The names of lethal injection drug suppliers in Texas may still remain secret now that the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in the case in January.
The high court back in June refused to hear the case, but made a rare reversal last week.
Three death row attorneys sued in 2014 to get the names claiming they want to ensure potency and purity of the drugs used to put their clients to death, citing drug scarcity and botched executions.
Then attorney general Greg Abbott said the state could withhold identifying information because the pharmacies faced “real harm.”
An appellate court ruled last year the state needs to show such information would create a substantial threat of physical harm - not economic harm or unwanted attention.
In late July, the state of Arizona filed a brief in support of Texas'position.
"If permitted to stand, the Court of Appeals' opinion will bring dire consequences that ripple beyond Texas and threaten the death penalty's operation nationwide," the brief noted. "Put simply, public disclosure of a rare and valuable supplier of lethal-injection drugs chills other current and potential suppliers,and facilitates the escalating 'guerilla war against the death penalty.'"
Arguments are scheduled January 23.