The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The state’s environmental regulatory agency on Wednesday rebuffed a coalition of border residents and environmental activists who hoped to halt a coal mine from expanding its operations near the Rio Grande. Full Story
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Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Raquel Esquivel still wears a government-issue green uniform, but now it's a federal prison jumpsuit. She was convicted in 2009 of helping smugglers sneak loads of marijuana across the border. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accepted more than $329,000 earmarked for his legal defense from wealthy donors and “family friends,” according to a newly released financial disclosure statement. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Alabama counterpart have dropped their legal bid to squelch a U.S. Virgin Islands investigation of Exxon Mobil after the U.S. territory agreed to with draw a subpoena for company documents. Full Story
By the end of August, the Texas Department of Public Safety will be close to its goal of permanently placing 250 additional state troopers on the southern border. Full Story
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The legal battle to defend Texas' 2013 abortion restrictions — which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional on Monday — cost Texas taxpayers more than $1 million, according to records obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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More than 2,500 Texas inmates will participate in a national experiment starting next month so that the federal government can study whether reinstating Pell Grants for prisoners might boost their chances of finding employment. Full Story
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Reprising a familiar theme from his abandoned presidential campaign, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz convened a hearing Tuesday and repeatedly charged that the Obama administration is "willfully blind" to the root of terrorism in the United States. Full Story
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A majority of Texas’ registered voters believe Muslims who are not U.S. citizens should be banned from entering the country, according to results of a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll released Tuesday. Full Story
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The University of Houston sued the erstwhile South Texas College of Law for trademark infringement on Monday for changing its name to the Houston College of Law. Full Story
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On its face, the Supreme Court's ruling on Texas' far-reaching abortion law seems clear: House Bill 2 is unconstitutional. But the implications may not be as straightforward. Here are five things you need to know to understand the landmark ruling. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed Texas abortion providers a major victory by overturning Texas’ 2013 abortion restrictions. Full Story
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to intervene in an effort to thwart an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil misled investors about the risks of climate change. Here’s a guide to Paxton’s effort and how it fits into the much broader climate change battle in the United States. Full Story
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Second-in-command Bryan Collier will be the next executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the agency's governing board announced Friday. Full Story
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Dealing a blow to President Obama’s executive immigration order, the U.S. Supreme Court has deadlocked on a lower court's decision to block the plan, which would've provided relief from deportation and work permits to millions of people. Full Story
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Boats are one of the most effective ways to patrol the 300 miles of river and lakes under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Border Patrol's Rio Grande Station. But the boats aren't in the water around the clock. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday halted the upcoming execution of Robert Roberson. Roberson's legal team argues that Roberson's conviction in the death of his daughter was based on junk science. Full Story
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Texas taxpayers are still picking up the tab for defending the nation’s strictest voter identification law more than five years after Republicans fast-tracked it through the Legislature. Full Story
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Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn expressed concerns Thursday that the Orlando massacre was leading to a push for legislative action that would violate the Second Amendment. Full Story
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Texas on Thursday lost its fight against the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state, ending a monthslong battle during which refugees from the war-torn country continued to arrive. Full Story
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