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Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals

The latest Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Go Directly to Jail

    By Brandi Grissom

    Across Texas, defendants charged with misdemeanor offenses are choosing to spend time in the local lockup rather than endure months on probation. They don’t want to deal with the hassle of probation's conditions, and they can’t afford the thousands of dollars in fees that it requires. People on both sides of the criminal justice system agree that the trend is troubling: It’s helping to fill local jails beyond capacity, and even worse, it means that people charged with DWI, possession of small amounts of drugs and family violence are not getting the treatment they need. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Jacob Villanueva

  • Justice for Aaron?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    He can't read or write, struggles to speak, and at age 19 has an IQ of 47. Yet a judge in the northeast Texas town of Paris still sentenced Aaron Hart to 100 years in prison for performing sexual acts on a 6-year-old neighbor. An appeals court overturned Aaron's conviction this spring. Now he sits in jail facing the same charges a second time, and his family is praying for a different outcome. Full Story 

    Aaron Hart, in a graduation photo (left) and a jail mugshot (right).

  • Keller for the Defense

    By Brandi Grissom

    Judge Sharon Keller has been pilloried as the villain of the Texas criminal justice system, but supporters credit the chief of the state's highest criminal court with working to ensure fair trials for impoverished defendants. Full Story 

    Sharon Keller at the 2010 Texas Republican Convention.

  • Brad Levenson: The TT Interview

    By Brandi Grissom

    After a series of investigative reports revealed serious problems with the quality of legal representation for indigent defendants on Texas death row, lawmakers created the Office of Capital Writs. California lawyer Brad Levenson will be moving to Texas to open the new office and attempt to restore some confidence in the state's busy system of capital punishment. Full Story 

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    Credit: Courtesy Brad Levenson

  • Keller's Lawyer: Lies Led to Accusations

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The investigation into Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Chief Justice Sharron Keller is closer to a conclusion today. Earlier this year a judge recommended that Keller should not be sanctioned after she was accused of closing the clerk's office and blocking a final appeal for death row inmate Michael Wayne Richard. Ben Philpott, who reports for KUT News and the Tribune, has more on today’s judicial oversight panel hearing. Full Story 

    Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
    Credit: Dallas Bar Association

  • The Price of Innocence

    By Erin Mulvaney

    Let's say you served time for a crime you didn't commit: How much is each year you lost really worth? A new law increases the state's payout to exonerees, but the process of getting compensated is its own form of punishment. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • Defenseless

    By Brandi Grissom

    Before adopting the Fair Defense Act in 2001, Texas was considered abysmal in legal circles when it came to providing representation for the poor. Proponents and critics of the current system agree the situation has improved since lawmakers started requiring counties to implement minimum representation standards. But has it improved enough? Full Story 

    State Share of Indigent Defense Costs 2001-2009
    Credit: Graphic by Task Force on Indigent Defense

  • The Supremes

    By Morgan Smith

    As the last numbers crept in late Tuesday night, there were no surprises in the contested races for the seats on the state’s highest civil court. Voters will return to the polls again in April to see who will take over Harriet O’Neill’s old spot, and Rose Vela didn’t manage an upset against recent appointee Eva Guzman. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Judges Gone Wild [Updated]

    By Morgan Smith

    In an unexpected reversal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has thrown out Charles Dean Hood's death sentence on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court appeal and national media attention. Full Story 

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    Credit: Supreme Court of the United States

  • TribBlog: Judges Gone Wild

    By Morgan Smith

    A Supreme Court appeal has breathed new life into a two-decade-old scandal — this one with details a little less banal than a judge’s strict adherence to closing time. Full Story 

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    Credit: Supreme Court of the United States

  • Odor in the Court

    By Morgan Smith

    Even if 84 percent of Americans believe judges should not hear cases from major campaign contributors, the big Texas law firms that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to them over the last ten years see nothing wrong with business as usual. Full Story 

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    Credit: iStockphoto