Mr. Young, I Presume

The ghost of Edward Young (right) inspired a vigorous debate about the scope of the doctrine named for him in La Union del Pueblo v. Nelson (and two consolidated, related cases). A Ffth Circuit panel majority held that it had collateral-order jurisdiction to review the denial of sovereign immunity in a dispute about a Texas election law, concluding that  the Secretary of State may be sued as to provisions that she directly operationalizes (such as the DPS data-matching and registrar sanction regime, and the official forms and tools that local officials must use for mail voting and voter assistance). It barred suits against the Secretary for provisions enforced by local actors or dependent on prosecutorial discretion. Standing was satisfied for the surviving claims because the Secretary’s form-setting and registrar-sanction roles are causally connected to the alleged injuries and judicial relief would redress them at least in part.

A dissent would have dismissed the entire case, arguing the Court’s Ex parte Young jurisprudence has become a “No Nexus Rule” that dispenses with any enforcement connection between the named defendant and the plaintiff. No. 22-50775 (Dec. 31, 2025).