Constitutional Law

Haynes and Boone's appellate lawyers are leaders in litigation involving federal and state constitutional issues. Our lawyers were instrumental in persuading the Texas Supreme Court to strike down the school finance system as unconstitutional in 2005, and recently have been hired to bring a new challenge to the system in the wake of significant budget cuts.

We are industry leaders in First Amendment litigation, frequently handling cutting-edge issues on behalf of media defendants in appellate and trial courts throughout Texas and the South. Our appellate lawyers include an alumnus of the United States Department of Justice, where he advised the Attorney General on questions arising under the U.S. Constitution. We also assist trial counsel by briefing and arguing novel constitutional questions that arise in the lower courts, where our skilled written and oral advocacy is indispensable in distilling and presenting winning constitutional arguments. Our experience in constitutional matters includes the following representative issues:

• Federal and state court jurisdiction, including subject matter jurisdiction, standing, ripeness, and mootness;
• First Amendment litigation, including the defense of libel actions against newspaper and television clients at trial and on appeal, shield-law litigation, and amicus curiae briefing on behalf of national media organizations;
• Punitive damages under the Due Process Clause;
• Equal Protection claims;
• Eminent domain and takings;
• Federal preemption;
• Open Courts issues under the Texas Constitution;
• Family law custody issues; and
• Fifth Amendment issues arising from stays of parallel civil/criminal proceedings.