County Judge Arrested For Cattle Rustling

[#TexasPolitics365]

Law enforcement agents traveled to a rural and sparsely populated West Texas county Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands for cattle rustling.

Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, faces three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity, allegedly gathering and selling stray cattle, according to authorities.

Loving County is the nation’s least populated county with just 64 residents, according to the 2020 Census.

The county judge, an elected official, is essentially a county commissioner, holding the top legislative responsibilities in the county.

(Full story HERE.)
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Federal Judge Blocks Social Media Censorship Law

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A Federal judge in Austin Wednesday blocked Texas' social media censorship law, which prohibits large social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from censoring users "based on their political viewpoints." The law, known as House Bill 20, was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 9 and was set to take effect Thursday.

However, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an appointee of Pres. Barack Obama, wrote in his ruling that the measure interferes with platforms' First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms.

(Full story here.)
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Judge Blocks Round Rock ISD Mask Mandate

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State District Judge Rick Kennon has temporarily blocked the Round Rock school district from enforcing its mask mandate.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sued the school district along with several others, declared "Another WIN!" in his legal fight against school districts that have defied Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning schools from requiring masks.

"The Court finds that the State of Texas is thus likely to prevail on the merits and that a temporary restraining order is required to preserve the status quo and to prevent the irreparable harm of the continued violation of state law absent injunctive relief," Kennon's Tuesday order said.

A hearing on whether to extend the order will take place at 9 a.m. Sept. 28.

Round Rock ISD officials respond

Round Rock school district leaders said they would "comply with any lawfully issued court order."

(Full story here.)
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Legislators File Impeachment Resolutions Against Two Judges

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Representatives Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) and Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) each filed resolutions seeking impeachment of Judge Chris Morton of the 230th District Court in Harris County and Judge Brad Urrutia of the 450th District Court in Travis County.

Both resolutions cite the actions of the respective judges in blocking the arrest of Democrats who refused to attend the House regular and special sessions. The legislators say the judges overstepped their constitutional duties and interfered in the business of the legislature.

(Full story here.)
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GOP Gov. Candidate West Calls For Impeachment of 3 Harris County Judges

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West is calling on the state's leaders and the state legislature to impeach three Houston area judges that he says have released violent felons back onto the streets.

In a press release, West said, "Judges Morton, Jones, and Cornelio should be brought up on impeachment charges by Speaker Phelan and Governor Abbott. Their release of violent criminals back onto the streets of Houston and streets across Texas is a dereliction of their duty. By releasing dangerous felons back into our community, these three judges are responsible for dozens of needless deaths."

The judges he referred to are Chris Morton, DaSean Jones, and Natalia Cornelio.

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