No. 25-875

Fort Bend Independent School District v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas

Lower Court: Texas
Docketed: 2026-01-22
Status: Pending
Type: Paid
Tags: cell-phone-logs confidential-records fourth-amendment government-disclosure privacy-rights public-records
Key Terms:
FourthAmendment TradeSecret Privacy
Latest Conference: N/A
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does compelled disclosure of public employees' personal cell phone call logs under state law violate federal law when the government cannot segregate public and private content?

Question Presented (from Petition)

The Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their . . . papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const., amend. IV. A federal statute likewise prohibits the “transfer” or “receipt” of “confidential phone records,” including call logs. 18 U.S.C. § 1039(b), (c). Despite these authorities, a lower court required a governmental body to acquire and disclose its employees’ personal cell phone call logs in response to a public records request, under Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.002(a), even though the government cannot ascertain the public or private nature of the logs. App. 7a–15a. The question presented is: Does compelled disclosure of public employees’ personal cell phone call logs under state law violate federal law when the government (1) does not own the logs or otherwise have a right to transfer the logs, and (2) cannot segregate the information into public and private content?

Docket Entries

2026-01-20
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 23, 2026)
2025-12-11
Application (25A687) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until January 17, 2026.
2025-12-08
Application (25A687) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 18, 2025 to February 2, 2026, submitted to Justice Alito.

Attorneys

Fort Bend Independent School District
Jonathan Griffin BrushRogers, Morris & Grover, L.L.P., Petitioner
Jonathan Griffin BrushRogers, Morris & Grover, L.L.P., Petitioner