reports rolled out early this morning that one of the gunmen taken out during last night's shootout in Garland, Texas has been identified as Elton Simpson. Elton Simpson was shot and killed after he and an accomplice pulled up to a "Draw Mohammed" free speech event and attacked a security officer. According to ABC News, the FBI and a bomb squad began an investigation of Simpson's north Phoenix home, where he is believed to have lived with his accomplice. This isn't the first time the government has conducted investigations into Simpson's jihad-associated activities; he was convicted five years ago of lying to officials about plans to travel overseas and allegedly join a terror organization. The New York Times laid out the history of allegations against Simpson:
In 2010, federal prosecutors in Arizona charged Mr. Simpson with plotting to travel to Somalia “for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad,” and then lying to a federal agent about his plans. A judge found him guilty of lying to the agent, but said the government had not proved that his plan involved terrorism, and sentenced him to three years’ probation.

Posted by Amy Miller on May 04, 2015 25 Comments
Last night, two gunmen were killed after firing on a security guard outside of a "Draw Mohammed" free speech event in Garland, Texas. Bruce Joiner, the Garland ISD security officer who was shot in the attack, was hospitalized with an ankle wound but released last night. CNN has a good condensed timeline of events:
The men drove up to the Curtis Culwell Center in North Garland, got out of their car and began shooting just as the "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" inside was ending around 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET). An unarmed security guard, Bruce Joiner, was shot in the ankle. He was later treated and released from a hospital. Garland police, who were helping with security, fired back, killing both gunmen. The exchange lasted about 15 seconds, police said.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 26, 2015 23 Comments
For the longest, Blue Bell was solely a Texas establishment. Their factory is right up the road from Houston. Kids would take school trips to the Blue Bell factory (and I imagine they still do). Everyone grew up looking forward to their seasonal offerings. And Blue Bell was the treat you looked forward to as a kid. Not ice cream -- Blue Bell. So when the grocery store is out of Blue Bell, they may as well be out of ice cream altogether. Beloved Texas staple, Blue Bell ice cream voluntarily pulled their product off the shelves following widespread listeria contamination concerns. As my sister observed at the grocery store yesterday:

Noooooo :(

A photo posted by Kristee Masters (@masterlenn) on

The massive voluntary recall was the first since the creamery opened in 1907. Closed temporarily, Monday, "Blue Bell Ice Cream will embark on an intensive cleaning program while it simultaneously conducts a new training program for its employees at all four production facilities with locations in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas." Friday afternoon, Blue Bell released the following video:

Posted by Amy Miller on April 12, 2015 16 Comments
It's proof that public pressure works. After weeks under fire, Texas state representative Jason Villalba (R-114) has pulled his controversial "cop watcher" bill. As it was originally filed, the bill would have placed limits on how citizen journalists are allowed to document police activity. However, soon after the bill was referred to committee and reactions from activists escalated, Villalba indicated that he was open to substantially changing the language in the bill to clarify how the average citizen's First Amendment rights would be affected should it become law. Not good enough, said the people of Texas. And so Villalba has pulled the bill. The move is being praised by some law enforcement associations, but others, like the Dallas Police Association, are standing by their reasoning for proposing the bill to begin with.