We might finally get to see what the TSC answer is--
5/29/2008
Newsroom
A Texas Supreme Court decision on a state appeal was actually expected Wednesday but instead the high court asked for another legal brief from attorney’s representing the families of 120 FLDS children currently in state custody.
The Third Court of Appeals ruled last week in favor of some of the FLDS families clearing the way for those children to be returned but the state appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court saying in part that if the children are returned the families could leave the state once reunited.
Attorney’s for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid worked late into the night preparing this latest legal brief that is due to be delivered to the Supreme Court this morning, leading to speculation that the high court might rule today or tomorrow on the issue. Rio Grande Legal Aid spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez isn’t bothered by the long hours. "We are committed to these women and if the state needs a response by 9 they will get a response by 9."
This afternoon, the Court requested that the mothers file a response to the State’s petition for mandamus — by tomorrow at 9:00am. That short timeline is not incredibly unusual in mandamus actions (for which speed is often critical) and it doesn’t necessarily tip the Court’s hand.
What the Court has done is to expand its range of options. Typically, the Court will not grant mandamus relief until after it has at least requested that the party opposed to relief file a response. See Tex. R. App. P. 52.4 (”The court must not grant relief — other than temporary relief — before a response has been filed or requested by the court.”). Having requested a response, the rules now give the Court more latitude to grant the requested mandamus relief for the State in full, rather than just a temporary stay.
So does that signal that the Court is leaning one way or the other? Perhaps not. Typically, the Court will request a response if even a single Justice votes to do so, and it is easy to imagine the Court wanting to see what the mothers have to say about the merits before deciding how to dispose of this case.
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