John Council

October 25, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

By MARY ALICE ROBBINSand JOHN COUNCIL

8 minute read

September 13, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

In one of the most interesting First Amendment cases the Texas Supreme Court has handled in years, the high court unanimously ruled that political satire is a protected form of free speech, even if it's not clearly labeled or attributes false quotes to real public officials.

By John Council

5 minute read

December 21, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

If not for Cathy McBroom, the Galveston federal courthouse might still be lorded over by former U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, the last full-time judge to sit there. Instead, Kent is sitting in prison in Florida, due, in large part, to a complaint McBroom — Kent's former case manager — filed in 2007 with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

By John Council

12 minute read

January 18, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Three defendants will get new trials because a U.S. district judge abused her discretion by issuing a sua sponte order transferring the case to another court 332 miles away, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. 5th Circuit Judge Ed Prado(pictured) wrote the opinion.

By John Council

6 minute read

January 08, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

On his very last day in office, 299th District Court Judge Jon Wisser of Austin decided to drop a big bomb -- a controversial murder case, to be more precise. Just hours before leaving office, Wisser signed a brief order dismissing a murder indictment against Jimmie Dale White, who was accused of a slaying that occurred 20 years earlier.

By John Council and Mary Alice Robbins

5 minute read

October 10, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

By JOHN COUNCIL

9 minute read

October 20, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

The Texas Supreme Court has set off a controversy with a proposal that would cap referral fees at $50,000 or 15 percent of the attorneys' fees for the party in a case -- whichever is less.

By John Council

9 minute read

October 11, 2004 | New Jersey Law Journal

With a population of 67 souls, Loving County is the least populated county in Texas, and some say, the entire United States. Loving is famous for what it doesn't have. There are no active schools, no movie theaters and no grocery stores � it's a 50-mile round trip to buy a loaf of bread. And not one of its residents holds a law degree.

By John Council

5 minute read

January 23, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

A grand jury in Harris County that recently indicted Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and his wife Francisca isn't going to let the matter drop, even though the indictments recently were dismissed and a judge ruled the grand jury wasn't properly empanelled and its work was null and void.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and John Council

5 minute read

February 02, 2004 | New Jersey Law Journal

For years, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel were routinely attached to death penalty appeals - and just as routinely rejected. Now, what was once a boilerplate ground for appeal has gained new bounce.

By John Council and Tony Mauro

11 minute read