Austin settles with another 2020 social justice protester, bringing total to $20.8 million

The city of Austin settled another lawsuit with a participant in the 2020 social justice protests who claimed police knocked her phone down, shoved her, grabbed her by the neck and threw her on the ground when she tried filming the arrest of another marcher.

Kate Cox attorney: TX Supreme Court ruling disappointing, but leaves room for optimism

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Kaplan – an attorney for Kate Cox, the 31-year-old Dallas woman at the center of a landmark challenge to Texas’ abortion ban – sat down with Ryan Chandler just after the Texas Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed her to have a medical abortion.

Wife of Kingsland man shot, killed by Llano Co. deputies files lawsuit



KINGSLAND, Texas - Body camera video showed the last moments a Kingsland man was alive before Llano County deputies shot and killed him. The man’s wife is now suing and said her husband wasn’t a threat.

Juvenile officer’s do-not-hire status initially reversed amid sexual misconduct investigation

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Juvenile Justice Department allowed a juvenile corrections officer who was being investigated over sexual misconduct allegations to resign and remain eligible for hire weeks after firing him, state records show. 

Alex Gonzales Jr. shooting: Family attorneys want confidential files released

AUSTIN, Texas - It’s been more than three years since a man was killed by Austin police after an apparent road rage incident with an off-duty officer. Now, the attorneys representing his family want the city to release the internal affairs investigative files to the public.

Bodycam footage and lawsuits detail police killings of Texas men suffering mental health crises

Texas police killed two men while responding to mental health calls in the fall of 2022, with the details only recently emerging due to lawsuits and the release of police body cam footage.

LCSO deputies face lawsuit over shooting death

The Llano County Sheriff's Office faces a federal lawsuit in connec- tion with an officer-in volved shooting of a Kingsland man at his home.On April 11, 2024, Ka- plan Law Firm filed a fed eral civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the victim’s widow Jillian Harrod.On her behalf, lawyers characterized the death of 40-year-old Justin Harrod, stemming from a “mental health call that ended in shooting….

Wife calls 911 for help, then cops shoot man dead amid mental health crisis, suit says

A newly filed lawsuit accuses Texas deputies of using excessive force when they fatally shot a man while he was having a mental health emergency in October 2022. Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article287807325.html#storylink=cpy

Llano County deputies used excessive force in shooting death of man: lawsuit

LLANO COUNTY, Texas - A Kingsland widow has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive use of force by Llano County sheriff's deputies in the shooting death of her husband.

Wife sues Llano County deputies over husband's 2022 death, claims they "executed him"

LLANO COUNTY, Texas — The wife of a man who was shot and killed by Llano County deputies in 2022 is suing the sheriff’s office, claiming deputies “unnecessarily escalated the situation” and “executed him” on his own property.

Llano County sued in Kingsland man's killing

The wife of a 40-year-old Kingsland man killed by Llano County deputies in 2022 filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on April 11 against the county, the Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Bill Blackburn, and deputies Bryon Cervantez and Randy "Ty" Shaw. It is the fifth lawsuit that Llano County now faces in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, and the second dealing with excessive force by the sheriff's office.

Suit filed in deputies' fatal shooting of Llano man who family says was in mental distress

The family of a Llano County man has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Austin alleging that sheriff’s deputies used excessive force when they shot him in October 2022 while he was suffering a mental health episode.

Bodycam footage reveals Llano County deputies' use of lethal force against man that led to lawsuit

The Texas Medical Board voted March 22 to publish a rule on exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban, which requires doctors to thoroughly document why the procedure was performed.

Family of Justin Harrod sue Llano County after 2022 fatal shooting

The family of Justin Harrod is suing Llano County after a 2022 fatal shooting. Deputies opened fire on him during a mental health crisis, the lawsuit says.

Family of Justin Harrod sue Llano County after 2022 fatal shooting

The family of Justin Harrod is suing Llano County after a 2022 fatal shooting. Deputies opened fire on him during a mental health crisis, the lawsuit says.

APD settles another use-of-force case from 2020

The city of Austin has settled another case involving use of force against a citizen during the August 2020 protests against police violence. According to a news release from the Kaplan law firm, city officials agreed to and have paid a $55,500 settlement to Eli Winkelman on behalf of the city and two Austin police officers for their use of force against her.

Texas Medical Board moves forward with new abortion exception policy

Kaplan Law Firm, LLC filed a wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit on May 23, 2019 against Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute, LLC (GBHI) and Signature Healthcare Services, LLC. The plaintiff...

Austin police reach settlement with woman who officer threw to the ground during 2020 protests

AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) has reached a $55,000 settlement with a woman who was thrown to the ground by an officer during racial justice protests in August 2020.

Photos: Austin’s year in review

Another year in Austin has passed us by. We experienced a brutal ice storm, then a record-breaking heat wave. We protested outside of the Texas Capitol, then witnessed a historic impeachment trial behind its doors. 

Kate Cox attorney: TX Supreme Court ruling disappointing, but leaves room for optimism

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Kaplan – an attorney for Kate Cox, the 31-year-old Dallas woman at the center of a landmark challenge to Texas’ abortion ban – sat down with Ryan Chandler just after the Texas Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed her to have a medical abortion.

Kate Cox attorney: TX Supreme Court ruling disappointing, but leaves room for optimism

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Kaplan – an attorney for Kate Cox, the 31-year-old Dallas woman at the center of a landmark challenge to Texas’ abortion ban – sat down with Ryan Chandler just after the Texas Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed her to have a medical abortion.

Trump Asks SCOTUS for Immunity & Texas Strikes Down Abortion Exemption | The Daily Show



Kal Penn covers Trump's plea for presidential immunity from the Supreme Court and a defamation lawsuit that could mean "the end" of Rudy Giuliani, and Grace Kuhlenschmidt offers up a solution to the abortion debate in Texas.

Texas Supreme Court blocks order allowing abortion as woman leaves state for procedure 

The Texas Supreme Court has overturned a court order that would have allowed a Dallas-area woman to get an abortion. The ruling came down the same day Kate Cox's attorneys announced she was leaving Texas to end her nonviable pregnancy.

Texas woman leaves state for abortion

Kate Cox has sought an abortion elsewhere, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is not disclosing her whereabouts.

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Aebra Coe ( December 8, 2023, 1:19 PM EST) -- WilmerHale and Morrison Foerster LLP secured spots on top 

Texas Woman Sues State to Authorize Emergency 20-Week Abortion 

A Texas woman who needs an abortion “now” sued the state Tuesday, seeking an order that will allow her to have an emergency procedure that likely would be illegal under Texas’ six-week abortion ban.

State of Texas appeals after Travis County judge temporarily halts parts of Texas abortion bans

AUSTIN, Texas — The State of Texas has appealed the ruling of a Travis County judge who blocked a number of Texas’ abortion bans as they apply to dangerous pregnancy complications.

Hays County inmate's family files federal lawsuit against officer over fatal December shooting

HAYS COUNTY, Texas — The family of a Hays County inmate filed a federal lawsuit against the correction officer who shot and killed him in December 2022.

Plaintiffs await judge’s decision in case that could clarify medical exception to Texas abortion ban

Across a two-day hearing in Zurawski v. State of Texas, a Travis County district court heard testimony from both physicians and women who were denied abortions amid serious pregnancy complications.

Travis County court hears case seeking clarity in medical exception to Texas abortion law

Women from across Texas will head to a state district court in Austin on Wednesday to testify in a case that could determine access to certain emergency abortion services in the state.

Texans discuss SCOTUS decision regarding same-sex couples

AUSTIN, Texas - Friday's 6-3 Supreme Court decision, to side with a web designer's rights to refuse work from a same-sex couple due to the First Amendment, has shaken the queer community.

One year after Dobbs, the horror stories are everywhere—and it will only get worse

One year after the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion protection with its June 24, 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the issue is as salient to voters as ever. 

For Texas’s Antiabortion Movement, the Chilling Effect Is Working

No one likes an “I told you so,” whether on an elementary school playground or in arguments over reproductive rights. Still, in the wake of the passage of Texas’s Senate Bill 8 in May 2021, which effectively outlawed abortions after...

Hays County officer indicted in shooting death of Joshua Wright

HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Months after the deadly shooting of Joshua Wright in Kyle, a former Hays County corrections officer involved is facing charges.

5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger

AUSTIN — Five women who were denied abortions under Texas law while facing medical crises are suing the state, asking a judge to clarify exceptions to the laws.

Suit filed on behalf of women denied abortions in Texas despite dangerous health complications

Doctors and hospitals in Texas are turning away pregnant women who face serious health risks and need abortions because the medical providers fear prosecution, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.