The 15th Court of Appeals has canceled oral arguments in four cases and said they will be reset "at a later date." The change came days after voters defeated all three Republican justices on the court in Tuesday's election. The cases, including a challenge to state rules on hemp-derived products containing THC, will go to three Democrats who take office in early January.
The Texas Department of State Health Services rules were set to take effect at the end of March. They require child-resistant packaging, new labeling, testing and bookkeeping, and they set the legal purchasing age at 21. The rules also raise licensing fees from $258 to $10,000 per manufacturing facility and from $155 to $5,000 for retail registrations. Industry leaders said the fees amounted to a ban that would force businesses to close. Smoke shops briefly pulled the products from shelves before a Travis County district judge temporarily blocked the rules on April 10, while a lawsuit by the hemp industry continues.
Justice Scott Field told Bloomberg Law that the court did not want to hold arguments that the new court might also want to hear. He said the current justices can still issue opinions in cases already argued. There are 39 cases before the outgoing justices that have been argued and are awaiting opinions.