The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are seeking permission from a federal judge to offer separated immigrant families two options: remain together in family detention centers, or release kids while parents stay detained. Full Story
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Claudia says she was one of several migrant women moved from an Austin-area detention facility to be closer to their children in South Texas. But Claudia wants to return to Central Texas, hundreds of miles from her 7-year-old son, where her lawyer thinks she has a better shot at being granted asylum. Full Story
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Three UT-Austin professors sued to end a state law mandating campus carry in Texas. Though a federal judge dismissed the suit, the fight isn't over as the case goes to a federal appeals court. Full Story
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The nation's highest court says the political maps in Texas are legal, except for racial gerrymandering in one Fort Worth district. But the courts aren't going to fix that in time for this year's elections. Full Story
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Since they crossed the Rio Grande and requested asylum, a father has been held in a detention center near Houston while his 6-year-old daughter was shipped to an Arizona shelter. Back in Honduras, the girl's mother says she fears her daughter will be traumatized by the ordeal. Full Story
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It will be especially difficult to reunite toddlers with parents who may have been released into the interior United States or even deported back to their home countries, government attorneys argued. Full Story
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The total number of apprehensions on the southwest border fell to 34,114 in June compared to 40,338 the month before. But border crossings often dip in the summer. Full Story
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Government officials say they'll meet a pair of court-ordered deadlines to reunite children with their parents. But doing so, HHS Secretary Alex Azar warned, could mean relaxed standards for vetting those parents. Full Story
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Detainees trying to contact their family members are stymied by long wait times, confusing instructions, dropped calls and sometimes per-minute phone charges that critics say are exorbitant. Full Story
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President Donald Trump’s administration’s practice of indefinitely detaining some asylum seekers can’t proceed, a federal district judge has ruled. Full Story
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For Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy represents an opportunity. For Democrats, it has inspired fear. And for the U.S. Senate race in Texas, it has already become a rallying cry. Full Story
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In deep-red Texas, abortion opponents are already eyeing the new U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as a chance to push more aggressive legislation without fear of judicial override. Full Story
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The high court's decision lowers the burden of proof for states locked in similar water battles with upstream neighbors. Full Story
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The state's two U.S. senators are likely to play pivotal roles in what is expected to be a politically explosive confirmation process. Full Story
The San Antonio Democrat's sentence comes after he was convicted of 11 felonies in connection with FourWinds Logistics, a now-defunct oilfield services company found to have perpetrated a Ponzi scheme against investors. Full Story
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On June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning gay sodomy — a watershed moment for gay rights. But 15 years later, same-sex couples face another court case that aims to roll back their rights. Full Story
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As an El Paso shelter prepared to take in undocumented immigrants separated from their children, President Donald Trump's tweets calling for deportations without due process drew rebukes. Full Story
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In a detention center near Houston, an asylum seeker from Honduras said he agreed to sign a voluntary removal order from the U.S. after federal officials promised to reunite him with his 6-year-old daughter. Full Story
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The decision comes years after the state found that Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, a subsidiary of Xerox, allowed workers with limited expertise to approve dental claims for the state's Medicaid program. Full Story
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The state's highest civil court has ruled that Laredo's ban on plastic bags violates state law. Full Story
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