Vinson & Elkins and SMU Dedman Law First Amendment Clinic Secure Another Pro Bono Victory for The Marshall Project in Travis County District Court
On May 5, 2022, Travis County District Court Judge Catherine A. Mauzy granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Vinson & Elkins attorneys and students from the First Amendment Clinic at SMU’s Dedman School of Law.
Vinson & Elkins represents The Marshall Project, a media organization that reports on criminal justice issues, as Intervenor-Relator in a Texas Public Information Act lawsuit filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
The suit involves “The Informal” emails, a series of emails circulated internally within the District Attorney’s Office by communications personnel. These emails are similar to the “Media Matters” emails prepared by District Attorney Kim Ogg’s staff that the Travis County District Court previously ordered released.
Aligned with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, The Marshall Project intervened in the case on September 1, 2021. After hearing cross-motions for summary judgment on April 8, 2022, the court granted our client’s summary judgment motion and sustained almost all of our client’s evidentiary objections.
The V&E team representing The Marshall Project included senior partner Tom Leatherbury and associates Kyle Reynolds and Jimmy Chalk.
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