The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Seven months after Pope Francis celebrated mass on the Texas-Mexico border, measuring the lasting effects of his visit is difficult. A recent uptick in violence has fueled concerns about whether another crime wave is on the way. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/26/Juazez_Church_JA.jpg)
Former Baylor University President Ken Starr pushed back Saturday against the notion that the school — or its athletic department — has systemic problems with its handling of sexual assault allegations. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/24/TTF16-KeynoteSouth-STARR_TT.jpg)
It is unclear whether the Texas Department of Public Safety will make any changes to its training policies following the announced settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Sandra Bland. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/20/UP9A0149.jpg)
Texas must issue new press releases and other materials in its voter education campaign. That comes after the federal government and other plaintiffs accused state officials of misleading voters about identification requirements. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/24/5thCourt-Paxton.jpg)
In a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne said he was canceling a scheduled show at the University of Texas at Austin because of concerns with Texas’ new campus carry law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/26/CampusCarry-PencilBullets-2.jpg)
Texas is helping lead a lawsuit against President Barack Obama's administration over a new rule that makes millions of more workers eligible for overtime pay. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/25/7C2A2483.jpg)
Texas lawmakers will meet Tuesday to discuss the push for reforms in Texas jail standards, police training and care for mentally ill inmates in the wake of Sandra Bland's death in the Waller County Jail. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/24/Sandra_Bland_Candlelight_Vigil_Erika_Rich_07.JPG)
With one major legal battle seemingly behind them, Sandra Bland's survivors and advocates are gearing up for the next phase of their quest to wrest change from the 28-year-old black woman's death. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/16/CKCoKC5WEAATZ1S.jpg_large.jpg)
The family of Sandra Bland — the woman who died last year in a Waller County Jail cell — has reached a settlement with Texas officials in a wrongful death lawsuit, a lawyer for the family said Thursday. Full Story
During a trip to Austin Wednesday, Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, the governor-elect of Tamaulipas, got a head start on improving the relationship between Mexico and Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/14/SidMiller-With-Gov.jpg)
It's been more than five months since the last execution in Texas, an unusual gap for the nation's most prolific death penalty state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/09/DeathChamber-Texas.jpg)
When Texas lawmakers meet next year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is promising to again target a 2001 law that lets some undocumented immigrants pay in-state college tuition. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/13/UP9A6744.jpg)
The influential conservative group Empower Texans is escalating its long-running battle against the Texas Ethics Commission, accusing a former member of improperly seeking to influence state legislation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/15/UP9A7502.jpg)
Already facing calls to limit when teenagers are treated as adults in the criminal justice system, Texas lawmakers next year may also see legislation trying to keep preteens from being shunted into the juvenile justice system. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/07/EDIT_9-7-16-ComitteeTxTrib_00262_1.JPG)
During a hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee that convened to consider nominees for five federal district court seats in Texas, the candidates promised senators they would steer clear of becoming activist judges. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/07/TRIBUNE_JUDGES_CRUZ.jpg)
Texas consistently ranks as one of the states with the most open seats on the federal bench, with some judgeships vacant for years. Five nominees are set for U.S. Senate committee hearings Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/11/22/CruzCornyn.jpg)
If state leaders insist, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department has identified ways to cut its budget by $16.8 million, or 2.8 percent, for the 2018-2019 biennium. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/26/juvenile_detention_JW035.jpg)
State Rep. Cecil Bell, a private contractor, says he has a plan to curb costly and sometimes dangerous strikes to underground pipelines during construction: make sure whoever is responsible pays to fix them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-Pipeline-015_1.jpg)
A federal judge considering whether to dismiss the civil fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested that the Securities and Exchange Commission was trying to fit a "square peg into a round hole," basing its case on precedents that do not back up their arguments. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/02/Pax-1.jpg)
In at least 66 cases — about 10 percent of police shootings in Texas’ largest cities between 2010 and 2015 — the officer pulling the trigger was off duty, according to an analysis of police data obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/08/26/TT-unholstered-lead-art-off-duty.png)