The State of Texas: July 2, 2015

Video of the Day

It appears this will be the season of presidential candidates pushing “viral” content. Yesterday it was Ted Cruz. Now, it looks like Rick Perry is making a go at it with a cartoon video about economic freedom and, um, hot pockets. The Dallas Observer perfectly describes it as “what you’d get if you paired up Beavis and Butthead animators with a French art house film director.”

Daily Roundup

No Pax For Paxton – It has not been a great week for Attorney General Ken Paxton. First was his general defeat against stopping same-sex marriage. Now, it looks like he might face some serious felony charges. “Late Wednesday, special prosecutor Kent Schaffer said he and co-counsel Brian Wice plan to start presenting evidence to the grand jury in less than a month that Paxton violated the Texas Securities Act,” according to the Texas Tribune. They’re going for a first-degree felony charge following “Paxton’s admission last year that he solicited investment clients for a friend and business partner without properly registering with the state. He was reprimanded and fined $1,000 by the State Securities Board.” The special prosecutors plan to present evidence to a grand jury that Paxton broke more laws than what he admitted to. “Two new grand juries have been seated in Collin County and will meet next week, one on Tuesday and the other on Thursday. [Special prosecutor Kent Schaffer] said he has at least six witnesses who will testify and present evidence,” according to the Dallas Morning News. “He said he would present his evidence in three weeks but had not decided which grand jury would hear the case.”

Even Gayer – Despite occasional reports that same-sex couples were having difficulties receiving marriage licenses at the beginning of the week, things are looking up as the weekend looms. First, there was the announcement early yesterday that same-sex partners of all Texas agencies and school could sign up for services and health benefits. In addition, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “instructed judges in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to wrap up gay marriage cases in their states in line with last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling,” according to the Associated Press. “The order … clears one of the final procedural roadblocks in the three cases, which had been pending before the New Orleans-based court. The 5th Circuit had heard arguments in the appeals, but hadn’t ruled.” Back to the issue of marriage licenses, although places like Esquire reported that at least sixty counties weren’t handing over the official papers, others, like gay rights advocacy groups report a much smaller number. “Same-sex marriage licenses are being issued, or will be available shortly, in at least 232 of Texas’ 254 counties — a compliance rate of 91 percent,” according to the Austin American-Statesman. “Texas for Marriage said a telephone survey found clerks in 173 counties offering same-sex marriage licenses, with 59 other counties ready to begin once they get software updates or other changes to application forms. Ten counties aren’t issuing same-sex licenses … while officials couldn’t be reached in 12 counties.”

Biker Battle – As promised, the lawyer for the (so far) sole Waco biker to file a lawsuit has appealed the gag order issued by a judge yesterday. “Clint Broden, in his emergency petition for writ of mandamus filed with Waco’s 10th Court of Appeals, argues that because his client has not been indicted, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson had no jurisdiction to impose a gag order, which bars Broden, prosecutors, witnesses and police officials from publicly discussing Clendennen’s case,” according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. “The gag order violates Clendennen’s right to free speech, and the judge’s findings to adopt the gag order are ‘insufficient to establish that any unidentified pretrial publicity in this case has risen to the level that it poses an imminent and severe harm to a fair and impartial trial,’ Broden’s petition says.” The same judge who issued the gag warning also allowed for the sharing of the footage among all parties involved. What’s funny is that Broden basically said the gag order isn’t very reasonable given that there are about 170 people who would very much like to tell their side of the story. As the Associated Press notes, “It remains unclear whose bullets struck the nine who died; the results of autopsies and ballistic analyses have not been made public.”