Late tonight I read the decision of the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which stayed an order invalidating part of Texas' law which seeks to use regulatory requirements to result in a chilling effect on abortion. The trial court invalidated the statute in two significant ways, finding that it intruded upon the constitutional rights of women. The three women on the Fifth Circuit panel stayed the trial court's ruling, holding in effect that the trial court was wrong on one key issue and overbroad on another. The opinion surprised me, though I had recognized that if the case drew a conservative panel this could happen. The judge who wrote the opinion, the Hon. Priscilla Owen, has a firm track record of issuing conservative opinions. This opinion was an unfortunate trick on a Halloween otherwise full of treats.
macabre Halloween
Late tonight I read the decision of the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which stayed an order invalidating part of Texas' law which seeks to use regulatory requirements to result in a chilling effect on abortion. The trial court invalidated the statute in two significant ways, finding that it intruded upon the constitutional rights of women. The three women on the Fifth Circuit panel stayed the trial court's ruling, holding in effect that the trial court was wrong on one key issue and overbroad on another. The opinion surprised me, though I had recognized that if the case drew a conservative panel this could happen. The judge who wrote the opinion, the Hon. Priscilla Owen, has a firm track record of issuing conservative opinions. This opinion was an unfortunate trick on a Halloween otherwise full of treats.
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