Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was sentenced to seven days in jail by a Dallas district judge on Tuesday for contempt of court after keeping her business open in violation of the local and state government orders.
Her attorney indicated he would file a writ of habeas corpus — a way to challenge alleged “wrongful imprisonment” — with the Texas Supreme Court.
Today, the court granted a review of the challenge and ordered Luther be released on “personal recognizance” (PR) bond as the court examines the challenge.
Their order to the Dallas County sheriff reads, in part, “You are hereby commanded to release Shelley Luther on her personal bond, in the terms and conditions of the law, and that she shall comply with the final decision of the Supreme Court of Texas.”
The same day as her trial, the Supreme Court denied her mandamus request — asking for the higher court to rule on a case before lower courts do.
In addition, this morning Governor Greg Abbott reconstructed his executive order to preclude imprisonment as a punishment for violating the business closure order. It was set to apply retroactively to April 2 — and not only pertains to Luther’s situation, but also a pair of Laredo beauticians who were arrested in late April.
The City of Dallas is required to file their response to the writ petition by 4 p.m. on May 11.
Salons across the state will be permitted to open tomorrow, May 8.
The Texan can confirm that Luther has been released from jail.
This page will be updated as the story develops.
For an in-depth review of the case and hearing, visit here and here.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.