Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Texas Supreme Court Hears SMU Challenge Over Church’s Role in University Governance
Summary
The Supreme Court of Texas heard argument in Southern Methodist University v. South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church over whether the conference may challenge SMU’s 2019 amendments to its articles of incorporation and whether courts must abstain under ecclesiastical‑abstention doctrine.
The Supreme Court of Texas heard argument in Southern Methodist University v. South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church, No. 230703, over whether the conference has statutory authority to challenge SMU’s 2019 amendments to its articles of incorporation and whether ecclesiastical-abstention doctrine removes the courts’ jurisdiction.
Petitioners’ counsel, A. Ho, told the court that the question is governed by neutral principles of law and Texas nonprofit law, not church doctrine. Ho argued that SMU is a nonmember nonprofit corporation and therefore cannot be "owned" by the conference under Texas law; she said the board updated the articles in 2019 to conform to Texas law and that section 22.002 of the Texas Nonprofit…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
