In Van Stean v. Texas Right To Life, (TX Dist. Ct., Dec. 9, 2021), a Texas state trial court issued a declaratory judgment concluding that SB8, the Texas "heartbeat" abortion law, is unconstitutional under the Texas state constitution as well as the 14th Amendment. In a 48-page opinion, it concluded:
A. Standing for uninjured person. SB 8's grant of standing to "any person" to be awarded "no less than $10,000" and a mandatory injunction without showing harm to himself, taken from a person who has not harmed him, violates the Texas Constitution's "open courts" provision and is unconstitutional.
B. Punishment without due process. SB 8's mandate that trial courts "shall" award "no less than $10,000" to an unharmed claimant from a defendant who did him no harm is punishment and not compensation that will deprive persons of property without due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
C. Delegation of executive power to private persons. SB 8's grant of enforcement power to "any person" is an unlawful delegation of power to private persons that violates the Texas Constitution's separation of powers provision and is unconstitutional.
Volokh Conspiracy reports on the decision.
