The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
On 10/6, I talked about the future of criminal justice policy in Texas with Derek Cohen of the Center for Effective Justice; state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso; Douglas Smith of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition; and State Rep. James White, R-Woodville. Full Story
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The state's highest criminal court ruled Wednesday that a Texas law banning defacement of the U.S.and state flags is unconstitutional. Full Story
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Texas' highest criminal court has agreed to review the abuse-of-power case against former Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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In the 2015 Texas legislative session, state lawmakers weren't shy about using their religious beliefs to defend their policymaking. Check out "God & Governing," our documentary series on the role lawmakers' personal faith played in their legislating. Full Story
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A furor involving a small-town Texas police department and national secular organization has reached the state attorney general's office, and may well wind up in court after that. At issue: Does slapping "In God We Trust" stickers on police patrol cars violate the U.S. constitution? Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request from a coalition of abortion providers to take up their legal challenge to the state’s strict abortion restrictions. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott's criminal justice division is doling out $133 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies and victims' assistance programs across seven Texas regions, he announced Friday. Full Story
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The first arguments were held Friday in a federal lawsuit challenging Texas policies that effectively deny birth certificates to some U.S.-citizen children of undocumented immigrants. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman questioned the state's reasoning. Full Story
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State Sen. John Whitmire might call a hearing and seek leadership changes at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department after multiple reports of youths fighting, climbing onto rooftops and running away from staff in large numbers at youth correctional facilities. Full Story
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A pair of Texas congressmen who lambasted the Mexican government after the embarrassing July escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán lauded Mexico on Thursday for extraditing 13 alleged criminals to the United States. Full Story
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The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday said it was absurd that some border residents claim state troopers are harassing residents during the ongoing border surge in the Rio Grande Valley. Full Story
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A controversial agreement between the Travis County District Attorney's Office and Texas Mutual Insurance in which the company pays prosecutors to pursue its fraud cases will be suspended — at least for now, officials said Wednesday. Full Story
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Amid reports of a spike in illegal border crossings, Gov. Greg Abbott is again pushing the federal government to fortify the Texas-Mexico border, demanding "immediate and bold action" from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Full Story
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Carrizo cane sprouts along the banks of the Rio Grande, providing easy cover for smugglers and drug mules. A new state law says it should be eradicated, but lawmakers neglected to set aside any money for razing cane. Full Story
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A group of youth offenders once considered the worst of the worst for crimes including murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated robbery returned to Giddings State School recently not as inmates but as thankful adults. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday shot down allegations that it is manufacturing its own hard-to-find execution drugs after federal defense attorneys in an Oklahoma death row case accused the Texas prison system of doing exactly that. Full Story
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A Travis County judge on Friday sentenced former state representative Jack Stick to six days in jail and a 90-day driver's license suspension for driving while intoxicated, according to prosecutors. Full Story
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Supporters insist that allowing people to legally carry concealed handguns reduces crime, but that has not been the result in at least four states that have tried it, including Texas, according to a newly published academic study. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court scrutinized the legality of court costs imposed on indigent plaintiffs — in this case, fees the Tarrant County clerk’s office charged six poor plaintiffs pursuing divorces — during oral arguments on Wednesday. Full Story
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Lawyers for death row inmate Scott Panetti will get a chance Wednesday to argue that their client's ongoing mental illness — and the state's failure to evaluate his mental state — should forestall his execution for two 1992 killings. Full Story
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