The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued five opinions from May 1-7. The Texas Supreme Court issued four opinions from May 1-7. Both courts are the state’s courts of last resort. As of May 7, the court of criminal appeals issued 130 opinions in 2023 — 33 more than this point a year ago. The supreme court issued 50 opinions as of May 7, 2023 — five fewer than this point a year ago. Three of nine opinions are below:
- Ex parte Moon (original by judge yeary), where the court “concluded that, even if Appellant’s claims were cognizable in a pretrial habeas proceeding, the court of appeals lacked the authority to entertain Appellant’s interlocutory appeal. Accordingly, the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the court of appeals’ judgment and remanded to that court for an order dismissing Appellant’s appeal as premature.”
- Tex. Health & Human Services Comm’n v. Pope (Opinion), where the court “reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the trial court denying the Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) combined plea to the jurisdiction and motion for summary judgment, holding that Plaintiffs’ conduct was not protected by the Texas Whistleblower Act.”
- State v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (Opinion), where the court “held that Texas courts have specific jurisdiction over German automobile manufacturers based on their intentional post-sale tampering with affected vehicles that were owned, operated, and serviced in Texas.”
From May 1-7, state supreme courts issued 156 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 22. State supreme courts in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 91 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court are the state’s courts of last resort. The former is the state’s court of last resort for criminal matters, while the latter is the state’s court of last resort for civil matters; both have nine judgeships. Sharon Keller and Nathan Hecht are the current chiefs of the criminal and supreme courts, respectively. Combined, the courts issued 413 opinions in 2022 and 536 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,357 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,315 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,042. Texas is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
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