by Staff | Jul 1, 2014 | Uncategorized
June 30, 2014 (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/30/supreme-court-hobby-lobby/) The Supreme Court ruled Monday that certain “closely held” for-profit businesses can cite religious objections in order to opt out of a requirement in ObamaCare to provide free contraceptive coverage for their employees. The 5-4 decision, in favor of arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby and one other company, marks the first time the court has ruled that for-profit businesses can cite religious views under federal law. It also is a blow to a provision of the Affordable Care Act which President Obama’s supporters touted heavily during the 2012 presidential campaign. “Today is a great day for religious liberty,” Adele Keim, counsel at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty which represented Hobby Lobby, told Fox News. The ruling was one of two final rulings to come down on Monday, as the justices wrapped up their work for the session. The other reined in the ability of unions to collect dues from home health care workers. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in the ObamaCare case, finding the contraceptive mandate in its current form “unlawful.” The court’s four liberal justices dissented. The Obama administration, two years ago, already negotiated with religious-based schools, hospitals and other non-profits to reach an accommodation on the issue of contraception coverage. In the wake of Monday’s ruling, the question now before the administration is how it might try to accommodate for-profit businesses that claim religious objections while also extending contraceptive coverage to female workers. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday afternoon that the decision “jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies,” but said the administration would...
by Staff | Jun 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
June 13, 2-14 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/19816/) Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Alicia Franklin of Houston as judge of the 311th Judicial District Court in Harris County for a term to expire at the next general election. Franklin is an attorney in private practice and a special magistrate for Harris County District Family Courts. She is a member and Family Law Section Committee member of the Houston Bar Association, and a member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Texas Women Lawyers and Houston Realty Business Coalition. She is also a life member of The 100 Club, and a member of the St. Mary’s Alumni Association, Kappa Gamma Pi National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society and Houston Area Road Runners Association. Franklin received a bachelor’s degree from Mount Mercy University and a law degree from the St. Mary’s University School of...
by Staff | Jun 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
June 13, 2014 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/19815/) Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Ernie McClendon of Livingston as judge of the 258th Judicial District Court in Polk, San Jacinto and Trinity Counties for a term to expire at the next general election. McClendon is an attorney in private practice and former Polk County Attorney. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Livingston Rotary Club Board of Directors. He is a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County Board of Directors, a sponsor of the Don’t Meth With Me program in Polk County and past Polk and Tyler County district director for the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a sponsor, past director and past coach for the Livingston Youth Baseball Association. He served in the U.S. Navy. McClendon received a bachelor’s degree and law degree from Baylor...
by Staff | Jun 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
June 13, 2014 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/19814/) Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Lorina Rummel of San Antonio as judge of the 144th Criminal District Court in Bexar County for a term to expire at the next general election. Rummel is an assistant district attorney for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and the family violence supervising prosecutor for the 379th District Court in Bexar County. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and a past member of the San Antonio Bar Association and San Antonio Women’s Bar Association. She is a board member of the Young Men’s Service League North San Antonio Chapter and Inwood Hollow Homeowners Association, and a member of the Blattman Elementary, Hobby Middle School and Clark High School Parent Teacher associations in. She is also a competition judge for the Inwood Hollow Swim Team and a former instructor at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Rummel received a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from the Baylor University Law...
by Staff | Jun 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
May 22, 2014 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/19703/) Gov. Rick Perry has reappointed Cathleen Parsley of Austin as Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings for a term to expire May 15, 2016. The judge oversees hearings in contested cases to ensure they are conducted objectively, promptly and efficiently. Parsley is the current chief administrative law judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, and is admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Federal circuits. She is a past Administrative Law Seminar presenter for the State Bar of Texas, Austin Bar Association, Travis County Bar Association, and the University of Texas. She is also a past Planning Committee member and Course Director of the State Bar Advanced Administrative Law Seminar. She is chair of the University Christian Church Worship Council, a member of the Texas Tech University (TTU) Band Alumni Association, and a past board member and past secretary of the TTU Ex-Students Association Austin Chapter. Parsley received a bachelor’s degree and law degree from Texas Tech...
by Staff | May 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
May 29, 2014 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/noteworthy/19723/) Texas faced a major turning point in 2003, one that could have seriously jeopardized the economic successes our state has enjoyed over the past decade. The skyrocketing cost of malpractice insurance – driven ever higher by the mounting costs of litigation and staggering awards in non-economic damages sought by unscrupulous lawyers – was driving many doctors out of business, or causing them to flee to less litigious places. Not only were doctors leaving the state, or closing up shop, the doctors who did remain in practice were cutting back on providing any treatments that could be considered “high risk.” That left entire counties without emergency treatment doctors, cardiologists or obstetricians. Texas had fallen to 44th in the nation in terms of doctors per capita. In addition to being a critical quality of life issue, the situation held the potential of limiting the state’s economic and job growth, as job creators and job seekers alike had to weigh the benefits of the Texas economic climate with the real possibility of losing access to much-needed medical care. So in 2003, the Texas Legislature passed legislation capping non-economic damages at $250,000 per defendant, or up to $750,000 per incident, while placing no cap on more easily determined economic damages, such as lost wages or cost of medical care due to injury. Texas ended the practice of allowing baseless, but expensive, lawsuits to drag on indefinitely, requiring plaintiffs to provide expert witness reports to support their claims within four months of filing suit or drop the case. That fall, the people of Texas passed a ballot measure authorizing these...
