Paxton’s Probes in Flux After Texas Court Yanks Powerful Tool

A century-old investigative tool, employed aggressively by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), was cut by a federal court last week, leaving the state’s top lawyer to rely on a gentler method of compelling information from businesses and organizations.

Texas’s Request to Examine statute is unconstitutional because it requires immediate production of records under the threat of criminal prosecution and forbids the served party from first going to a judge for review, Magistrate Judge Mark Lane of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled. Paxton has used the tool several times in recent years, often in ...