Source:  Anglican Curmudgeon Blog

January 6, 2011

by Allen Haley

Today the Supreme Court of Texas noted probable jurisdiction over the direct appeal filed by Bishop Jack L. Iker and his diocesan corporation from the summary judgment granted in favor of ECUSA and the rump diocese of Fort Worth a year ago.  (The Texas Supreme Court accepts very few direct appeals from the judgments of trial courts, and there are strict standards which such requests must satisfy.  The Court's  acknowledgment that there is "probable jurisdiction" means that, at this stage of the case, it appears that all of the jurisdictional requirements for a direct appeal are satisfied. By doing so, the Court signals that it will postpone any final decision on whether it in fact does have jurisdiction under the applicable standards to the eventual decision made in the case. Meanwhile, it will hold oral arguments and deliberate on the case as though it had been an appeal accepted from one of the Courts of Appeal.)

No definite date for oral argument appears to have been set yet. The arguments in the San Angelo case (Church of the Good Shepherd), currently set for February 29, 2012, are the last dates for arguments which the Court currently has scheduled.  Its calendar of arguments for March and April should be published shortly. . .

Read the entire article here.