The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Department of Public Safety improperly monitored how its employees use gas payment cards and should better ensure personal information from background checks is secure, state auditors said in a report released Thursday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SecureCommunities-FingerPrintFlag2.jpg)
A Webb County jury Thursday gave Demond Bluntson a death sentence for the 2012 shooting death of his 21-month-old son and his girlfriend's six-year-old boy. It was the county's first death sentence in almost 25 years. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/05/Untitled-2.jpg)
Our Faces of Death Row app has some new features. Now, you can search for inmates by the county where the crime was committed and see who has an execution date scheduled. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/04/TT-Faces-of-Death-Row-update-art.png)
A New Orleans-based appeals court says the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's restrictions on beard lengths and religious head garments for inmates violate federal law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Prison-Bars-1.jpg)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants a lawsuit filed against his office by fantasy sports site DraftKings moved to Travis County. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/02/6F6A8878.jpg)
Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, already facing the possible suspension of his law license over charges he illegally solicited clients, was ordered Friday to pay $504,000 to a former client for keeping her share of a settlement. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/16/RonReynold-2.jpg)
Allison Castle, a former aide to Attorney General Ken Paxton, said Friday that he asked her to resign her post and that she did not ask for nor negotiate a now-controversial departure package. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/29/CastlePaxton.jpg)
After being sentenced to life in prison a second time, convicted murderer Bernie Tiede wants another do-over. An East Texas jury sentenced Tiede to 99 years or life in prison in the killing of wealthy Carthage widow Marjorie Nugent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/21/Bernie-Tears.jpg)
Activists, lawmakers and state leaders are eyeing Texas as the next battleground in what has become an explosive national debate: the right of transgender people to decide which bathroom they use. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/16/_S2_6139.jpg)
This fall, guns will be allowed in classrooms and most dorms at Texas A&M University and other A&M System schools. Faculty will only be allowed to ban them in their offices if they show a special need. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HandGunRestingOnWhite.jpg)
The Texas Rangers have joined a Travis County District Attorney office criminal probe into state Rep. Dawnna Dukes' use of staff, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/20/Dawnna_DukesTT.jpg)
Crime rates in Texas cities fell more over the past two years than in other cities across the nation, a new study finds. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/21/IMG_9370.jpg)
The Texas prison inmates database has been updated with the latest data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Use the app to learn more about the most common crimes and look up any of the more than 144,000 inmates housed in Texas prisons. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/18/Unsafe_Prisons__JW031_copy.jpg)
As Texas agriculture events go, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was a must-do for state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and his staff. But Miller had more than an industry interest. He also had a personal one. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/19/MillerSid13.jpg)
Lori Williams was searching online last year when she found a plea apparently written by a Texas prison inmate looking for pen pals to write him in prison. The accompanying photo was of the man who assaulted her at knifepoint. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/14/TorresMug.jpg)
A review of more than three months of UT-Austin police logs shows campus police routinely dealing with traffic issues, drug crimes and homeless people unrelated to the university. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_StudentsUT_MS_2.jpg)
A new sticker for the state's gas pumps comes with a few additional flourishes: Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's name emblazoned across the top and a disclaimer blaming gas taxes on Congress and the Texas Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/18/NewSticker-3.jpg)
Though both Texas and the Obama Administration seemed confident in the way they made their arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the controversial DAPA case, the court's decision is unpredictable. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/55938058cb512f574389d588bac89aa5/.NOPE)
Almost a year and a half after President Obama announced his executive action on immigration, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday over the program. Look back at the various actions and decisions related to the case. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/347fce2d3611d23d69c94f827fa259f1/.DONTUSE)
The Texas state auditor's office has referred its investigation into possible misuse of state workers by state Rep. Dawnna Dukes to Travis County prosecutors, the Austin American-Statesman reported late Friday. Full Story