Appeals court rejects Texas' bid to scuttle federal judge's naming of special masters in foster care

[TexasTowelie]

Appeals court rejects Texas' bid to scuttle federal judge's naming of special masters in foster care suit

AUSTIN -- An appeals court has rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's effort to undo a federal judge's appointment of two special masters in a class-action suit over the state's foster care system.

The ruling means U.S. District Court Judge Janis Graham Jack of Corpus Christi can proceed unimpeded in demanding the state hire more Child Protective Services foster care caseworkers and spend more to make sure it has contracts with a wider array of vendors who will house and help foster children. The state's next opportunity to appeal will be later this year.

On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Paxton's request for an order scuttling Jack's March appointment of special masters Kevin Ryan and Francis McGovern.

Texas officials "have failed to demonstrate that they have a 'clear and indisputable' entitlement to relief at this stage of the proceedings," wrote Appeals Court Judges James L. Dennis of Louisiana and Priscilla R. Owen and Gregg J. Costa, both of Houston.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20160707-appeals-court-rejects-texas-bid-to-scuttle-federal-judge-s-naming-of-special-masters-in-foster-care-suit.ece

Poor Ken Paxton gets told "no" so often that he must have an inferiority complex.