But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled it was unlawful for the FDA to allow mifepristone to be taken later in pregnancy, be mailed directly to patients and be prescribed by a medical professional other than a doctor.
Jolie McCullough
Jolie McCullough was a reporter at The Texas Tribune from 2015 to 2023. She began as a data visualization journalist and then reported on criminal justice policy, ranging from policing and courts to prisons and the death penalty. She joined the Tribune from the Albuquerque Journal, her hometown newspaper. She previously worked at the Arizona Republic and is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Accomplice tied to Vanessa Guillén’s slaying given 30-year prison term
Cecily Aguilar, 25, pleaded guilty last year to helping her boyfriend, Spc. Aaron Robinson, dismember and bury the remains after Robinson bludgeoned 20-year-old Guillén to death in April 2020 at Fort Hood.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.
The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights.
Posted in
Immigration
Border arrests surged in July, a blow to Biden migration plan
Apprehensions on the U.S.-Mexico border plunged in June after the administration’s new policies took effect, but rose more than 30% in July.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown
Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws.
Posted in
Immigration
Federal judge tosses Biden administration asylum rule designed to reduce illegal border crossings
The judge gave the Biden administration 14 days to appeal his ruling on the policy, which federal officials credit for reducing migrant arrests at the border to the lowest number since Biden took office.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services
Management & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment.
Posted in
Higher Education
Professors sue Texas over TikTok ban, signaling First Amendment fight
The professors said the ban immediately halted research projects into TikTok and derailed their plans to lead classes discussing the social media app’s benefits and risks.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decades
Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence.