The latest Texas Supreme Court news from The Texas Tribune.
After a mysterious hospital death in Katy more than a decade ago, the Texas Supreme Court seeks to answer a deceptively simple legal question: Should an autopsy be considered medical care? Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday morning to review a state tax on small cigarette manufacturers, known collectively as "Small Tobacco." Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court scrutinized the legality of court costs imposed on indigent plaintiffs — in this case, fees the Tarrant County clerk’s office charged six poor plaintiffs pursuing divorces — during oral arguments on Wednesday. Full Story
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When and how local clerks can make poor plaintiffs pay court fees to get divorced will be argued before the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday, with both sides hoping the justices provide clarity on the contentious issue. Full Story
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“Money isn’t pixie dust” when it comes to improving public schools, lawyers for the state of Texas told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, arguing an appeal in what has been described as the most far-reaching school finance case in state history. Full Story
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The Houston City Council used the wrong language when it put the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, better known as HERO, on the November election ballot, Texas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court is about to hear the latest challenge to the state's financing of public schools. Maybe they'll throw it out, but history says otherwise: This almost always means changes in school policy and increases in taxes. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Houston City Council must repeal or put up for public vote the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, which extends protections to gay and transgender residents. Full Story
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled it has no authority or jurisdiction to intervene in its sister court's ban of prominent death penalty lawyer David Dow. Full Story
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As Texas waits on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule, the state highest civil court ruled Friday that the Texas attorney general's office tried too late to stop a divorce between a couple married in Massachusetts. Full Story
Houston appeals court judge Michael Massengale said Tuesday he will challenge Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann in next year’s Republican primary. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court says it's okay for states to bar judges from raising their own campaign cash. A lot of judges (and lawyers, too) think that's a pretty good idea that Texas might want to consider. Full Story
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A school finance plan that would result in an extra $800 million for public education faces dim prospects in the dwindling weeks of the legislative session, a top House lawmaker said Tuesday. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court won’t re-examine a high-profile case that asked a perplexing question: If industrial wastewater pollutes your groundwater, can you sue for trespassing? Full Story
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With a late night tweet, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president then immediately hit the road, so we start our playlist with “Cruise Control” by the Dixie Dregs. Full Story
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When the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals banished a prominent death row attorney this year, it set in motion an interesting showdown not only with the lawyer, David Dow, but one with its own glossier sibling, the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
Saying it will unleash "legal chaos," Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday asked the Texas Supreme Court to block a Travis County probate judge's ruling that the state’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. Full Story
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UPDATED: Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to continue their support for legal aid to the poor and military veterans and to complete unfinished work on student truancy reform. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected BP's $750 million insurance claim for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 people and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Full Story
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The House’s chief budget writer on Thursday praised a proposal to overhaul the school finance system by grouping the state’s 1,026 regular school districts into a few "school finance districts" — a tax move aimed at equalizing per-student funding statewide. Full Story
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