Evaluating trends in the Texas Supreme Court is reminiscent of the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each one felt a different part of the elephant to learn what it was like. When they compared notes, they found that they completely disagreed.
As lawyers, we tend to “feel” the part of the Court’s jurisprudence that affects us most. So, for example, the Court has issued several workers compensation-related cases in the past couple of years but mention of them seldom turns up in the speeches and articles about significant cases directed to civil appellate lawyers. A “trend” is in the eye of the beholder...
Excerpted from the Houston Bar Association's Appellate Lawyer. To read the full article, please click here.