The latest Judiciary of Texas news from The Texas Tribune.
Organizations that provide legal services to those who can't afford them are quickly running out of money even as the need for their help is increasing, advocates said Wednesday at a press conference. Full Story
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Over the objections of state Attorney General Greg Abbott, an Austin appellate court has upheld the divorce of a lesbian couple married in Massachusetts. Full Story
In October 2001, Marcos Guerra’s wife and three daughters laid him to rest at the cemetery in San Benito where members of his family had been buried for three decades. Almost four years later, they were at his graveside again, burying him a second time, after the cemetery moved his body without their permission and exhumed his remains. Now the family’s legal battle with one of the largest funeral services providers in North America, which has faced class-action lawsuits in several states, has reached the Texas Supreme Court — and is raising questions about the state’s regulation of after-life care. Full Story
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The state's new chief appellate lawyer is as new to the Texas bar as he is to the job. Full Story
James Ho said today that he's leaving the post he's held as Texas solicitor general since 2008. Full Story
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The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons may continue its lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board, despite a lower court's ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided today. Full Story
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The jury in the money laundering trial of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, continues to deliberate — and is asking some questions of visiting District Judge Pat Priest. Full Story
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Jury deliberations have begun in the money-laundering trial of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. Matt Largey of KUT News reports on what happens now — and how long it could take. Full Story
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The King Street Patriots, a Houston-based Tea Party group, have filed a counter-lawsuit against the Texas Democratic Party. And they've retained some high-powered counsel: James Bopp Jr., of Citizens United fame. Full Story
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In a pivotal decision, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the Open Beaches Act may not allow the state to ask landowners to remove private property if a hurricane or other natural disaster moves it within the public section of a beach. Full Story
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The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it's like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the "ridiculous" idea that she doesn't care about defendants or indigent defense. Full Story
The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it's like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the "ridiculous" idea that she doesn't care about defendants or indigent defense. Full Story
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Judge Charlie Baird will decide today whether to recuse himself from an investigation into the innocence of Cameron Todd Willingham, the Corsicana man executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three young daughters. But with or without Baird, a bigger question is in play: Is a court of inquiry the appropriate venue to consider Willingham’s guilt or innocence? Full Story
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The protracted U.S. attorney appointment process has claimed its latest casualty: Michael McCrum, who withdrew his name from consideration on Thursday. Full Story
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The Supreme Court Justice on being the first Latina on the court, whether judges should be elected, whether the all-Republican high court is too one-sided and whether Texas has seen enough tort reform. Full Story
The Supreme Court justice on being the first Latina on the court, whether the all-Republican high court is too one-sided and whether Texas has seen enough tort reform. Full Story
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In an issue that's sparked a nasty political fight, attorneys for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and attorneys for the homeowners who sued them appeared at a Monday hearing to argue whether the legal fees in a record $189 million Hurricane Ike settlement should be kept private. Judge Susan Criss ultimately sided with homeowners' attorney Steve Mostyn and granted a new temporary restraining order that keeps TWIA from releasing settlement details, at least for now. Full Story
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It's still poisonous in Texas politics to be painted with the trial lawyer brush. Full Story
Is a hospital bed an integral part of medical care? As a federal judge considers the constitutionality of Texas’ 2003 medical malpractice reform — and Gov. Rick Perry campaigns for more lawsuit restrictions — the state Supreme Court has ruled that hospital injuries seemingly unrelated to doctor error can fall under Texas’ stringent medical malpractice caps. Some legal observers say the decision is a perversion of legislative intent, but tort reform advocates contend the high court simply closed a huge loophole in liability reforms. Full Story
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Talking point No. 1 for an elected official facing an ethics investigation in Texas: Blame the politicization of the Public Integrity Unit, which is funded by the Legislature but operates out of the district attorney's office in heavily Democratic Travis County. Full Story
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