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The latest Texas Supreme Court news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw on geriatric care in state prisons, with Miller's photo essay inside those walls; M. Smith interviews the state's newest Supreme Court justice, Debra Lehrmann; Aguilar finds fewer Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S; Galbraith sorts out the politics of pollution and whether our air is dangerous to breathe; Thevenot discovers authorities writing tickets for misbehavior to elementary school kids; Philpott reports on early hearing about political redistricting; Kreighbaum examines fines levied against polluters and finds they're often smaller than the economic benefits of the infractions; and Stiles and Babalola spotlight some of our data projects from our first seven months online: The best of our best from May 31 to June 4, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Debra Lehrmann: The TT Interview

    By Morgan Smith

    The Texas Supreme Court justice-to-be (she'll take retiree Harriet O'Neill's seat on June 21) talks about about judicial elections, the recent ethics complaint filed against her and what happens when she disagrees with the law. Full Story 

    Judge Debra Lehrmann sits for a portrait at the Four Seasons in Austin, Texas on Thursday June 3, 2010.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • TribBlog: It's Lehrmann

    By Morgan Smith

    Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann to the Place 3 seat that Harriet O’Neill will soon vacate on the Texas Supreme Court. Lehrmann, a Fort Worth District Court judge, won the Republican nomination for that seat in a runoff against former state Rep. Rick Green, R-Dripping Springs. Full Story 

    Debra Lehrmann

  • TribBlog: O'Neill Signs Off

    By Ross Ramsey

    Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill, who isn't seeking reelection to the court, also isn't finishing her term. She told Gov. Rick Perry and the other members of the court today that she will step down from the bench on June 20. Full Story 

    Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill
    Credit: Texas Supreme Court

  • A Watershed Case

    By Morgan Smith

    On the surface, it’s about an oat-and-peanut farm and two South Texas men who wanted enough water to operate it. But underneath lies a century-old tug-of-war over who really owns the water beneath the land. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva, Matt Stiles

  • 2010: Hey, Wait a Minute

    By Morgan Smith

    Late last night, Rick Green took to his Facebook page to dispute comments attributed to Debra Lehrmann claiming he had pledged to have his supporters back her in the general election campaign. Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Credit: Morgan Smith

  • Night of the Insurgents

    By Ross Ramsey and Morgan Smith

    Voters routed state Reps. Delwin Jones and Norma Chavez on Tuesday, turned back former Rep. Rick Green's bid for a spot on the Texas Supreme Court and handed victories to at least three candidates who appeared to benefit from the Tea Party insurgency in Texas. Full Story 

  • Runoff Day: A Spectator's Guide

    By Ross Ramsey

    Today’s elections in 18 Texas primary races, all but two involving Republicans, probably won't change the overall temperature of the statehouse or our delegation to Congress. The partisan makeup of those places isn't at stake until November. But for three House incumbents and challengers in two other races — for the State Board of Education and the Texas Supreme Court — how the vote turns out is a big deal. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Going It Alone

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Attorneys, judges, legal aid experts and law librarians gathered last week to strategize about how to create a system that can accommodate an increasing number of self-represented litigants — a problem that some say is going to shut down the court system. Full Story 

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    Credit: Reeve Hamilton

  • Tipping the Scales

    By Morgan Smith

    If Rick Green wins his runoff against Debra Lehrmann on Tuesday, Democrats will be licking their chops — but do they really have a shot of occupying their first Texas Supreme Court seat in more than 10 years? Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Credit: Morgan Smith

  • TribBlog: Back on the Short List

    By Morgan Smith

    Supporters may tout her as a Chicago justice for a Chicago president, but Diane Wood — said to be in serious consideration as a replacement for the retiring John Paul Stevens — got her start in Texas: as an undergrad and a law student at UT-Austin. Full Story 

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    Credit: Linda Rux

  • 2010: Lubbock or Leave It

    By Morgan Smith

    Low voter turnout means that in a downballot statewide race like that between Debra Lehrmann and Rick Green the winner could be decided by chance — whose name comes first, or whose name sounds the friendliest. Green and Lehrmann are working to combat that dynamic in an unlikely place: Lubbock. Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Credit: Morgan Smith

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Grissom on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to stay Hank Skinner's execution, Thevenot on the myth of Texas textbook influence, Rapoport on the wild card who was just elected to the State Board of Education, Ramshaw on the price of health care reform, Philpott on the just-enacted prohibition on dropping kids from the state's health insurance rolls, M. Smith on the best little pole tax in Texas, Ramsey on the first corporate political ad and the reality of 2011 redistricting, Stiles on the fastest-growing Texas counties, Aguilar on the vacany at top of Customs and Border Protection at the worst possible time, Galbraith on the state's lack of renewable energy sources other than wind and its investment in efficiency, and Hu and Hamilton on the runoffs to come in House districts 52 and 127. The best of our best from March 22 to 26, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Barely Speaking

    By Morgan Smith

    The state says that if it has the power to ban alcohol in strip clubs, then it can levy a $5 "pole tax." But the clubs argued before the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday that nude dancing is a form of protected speech and that the tax violates the First Amendment. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Grissom on the 1.2 million Texans who've lost their licenses under the Driver Responsibility Act and the impenetrable black box that is the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ramshaw and Kraft on nurses with substance abuse problems and rehabilitation that can get them back to work, M. Smith finds it's not easy being Rick Green, Stiles on counting Texans (and everybody else), Rapoport on the State Board of Education's war with itself and the runoff in SBOE District 10, Thevenot's revealing interview with a big-city superintendent on closing bad schools, Aguilar on the tensions over water on the Texas-Mexico border, Hamilton on the new Coffee Party, Hu on Kesha Rogers and why her party doesn't want her, Philpott on the runoff in HD-47, Ramsey on Bill White and the politics of taxes, and E. Smith's conversation with Game Change authors Mark Halperin and John Heleimann: The best of our best from March 15 to 19. Full Story 

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  • Can Rick Green Be Stopped?

    By Morgan Smith

    Ever since his narrow March 2 win set off a collective grumble from the legal establishment, there’s been a movement afoot to shore up support for his runoff opponent. Now the fruits of those efforts have ripened.  Full Story 

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