Paxton’s Political Sway Hangs Over New Texas Supreme Court Term

The Texas Supreme Court, by the end of its current term, will have decided several times over how much power to grant the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton (R).

After lower courts have told Paxton and his office that he and his assistant don’t have immunities for misstatements related to the 2020 election, that he cannot avoid a deposition, and that he can’t investigate charities aiding migrants, the high court’s nine elected Republican justices will make the final call.

But hanging over these cases is Paxton’s powerful sway in the state’s judicial elections and one particular example from 2021.

That ...