The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The mayor of a Texas border city whose population is 96 percent Hispanic and home to the country’s largest inland port said on Wednesday that even though he is opposed to a wall on the border, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of voting for Donald Trump. Full Story
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Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has issued a termination letter for Brian Encinia, the trooper who arrested Sandra Bland. Full Story
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During oral arguments Wednesday in a case challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ abortion restrictions, U.S. Supreme Court justices focused on what role the rules played in closing dozens of clinics. Full Story
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Lawyers arguing in front of the Texas Supreme Court next year likely won’t need to memorize any new faces. All three Republican incumbents running for reelection are winning their primary races. Full Story
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A task force at the University of Houston has recommended in a draft campus carry policy that guns be banned in all residence halls on campus, except one. Full Story
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Unconvinced he was a U.S. citizen, the Dallas County Jail held Ricardo Garza for more than a month until he could prove his status to federal immigration authorities. Full Story
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State Rep. Dawnna Dukes has asked the Texas Department of Public Safety for an investigation, the agency confirmed late Friday. Exactly what it will focus on is not clear. Full Story
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The freedom of an El Paso man accused of two 1993 murders could hinge on the outcome of the Democratic primary in the race for El Paso County district attorney. Full Story
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An effort by the Mexican government to bolster voter turnout abroad might help some undocumented immigrants in Texas obtain birth certificates for their U.S.-citizen children. Full Story
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In the Roundup: Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry gets cleared of the last charge related to a 2013 veto threat. Also, this week, Ted Cruz is back in Texas, hoping to lay the groundwork for a return to the winner’s circle on Super Tuesday. Full Story
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Before two murders landed him in Texas prison, Obed Josafhat Rodriguez racked up a criminal history stretching back to his first arrest for stealing a car at age 12, but his immigration status failed to trigger any action while he was a juvenile. Full Story
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Texas voters overwhelmingly support mental and criminal background checks on all gun purchases in the U.S. — including gun shows and private sales, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Whether they were edged out in 2014 by thin margins or bowed out years ago and had a recent change of heart, several former House members want back under the dome next year. Full Story
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Texas counties along the Rio Grande are relatively safe, state and federal crime statistics show, and they seem to be getting even safer as more law enforcement resources pour into the area. Full Story
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Do Republican voters in Texas have an aversion to Hispanic names? Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman is hoping that bit of election folklore is untrue. Full Story
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Of the 251 men and women on Texas death row, 12 committed their crimes while in the country illegally, according to an analysis of data obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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About 4.6 percent of Texas prison inmates are undocumented immigrants with standing requests that they be turned over to federal authorities when their sentences are served. Full Story
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Texas prison officials have recommended the firing of a supervisor at the Clements Unit and disciplinary actions against 17 others for allowing a severely beaten inmate to remain undiscovered in his cell for an unknown amount of time. Full Story
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A federal judge Thursday ordered Waller County and the state of Texas to show the legal team representing Sandra Bland's family the original videos from her time in jail. Full Story
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Martha and Kimberly Martinez would like to know how a man with Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez's lengthy criminal history could be living illegally in the United States when he killed their sister. Full Story
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