Nathan Hecht

E-filing court system goes statewide; public access still to be addressed

2015-09-30T14:43:22-05:00

By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Sept. 30, 2015 Saving an estimated 30 million pieces of paper a year, every major civil court in Texas has begun requiring lawyers and litigants to file documents electronically, providing 24-hour access to the courthouse for anybody with a computer and an Internet connection. The electronic filing system is now available in all 254 Texas counties, and the milestone — reached nine months ahead of schedule — will be celebrated Wednesday at the Texas Supreme Court, which mandated the change in 2012. “It’s been a major, detailed project. You don’t just wave a wand [...]

E-filing court system goes statewide; public access still to be addressed2015-09-30T14:43:22-05:00

Texas Supreme Court voids order to identify blogger

2014-09-04T13:21:18-05:00

By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Aug. 29, 2014 An Ohio company, seeking to sue a sharply critical blogger who wrote under a pseudonym, cannot use the Texas courts to discover the online author’s identity, a divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. The 5-4 decision voided a Harris County district judge’s ruling that ordered Google Inc., which operated the blog’s online home, to disclose the blogger’s name and address so the company would know who to sue for defamation and business disparagement. To order such pre-lawsuit disclosures, however, a Texas court must first establish that the person targeted for a [...]

Texas Supreme Court voids order to identify blogger2014-09-04T13:21:18-05:00

Are anonymous bloggers protected by First Amendment?

2013-11-11T17:21:25-06:00

By Jordan Smith The Austin Chronicle Originally published Nov. 7, 2013 Who is the anonymous blogger known as the "Trooper?" More importantly, does anyone – including Bob Brockman – have a right to know? Those are among the questions now before the Texas Supreme Court after oral arguments this morning in a case where Brockman and the company he heads, Reynolds & Reynolds, seeks to compel Google to divulge the identity of Trooper, who Brockman argues has been defaming him and his company for years. To hear lawyers for the blogger tell it, Brockman's demand to have Google spill the details [...]

Are anonymous bloggers protected by First Amendment?2013-11-11T17:21:25-06:00
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