The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas prison officials have recommended the firing of a supervisor at the Clements Unit and disciplinary actions against 17 others for allowing a severely beaten inmate to remain undiscovered in his cell for an unknown amount of time. Full Story
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A federal judge Thursday ordered Waller County and the state of Texas to show the legal team representing Sandra Bland's family the original videos from her time in jail. Full Story
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Martha and Kimberly Martinez would like to know how a man with Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez's lengthy criminal history could be living illegally in the United States when he killed their sister. Full Story
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During a whirlwind, one-day visit to Ciudad Juárez on Wednesday Pope Francis delivered poignant remarks on immigration and corruption, keeping intact his reputation as a polite but no-holds-barred pontiff. Full Story
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In a handful of Texas communities, law enforcement officers have begun using a California company's technology to not only identify and pull over drivers with outstanding court fines but also process their credit card payments. Full Story
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After weeks of planning and speculation about what Pope Francis might say during his visit to the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez area on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of Catholics are finally ready for the all-day affair. Full Story
Some news for the armchair detectives second-guessing how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death in Texas was declared over the phone: Not every dead body gets an autopsy, and Texas is no outlier in that department. Full Story
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Baylor University has opted out of Texas' campus carry law, joining the long list of Texas private universities that have decided to continue banning handguns on their campuses. Full Story
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From city officials working to rebrand Ciudad Juárez as a safe and organized metropolis to the mother and daughter who met along opposite sides of a border fence, Pope Francis' visit here is fraught with symbolism. Full Story
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After 24 years on death row, a re-sentencing trial and an escape attempt, Gustavo Julian Garcia, 43, was executed Tuesday evening. Full Story
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One week after an Austin police officer shot and killed an unarmed, black 17-year-old, two San Antonio tourists filed a federal excessive force lawsuit against several Austin Police Department officers. Full Story
He's appealing a a five-count barratry conviction and facing a field of strong Democratic primary challengers, and yet state Rep. Ron Reynolds is surprisingly upbeat about his chances to keep his seat and his law license. Full Story
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The Texas Forensic Science Commission on Friday recommended that prosecutors temporarily stop using bite-mark evidence in criminal cases until questions are answered about its scientific validity. Full Story
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The families of several U.S. citizens murdered in Mexico filed a lawsuit this week against HSBC Holdings and its subsidiaries alleging the company supported various drug cartel activities by laundering millions of dollars for gangs. Full Story
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Deported to his native Mexico for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, Juan Leonardo Quintero returned to Houston and easily resumed his life. When he killed a police officer in 2006, Quintero became a poster child for loose border enforcement. Full Story
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In all three state Supreme Court seats up for election this year, Republican incumbents face primary challengers on March 1 – but that's where the similarities end. Full Story
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How to deal with, or talk about, foreigners who commit crimes in the United States — the government’s term for them is the politically incorrect “criminal aliens” — has prompted heated calls for vastly different solutions. Full Story
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The Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals Monday upheld the disbarment of former Burleson County District Attorney Charles Sebesta Jr. for professional misconduct in the capital murder case of Anthony Graves. Full Story
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The State Auditor's Office is investigating whether state Rep. Dawnna Dukes improperly required her legislative staffers to participate in work for a nonprofit group that she founded, a Capitol source told The Texas Tribune on Friday. Full Story
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The Harris County Sheriff's Office has decided to keep secret its investigative files on a Mexican national whose 2015 shooting spree in Houston left two people dead and three injured. Full Story
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