The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay late Friday night against a district court judge’s injunction against the State of Texas. The district court’s injunction blocked the state from enforcing a restrictive anti-abortion measure. The Fifth Circuit’s stay means S.B. 8, also called the “Texas Heartbeat Act,” is back in effect.
District court judge Robert Pitman — a Barack Obama appointee to the bench in the Western District of Texas (Austin Division) — on Wednesday night called S.B. 8 “flagrantly unconstitutional.” The three-judge panel that on Friday jettisoned Pitman’s two-day-old injunction was comprised of circuit judges Carl E. Stewart (a Bill Clinton appointee), Catharina Haynes (a George W. Bush appointee), and James C. Ho (a Donald Trump appointee). The three circuit judges issued the stay “per curiam” — an order of the complete court. None signed it individually.
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