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I'm the North Texas Reporter for Courthouse News Service. I graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a BS/MS in Journalism and Political Science. Find my most recent work below, or see my favorite articles under the 'Featured Work' tab.

Courthouse News •

Hobby distillers fight for the right to make moonshine

The federal government is challenging a federal judge's ruling that an 150-year-old ban on distilling spirits at home is unconstitutional.(CN) — For over 150 years, federal law has prohibited would-be moonshiners from distilling liquor at home. That may be coming to an end, however, as last year a federal judge in Texas found the law unconstitutional.Attorney Andrew Grossman urged a Fifth Circuit panel Monday to uphold the lower court ruling, arguing the law exceeds federal taxing power. He repr...
Courthouse News •

BlackRock, other asset managers must face Republicans’ climate conspiracy suit

A coalition of Republican states targeted the "Big Three" investment firms' participation in initiatives aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.(CN) — A Texas federal judge ruled Friday that a group of Republican state attorneys general can proceed with most of a lawsuit accusing three of the world's largest investment companies of violating antitrust laws by participating in climate initiatives.A coalition of 11 Republican attorneys general, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed a...
Courthouse News •

Robert Roberson asks Texas appeals court to delay October execution

Advocates have fought for years to halt death row inmate Robert Roberson's execution, arguing he was wrongfully convicted in the death of his two-year-old daughter.(CN) — Death row inmate Robert Roberson asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Thursday to stop his scheduled execution, which a judge set last week for Oct. 16.In a motion for stay of execution, Roberson asked the court to delay his execution to give the court time to consider his pending habeas corpus application."The need for f...
Courthouse News •

Trump defends flood response during Texas visit

When asked by a reporter about flood victims' families’ concerns that alerts didn’t go out in time, Trump said "only an evil person would ask a question like that."(CN) — During a visit to Central Texas following devastating flooding on July 4, President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at a reporter who questioned whether there were sufficient warnings before the floods.“Several families we heard from are obviously upset because they say those warnings, those alerts didn’t go out in time, and...
Courthouse News •

Fifth Circuit considers Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants

Serious doubts have been raised about the validity of evidence used by the Trump administration to substantiate Tren de Aragua membership in Alien Enemies Act cases.(CN) — In a hearing Monday in New Orleans, Louisiana, on whether the Trump administration can invoke the Alien Enemies Act to summarily remove Venezuelans it declares are members of the gang Tren de Aragua, Fifth Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham indicated he believes courts can't review the government's determination that an individual is...
Courthouse News •

Texas Supreme Court blesses Methodist Church suit over SMU schism

(CN) — The Texas Supreme Court gave the Methodist Church a green light Friday to sue to regain control over Southern Methodist University, which voted to break from the church in 2019.The Dallas-based university, which currently enrolls over 12,000 students and has a $2.2 billion endowment, was founded over 100 years ago by what is now the United Methodist Church. SMU's articles of incorporation previously stated that it was "to be forever owned, maintained and controlled" by the church's South...
Courthouse News •

Care.com settles FTC case for $8 million

Affected consumers will receive refunds pursuant to a settlement the Federal Trade Commission reached last year with the online caregiver marketplace, which the FTC accused of deceptive marketing practices and making it deliberately difficult for users to cancel subscriptions.(CN) — The Federal Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it would distribute more than $8 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement agreement with the caregiver gig platform Care.com.Care.com is an online...
Courthouse News •

Texas governor signs bill critics call modern-day ‘alien land law’

The law bans people from certain countries from buying property in the state.(CN) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill Saturday banning people from countries deemed national security threats from purchasing or acquiring property in the state, a move critics say discriminates against certain immigrants.Senate Bill 17 applies to individuals domiciled in countries identified as security risks by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence in one of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessmen...
Courthouse News •

Texas Supreme Court won’t ground pilot lawsuit against Boeing

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association claims the airplane manufacturer lied to it about the safety of its controversial 737 Max.(CN) — A divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a pilot union's multimillion dollar lawsuit against Boeing can continue, rejecting the airplane manufacturer's arguments that the union lacked standing to sue on behalf of its members or that federal law preempted its claims.The case centers around Boeing's infamous 737 Max planes, two of which crashed in 2018 a...
Courthouse News •

Texas federal judge strikes down Biden-era abortion privacy rule

The rule prohibited health plans and providers from disclosing information regarding abortion and other reproductive health care to civil or criminal investigators if the treatment was legal in the state it was performed in.(CN) — A Trump-appointed federal judge struck down portions of a 2024 rule from the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday that provided privacy protections for information related to reproductive health care like abortion and gender-affirming treatments.U.S. Distr...
Courthouse News •

Texas officials seek immunity from Operation Lone Star lawsuit over migrant detention

The lawsuit claims migrants arrested as part of the state's border security crackdown were unlawfully kept in jail after they were eligible for release.(CN) — Texas state and county officials told a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Wednesday that a lower court erred in denying them qualified immunity in a lawsuit claiming they kept migrants detained through Texas's Operation Lone Star long after they were eligible for release.The lawsuit focuses on two Texas border counties, Kinney Coun...
Courthouse News •

Rwandan activist seeks to relaunch suit against charter airline over kidnapping plot

Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda," claims GainJet conspired with the Rwandan government to abduct him to the African country, where he says he was wrongfully imprisoned and tortured.(CN) — A lawyer for Rwandan human rights activist Paul Rusesabagina told a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Tuesday that a lower court erred in dismissing his client's lawsuit against a charter airplane company Rusesabagina claims helped the Rwandan government abduct him on jurisdictional gr...
Courthouse News •

Sex shops ask Fifth Circuit to strip Texas age limit on workers

Companies like strip clubs and adult bookstores argue not letting them employ 18- to 20-year-olds violates the First Amendment.(CN) — Sexually oriented businesses told a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Monday that a Texas law banning them from employing adults under age 21 violates their freedom of speech, arguing that a lower court erred in upholding the law as constitutional.In his 2024 ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas found that S.B. 315, a law p...
Courthouse News •

Texas high court revives AG bid to shutter migrant charity

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused Annunciation House of "illegal alien harboring" in a case that has raised issues of religious liberty and Fourth Amendment protections.(CN) — The Texas Supreme Court has revived an effort by state Attorney General Ken Paxton to shut down the Catholic charity Annunciation House, which Paxton accuses of illegally harboring migrants.In a Friday ruling, the court found that despite the numerous legal and constitutional arguments involved, the case in fro...

Trump backs challenge to investment firms’ climate goals

The DOJ and Federal Trade Commission have filed a statement of interest supporting a lawsuit by conservative states that argues investors' participation in climate initiatives constitutes an anticompetitive scheme to illegally raise coal prices.(CN) — The Trump administration filed a statement of interest Thursday in support of a lawsuit by conservative states challenging major investment firms' participation in climate initiatives.A coalition of 11 Republican attorneys general led by Texas Atto...
Courthouse News •

Judge strikes down federal rule requiring employers to accommodate abortions

A federal judge in Louisiana found the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exceeded its authority by including abortion in a list of pregnancy-related conditions employers are required to accommodate under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.(CN) — A Trump-appointed federal judge in Louisiana struck down a Biden-era regulation Wednesday that included abortion as a pregnancy-related condition employers are required to accommodate under federal law.U.S. District Judge David Joseph of the Western...
Courthouse News •

Texas prosecutors challenge rules targeting ‘rogue’ DAs

(CN) — Democratic prosecutors are suing to block rules put forth by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that he says are designed to "hold rogue DA's accountable."The chief prosecutors for five of Texas's most populous counties — Travis County, El Paso County, Dallas County, Bexar County and Harris County — argue in petitions filed Friday in Travis County district courts that Paxton lacks the authority to issue the rules, which they say are overly burdensome and would force prosecutors to illegall...
Courthouse News •

Texas federal judge strikes down transgender workplace protections

(CN) — A federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exceeded its authority by issuing a guidance providing protections for transgender employees.U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas said portions of a 2024 enforcement guidance issued by the commission regarding the definition of "sex" under Title VII and what constitutes sex-based harassment were contrary to law.The commission said in that guidance that Title VII's pr...
Courthouse News •

Rights groups challenge Louisiana law requiring proof of citizenship for voting

(CN) — A coalition of civil and voting rights groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a Louisiana law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.Senate Bill 436, which took effect Jan. 1, requires voter registration applicants to include proof of U.S. citizenship with their application. The groups bringing the lawsuit — the League of Women Voters of Louisiana, the League of Women Voters Education Fund, Voice of the Experienced, the NAACP Louisiana State Conference and Power Coalitio...
Courthouse News •

Fifth Circuit issues mixed-bag ruling in case of flight attendant fired after sharing anti-abortion content

A federal jury had ruled in 2022 that Southwest Airlines and a union discriminated against a flight attendant for her religious practices when the airline fired her after she sent graphic anti-abortion imagery to the union's president.(CN) — A Fifth Circuit panel Thursday partially overturned a jury's ruling that Southwest Airlines engaged in religious discrimination by firing a flight attendant for sending anti-abortion messages via Facebook to the president of the airline's flight attendants'...
Courthouse News •

Trump admin asks court to dismiss conservative states’ abortion pill lawsuit

Though largely for procedural reasons, Trump's Justice Department is taking up the defense of regulation changes increasing access to medication abortions.(CN) — In a move suggesting that, at least for now, President Donald Trump's DOJ will continue the Biden administration's position of defending access to the abortion drug mifepristone, the government asked a Texas federal court Monday to dismiss a lawsuit by conservative states challenging Food and Drug administration decisions on the drug.Th...
Courthouse News •

Trump appointee rules president unlawfully invoked Alien Enemies Act

The judge found that Trump has not sufficiently alleged the existence of an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" under the act.(CN) — A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday that the president has unlawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelans the administration claims are gang members to a prison in El Salvador.U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of the Southern District of Texas, whom President Donald Trump appointed to the federal bench during his first ter...
Courthouse News •

Pharmacy rep challenges conviction in $60M kickback scheme

Quintan Cockerell was convicted in 2023 of what prosecutors said was a scheme to steal millions of dollars from federal health care programs by convincing doctors to issue pricey prescriptions.(CN) — A pharmaceutical marketer who was convicted of participating in a $60 million health care fraud scheme told a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Tuesday that he had done nothing illegal, arguing that he was merely paid to advertise pharmacies to doctors."Marketing is not criminal. Payments for mar...
Courthouse News •

At Fifth Circuit, Trader Joe’s defends firing worker who complained about insufficient Covid-19 policies

The National Labor Relations Board found the employee was terminated in retaliation for complaining about what she viewed as inadequate safety procedures, but the grocery chain claims she was fired for bullying coworkers.(CN) — Grocery chain Trader Joe's told a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Monday that it was justified in firing an employee who raised concerns about what she felt were inadequate Covid-19 safety policies at her store, arguing the National Labor Relations Board should not h...
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