Texas – Case Law Wire

Texas Court of Appeals, Eighth District (El Paso)

Gonzalez v. City of El Paso — Texas Residents Cannot Use Special Appearance to Contest Defective Service; Misspelled Name Is a Curable Process Defect

/ June 12, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals held that Texas residents cannot file a special appearance under Rule 120a to contest defective service of process, because Texas courts have presumptive personal jurisdiction over all Texas residents. A misspelled name in a citation is a curable service defect, not a jurisdictional flaw, properly raised by a motion to quash — not a special appearance that risks constituting a general appearance.

Texas Criminal Evidence Post-Conviction Relief

Texas Court of Appeals, Eighth District (El Paso)

Uncategorized

Johnson v. State — Post-Conviction DNA Retesting Denied Where Law-of-Parties Conviction Leaves Third-Party DNA Non-Exculpatory

/ June 12, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals affirmed denial of a second post-conviction DNA testing motion in a capital murder case, holding that Chapter 64 does not permit comparison of a DNA specimen to a specific named individual, and that third-party DNA on the murder weapon is not exculpatory where the defendant was convicted under a law-of-parties theory and substantial evidence of guilt exists independent of the DNA.

Texas Appellate Procedure Constitutional Municipal Law

Texas Court of Appeals, Eighth District (El Paso)

Uncategorized

City of El Paso v. Pickett — City’s “Environmental Franchise Fee” Was an Unlawful Tax, Eighth Court Holds

/ June 13, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals affirmed that El Paso’s monthly Environmental Franchise Fee—charged to all residential solid-waste customers and raised without cost studies to fund police and fire equipment—was an impermissible tax, not a legitimate regulatory fee, and that governmental immunity did not bar a refund because nonpayment was criminal.