The latest Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals news from The Texas Tribune.
Rick Perry will leave behind a criminal justice system in healthier shape than when he stepped in as governor. Terri Langford writes that how instrumental Perry was in improving it remains an open question. Full Story
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The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday ruled that a Houston teen should not have been tried as an adult and spelled out better guidance for courts to consider before transferring youth defendants into the adult court system. Full Story
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Texas' voter ID law is in effect for the Nov. 4 general election. Election workers are working to help ensure there is no confusion as voters head to the polls. Full Story
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While a federal judge in Corpus Christi mulls whether the state's requirement to show photo ID to cast a ballot violates the Voting Rights Act, a judge on the highest criminal appeals court in Texas has sued the state over its voter ID law. Full Story
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UPDATED: Texas death row inmate Willie Tyrone Trottie was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the 1993 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her brother. Full Story
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Nearly two decades after Bernie Tiede shot 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent and tucked her body in a deep freezer, a judge has released him on bond. The filmmaker Richard Linklater will house Tiede in his Austin garage apartment. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could determine how courts across the state apply a new law that allows courts to consider changing scientific evidence. Full Story
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Bernie Teide, convicted of murdering an elderly woman in Carthage 15 years ago, was back in court for proceedings reconsidering his life sentence, so we lead off this all-Texas Blues playlist with "How Long Blues" by T-Bone Walker. Full Story
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At least three members of Texas' highest criminal court will be replaced in the next year, and observers say the unusually high turnover could have a significant effect on the court's decisions. Full Story
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UPDATED: The state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday reversed a lower court’s decision to allow further DNA testing in the case of death row inmate Larry Swearingen, sending his case back to a district court. Full Story
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We've expanded the officials in our Ethics Explorer to include the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the members of the State Board of Education. We've also updated our existing analysis on members of the Legislature. Full Story
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Democrats say the the decision by Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence Meyers to leave the Republican Party gives them something to build on for the 2014 elections. But GOP officials see no evidence of a sea change. Full Story
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judges Cathy Cochran, Tom Price and Paul Womack confirmed that they will not run for re-election in 2014. The news sets the stage for the court's biggest change in recent memory. Full Story
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In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared that Steven Staley, a mentally ill death row inmate, cannot be forcibly medicated for the purpose of making him competent for execution. Full Story
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Convicted of stomping a 19-month-old baby to death, Robert Avila faces execution in January. Under a law passed this year, Avila hopes to bring to court new scientific evidence that may show the death could have been a tragic accident. Full Story
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Megan Winfrey spent six years — nearly all of the 25-year-old's adult life — behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. She faces the colossal challenge of starting her life without compensation for the years she lost in prison. Full Story
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Attorneys presented oral arguments Wednesday at the Court of Criminal Appeals over whether Mark Fleming's rights were violated because prosecutors didn't have to prove he knew he was having sexual relations with a minor. Full Story
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The Texas Forensic Science Commission has concluded that the potential reversal of thousands of drug convictions by the Court of Criminal Appeals is due to a DPS employee's incompetence, but that not all of the drug samples are necessarily compromised. Full Story
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The Court of Criminal Appeals continued to reverse more convictions of drug offenders on Wednesday after a former employee with a DPS crime laboratory in Houston may have fabricated the results of thousands of drug tests. Full Story
A Dallas County judge in 2008 found Ben Spencer innocent of the 1987 robbery and murder for which he is serving a life sentence. The state's highest court disagreed, though, and this month he will mark 26 years behind bars. Full Story
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