AMY CLARK MEACHUM

A Texas judge on Friday expanded her order blocking the state from investigating families of transgender youth who have received gender- affirming medical care.Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a tempora[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The immediate appeal of the injunction by Tx. Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) allowed the state to continue its controversial child-abuse investigations.

Officials told employees not to communicate about cases via email or text — even with families under investigation, according to records obtained by two news organizations.

A Texas judge has continued blocking the state from investigating two families of transgender youth that have receiving gender affirming medical care.

The ruling overturns an injunction barring state officials from following Abbott's directive to view treatments such as hormones and puberty-blocking drugs as incidents of child abuse.

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.”

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.

A Texas judge is blocking the state from investigating as child abuse gender confirming care for transgender youth.

The nation’s largest pediatric hospital has announced it has stopped gender-affirming therapies after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-confirming care for kids as abuse. Texas Children’s Hospital, located in Houston, announced that its decision to stop such hormone-related prescription therapies was made after it reviewed Abbott’s order, which came when Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton last month released a nonbinding legal opinion that labeled certain gender-confirming treatments as “child abuse.” “The mission of Texas Children’s Hospital is to create a healthier future for all children, including transgender children, within the bounds of the law ... This step was taken to safeguard our health care professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications,” the hospital wrote in a statement released Friday.

The appeal puts on hold a hearing in which an injunction blocking such investigations into all parents of trans kids was to be considered.

Texas is appealing a judge’s ruling that prevents the state from investigating a transgender teenager’s parents over gender confirming care she received.

Judge's order stops short of preventing the state from looking into other reports about children receiving similar care.

A Texas judge was scheduled to consider a statewide injunction on investigations of parents over obtaining gender-affirming care. The appeal now puts the hearing on hold.

A judge has temporarily blocked an anti-abortion group from filing a lawsuit one day before Texas' so-called fetal heartbeat bill takes effect.

click to enlarge Wikimedia Commons / U.S. Department of JusticeTexas Attorney General Ken PaxtonThe first hearing in a whistleblower lawsuit against the Texas attorney general’s office mostly consisted of objections Monday. Lawyers representing the attorney general’s office continued Monday to argue the suit should be dismissed on procedural grounds. That included testimony from Jeff Mateer, the former first assistant attorney general. Mateer testified that the group of employees alleging criminal conduct had a “good faith belief” the attorney general had violated state law. And Mateer testified that Paxton’s office previously sent him a letter cautioning him against sharing any conversations that were still protected by attorney-client privilege.

She instead permitted testimony on a request for a temporary injunction that would allow two of the whistleblowers to have their jobs in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office back. Lawyers representing the attorney general’s office continued Monday to argue the suit should be dismissed on procedural grounds. That included testimony from Jeff Mateer, the former first assistant attorney general. Mateer testified that the group of employees alleging criminal conduct had a “good faith belief” the attorney general had violated state law. And Mateer testified that Paxton’s office previously sent him a letter cautioning him against sharing any conversations that were still protected by attorney-client privilege.

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For Brandon Birmingham, a state district judge in Dallas, the 2020 race for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals started on election night 2018. Within weeks, he’d reached out to the state Democratic Party. This year, with a controversial Republican president on the ballot and sky-high stakes for Texas Democrats, candidates are hoping the races look more like heroes’ journeys. Democrats have not run a contested primary for the state’s high courts since 2008. As recently as last year, Democrats failed to even field a candidate in one race for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.