Texas Joins 12-State Brief With SCOTUS Challenging Constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Staff Report
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:
- defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas
- represent the State in litigation
- approve public bond issues
To fulfill these responsibilities, the Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes.
The Texas AG sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions, and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.
Many Texans look to the Office of the Attorney General for guidance with disputes and legal issues. The agency receives hundreds of letters, phone calls and visits each week about crime victims’ compensation, child support, abuse in nursing homes, possible consumer fraud and other topics. To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.
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AG Paxton Leads 12-State Brief with SCOTUS Challenging Constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
AUSTIN – Leading a coalition of 12 states, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Last month, Seila Law requested Supreme Court review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s ruling that a federal law providing the CFPB’s single director can only be removed for cause is constitutional. The law firm challenged a lower court’s order enforcing a civil investigative demand by the CFPB as order invalid because the CFPB’s structure is unlawful.
“The CFPB is a rogue agency and its structure violates the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The CFPB’s structure allows for an unelected and unaccountable director to wield more power than any other single offical in the U.S. government except the President of the United States. Our founders would never have tolerated so much power being help by a public official who is not held accountable to the President, the Congress, or the People.”
While the 9th Circuit and the full D.C. District have ruled that the CFPB’s structure is constitutional, two other cases involve a challenge to its constitutionality are currently pending in the circuit courts. The U.S. Department of Justice has previously conceded that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional.
Attorney General Paxton is joined on the amicus brief by his counterparts from Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
Texas originally challenged the constitutionality of the CFPB and its Arbitration Rule in October 2017, filing a multi-state coalition brief with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. A month later, President Trump and Congress rescinded the Arbitration Rule. Attorney General Paxton also led a coalition of states with several friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the president’s authority to appoint an acting CFPB director.
View the friend-of-the-court brief here.
AG Paxton Applauds Confirmation of Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown to the U.S. District Court in Galveston
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today applauded the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Supreme Court of Texas Justice Jeff Brown to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Galveston. Brown has served on the Supreme Court since his appointment by former Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2013.
“Jeff Brown has served the people of Texas faithfully as a judge for 15 years at all three levels of the Texas judiciary.” Attorney General Paxton said. “Brown has a proven record of excellence, professionalism, and fidelity to the Constitution. He decides cases based on the rule of law rather than personal preference. The federal courts will benefit greatly from President Trump’s decision to add his many years of state experience to the federal bench.”
Prior to reaching the Texas Supreme Court, Justice Brown served six years each as a trial judge and an appellate justice. Brown’s judicial career in Texas began in 2001 when then-Governor Perry appointed him to the 55th District Court, followed by an appointment to the 14th Court of Appeals six years later.
Brown is a sixth-generation Texan who was born and raised in Dallas County, the son of a 35-year Dallas police officer. After earning his law degree from the University of Houston, Brown worked as a law clerk on the Supreme Court of Texas for Justices Jack Hightower and Greg Abbott, before concentrating on civil litigation practice with Baker Botts in Houston.
AG Paxton Congratulates Deputy First Assistant AG Brantley Starr on Senate Confirmation to Federal Bench in Dallas
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today congratulated Deputy First Assistant Attorney General Brantley Starr, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. President Trump nominated Starr to the federal bench in March.
“Brantley Starr is a brilliant attorney and a dedicated public servant, but above all he is a man of exceptional judgment and character. Brantley and I have worked side by side on many of the most complex and important legal challenges facing our state, and I have observed his dedication to the rule of law and his fidelity to the Constitution first hand,” Attorney General Paxton said. “As a federal judge, Brantley will continue to serve the people of Texas from the bench with the same integrity, dedication, and intellect he has been known for throughout his career.”
Starr is a native of Abilene and attended Abilene Christian University. After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, he clerked for Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett. After his clerkship, he served this office as an assistant solicitor general under Ted Cruz. Starr went on to practice commercial and appellate litigation at King & Spalding, L.L.P., before returning to public service as staff attorney to Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. He returned to the Texas attorney general’s office in 2015 as deputy attorney general for legal counsel (primarily supervising the Opinion Committee and the other transactional divisions) before his promotion to deputy first assistant attorney general (where he also oversees the office’s civil and criminal litigation).
Starr represents President Trump’s eighth confirmed nomination to a court involving a former or current staffer of the Texas attorney general’s office:
–Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, James Ho, Kyle Duncan and Andrew Oldham were confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
AG Paxton Applauds Former Deputy Solicitor General Sean Jordan on Senate Confirmation to Federal Bench in Plano
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today commended the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of former Texas Deputy Solicitor General Sean Jordan to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Plano. He is currently the co-chair of Jackson Walker’s appellate practice group in the law firm’s Austin office.
“I’m confident Sean will perform his duties as a federal jurist knowing that the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not to legislate,” Attorney General Paxton said. “During his career in private practice and as Texas deputy solicitor general, Sean established a proven record of excellence and professionalism. He will make an outstanding addition to the federal bench.”
Before joining Jackson Walker, Jordan served as Texas deputy solicitor general, representing the state, its agencies and officials in numerous appeals. In that role, he also led a team of appellate lawyers in supervising federal and state court appeals handled by the attorney general’s office. Jordan has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and written numerous Supreme Court briefs, twice winning the “Best Brief Award” from the National Association of Attorneys General.
Jordan represents President Trump’s seventh confirmed nomination to a court involving a former or current staffer of the Texas attorney general’s office:
–Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, James Ho, Kyle Duncan and Andrew Oldham were confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
–Former Texas Deputy Solicitor General Cam Barker was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler in May.
–Former Texas Deputy First Assistant Attorney General David Morales was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in April.
