Texas Senate confirms Brett Busby for Supreme Court post
Busby, a Republican judge and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, served on an appellate court in Houston until voters rejected him in November as part of a Democratic sweep. Full Story
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Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Houston judge tosses same-sex marriage benefits challenge, but plaintiffs pledge to appeal
A newly elected Democratic judge issued the decision in the latest turn of a 2013 legal challenge to Houston's policy extending benefits to municipal employees' same-sex spouses. Full Story
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![Herbert Clayson Cloete and Mark Chavez smile as they watch Jodie Flint, who officiated the "Big Gay Wedding" ceremony, sign their marriage license on July 4, 2015 in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
With eager candidates waiting in the wings, Texas Supreme Court slot sits open
An appointment to the high court would require a two-thirds confirmation vote, potentially handing Texas Senate Democrats an important bargaining chip in the contentious legislative debates to come. Full Story
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![Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hect speaks during the hearing of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht calls for nonpartisan judicial elections, bail reform
In the wake of a midterm election that saw four major state appeals courts flip on partisan lines, Hecht called on lawmakers to consider changing Texas to a system of merit selection and retention elections. Full Story
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![Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht speaks at the State of the Judiciary at the Capitol. Feb. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court weighs whether state should reveal execution drug supplier
Justices questioned whether revealing the name would risk physical harm to the supplier — or only hurt its business. Full Story
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![The Justices of the Texas Supreme Court hear the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas has failed to close educational gaps for kids of color. In Edgewood ISD, the fallout has lasted generations.
Edgewood ISD has faced consistent problems in preparing its students for college and the workforce. The district's struggles shine a light on Texas’ long record of neglecting schools that educate mostly students of color. Full Story
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![Carlos Lopez is a freshman at The University of Texas studying Biochemistry, while also holding down a part time job at HEB. He graduated high school from John F. Kennedy, a small school on the west side of San Antonio and feels unprepared for what he has experienced at UT. He studies at the Student Academic Center on campus, December 7, 2018. Although he feels his public education underprepared him for UT and an advisor suggested changing his major, he does not want to give up.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Why did the Texas AG get into — and then out of — a controversial lawsuit in his home county?
On Nov. 19, the Texas Attorney General's Office backed Plano in a heated lawsuit over the city's development plan. On Nov. 20, the agency said it had made a mistake. Full Story
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![The Municipal Center in Plano on Oct. 10, 2015.]()
Credit: Michael Barera/Creative Commons -
In campaigns for Texas’ top courts, judicial candidates must rely on party ID
In these down-ballot, low-information races, judges' success often depends on the party leaders at the top of the ballot. Full Story
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![Judge Ravi K. Sandill smiles after he is introduced during a Meet & Greet at the Sweetwater Country Club in Sugar Land on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court reverses course, will hear case over whether state can keep execution drug supplier secret
The court will hold oral arguments on whether to name a past supplier of the execution drug in January. Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
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Federal judge upholds Texas' partisan statewide judicial elections system
A federal judge has ruled for Texas in a long-running challenge to the state's system of electing judges to its two highest courts. Full Story
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Report: Austin to end its bag ban after Texas Supreme Court ruling
The city of Austin announced Tuesday it will no longer enforce its ban on plastic bags after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a similar ban in Laredo violated state law, KUT reported. Full Story
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![Single-use bag ban advocates hold a press conference before the Texas Supreme Court prior to oral arguments on the legality of Laredo’s ban on Jan. 11, 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court decision could help uninsured patients negotiate excessive hospital bills
The state's highest civil court said uninsured patients suing hospitals can access records detailing how much insurance companies paid for similar procedures. Full Story
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![Texas Supreme Court Building]()
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A teacher says a coworker grabbed her “behind.” The Texas Supreme Court tossed her lawsuit.
The court found that the woman who sued didn't prove that the female coworker who harassed her was gay, so it's not clear that the incident constituted "sexually motivated touching." Full Story
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Sarah Davis' re-election bid, Ross Ramsey's hot list
On this week's TribCast, Emily, Ross, Patrick and Emma talk to state Rep. Sarah Davis about Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to unseat her, Ross' primary hot list and a state Supreme Court justice's quick-turn candidacy. Full Story
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Now that he's a Texas Supreme Court justice, Jimmy Blacklock must become a candidate
New state Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock is the latest judge to face a familiar challenge in Texas: On the bench, he has to appear impartial. But to keep his seat, he has to win the approval of Texas' deep-red electorate. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott swears in Jimmy Blacklock to replace Don Willett on the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2017. Blacklock previously served as the governor's general counsel.]()
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Trial begins in case targeting Texas' statewide elections of judges
Both sides revealed the outlines of their cases Monday in a federal court trial testing Texas' nearly 150-year-old system of statewide elections to the state's two highest courts. Full Story
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As U.S. Supreme Court takes up Texas redistricting case, it dismisses partisan gerrymandering appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the efforts of Texas Democrats and other plaintiffs to revive a partisan gerrymandering legal claim in the ongoing litigation over the state's political maps. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court hears oral arguments in plastic bag ban case
Lawyers spent almost an hour in the Texas Supreme Court arguing whether Laredo’s 2015 ban on plastic grocery bags was illegal. The future of bag bans in cities across the state could hinge on the case. Full Story
![Single-use bag ban advocates hold a press conference before the Texas Supreme Court prior to oral arguments on the legality of Laredo’s ban on Jan. 11, 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
State Supreme Court case could bring an end to plastic bag bans in Texas
The Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in the case, Laredo Merchants Association v. The City of Laredo, in which the merchants’ association is arguing a ban on single-use bags by the city is illegal. Full Story
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Supreme Court declines to consider case over same-sex marriage benefits
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will not review a June decision by the Texas Supreme Court that ruled that the legalization of same-sex marriage does not fully address the right to marriage benefits. Full Story
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![Pamela Holwerds holds up her marriage license following the ceremony that married over 40 same-sex couples on the south lawn of the Texas Capitol in Austin on July 4, 2015.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for the Texas Tribune
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