Court's Ban of Death Penalty Lawyer Will Stand
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled it has no authority or jurisdiction to intervene in its sister court's ban of prominent death penalty lawyer David Dow. Full Story
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![Attorney David Dow.]()
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Texas Counties' Responses to Marriage Ruling Vary
Elated couples across Texas hurried into county clerks' offices Friday to apply for marriage licenses following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Full Story
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![Jacque Roberts, left, and Carmelita Cabello, the second couple to receive a marriage license in Travis County on June 26, 2015, leave the clerk's office. They had been together 31 years.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Supreme Court: Gay Marriage Bans Are Unconstitutional
Handing gay rights advocates a monumental victory, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that marriages between couples of the same sex cannot be prohibited by states, a decision that overrides Texas’ ban on gay marriage. Full Story
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![Vic Holmes and Mark Phariss of Plano at an LBJ Library press conference celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015. Holmes and Phariss had sued Texas over its same-sex marriage ban.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texting Bill's Demise a Victory for Tea Party Freshmen
It was a mostly new cast of characters in the Texas Senate, a chamber historically ruled by seniority, that flexed its political muscle to stop a statewide texting-while-driving ban this year. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Visualization: A Shrinking Texas Death Row
The number of inmates on Texas’ death row is falling. At its peak in 1999, 460 men and women were living with a death sentence in Texas, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. Today, there are 260. Full Story
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New Consul Takes on Mexico's Texas Diaspora
In an interview with the Tribune, Carlos González Gutiérrez, Mexico's newest general consul in Austin, discussed the challenges of reaching out to the state's diverse communities of Mexican nationals, and how he interacts with state leaders at the Capitol. Full Story
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Prosecutors Take Pot Into Their Own Hands
Texas lawmakers may be reluctant to ease up on punishing small-time pot smokers, but local prosecutors across the state are increasingly looking for ways to keep two-bit toking cases from clogging court dockets. Full Story
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Court: Texas AG Can't Intervene in Same-Sex Couple's Divorce
As Texas waits on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule, the state highest civil court ruled Friday that the Texas attorney general's office tried too late to stop a divorce between a couple married in Massachusetts. Full Story
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Prosecutor: Grand Jury to Hear Paxton Case in July
A case against Attorney General Ken Paxton is heading to a grand jury next month, according to one of the special prosecutors investigating him. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaking at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's opening of its new building on April 21, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
When Home is a Post Office Box
The home address listed on a Texas driver's license used to be one of the best tools police had to track people down, serve warrants or notify next-of-kin when someone died. But no more in this job-hopping, mobile culture. Full Story
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Preying on Prisoners: When Texas Guards Demand Sex
Since 2000, the Texas prison system has referred nearly 400 cases of staff sex crimes against inmates to prosecutors. Prosecutors refused to pursue almost half of those cases. Of 126 prison workers convicted, just nine were sentenced to serve time. Full Story
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Catch Up on Law & Order Issues From This Session
During the 84th legislative session, lawmakers passed open carry and campus carry legislation and voted to make cannabis oil available to epilepsy patients. Find more details on these and other law and order issues on the Texas Legislative Guide. Full Story
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More Judges Sought for Immigration Backlog
The backlog of immigration cases from Texas has grown almost 60 percent in two years. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, is trying to get Congress to cough up funding for 55 more immigration judges and staff to help overloaded courts across the country. Full Story
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Abbott Signs Bill to Limit Pollution Lawsuits
Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation that could make it tougher for local governments to sue big-time polluters – an effort that largely targets Harris County prosecutors. Full Story
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![The San Jacinto River Waste Pits, an EPA Superfund site that is contaminated with dioxins, is located off Interstate 10 east of Houston.]()
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Massengale to Challenge Lehrmann for Supreme Court Seat
Houston appeals court judge Michael Massengale said Tuesday he will challenge Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann in next year’s Republican primary. Full Story
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Texas, Petroleum Industry Broaden Their Lawsuits Against Denton
The Texas Oil and Gas Association and the state’s General Land Office have expanded the scope of their lawsuits against Denton. Both are taking aim at the city’s moratorium on new gas drilling in addition to the toothless fracking ban still on its books. Full Story
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![Vantage Energy on June 1, 2015 resumed hydraulic operations on a pad site on the western outskirts of Denton. It was the first company to frack within city limits after the Texas Legislature overturned the Denton’s ban on the process.]()
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Faces of Death Row: A New Tribune Data Tool
To add transparency to the state's capital punishment system, the Tribune is unveiling a new tool for readers: Faces of Death Row. It profiles all 261 inmates facing execution, summarizes their crimes and allows filtering by race, age, sex and years spent on death row. Full Story
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Get a Closer Look at Texas' Death Row
There are currently 261 inmates living on death row in Texas, the state with the most active execution chamber by far. Use this interactive to search through these men and women by the length of their stay, race, age and sex. Full Story
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At Shooting Range, Abbott Signs "Open Carry" Bill
In a bill-signing ceremony at a popular Central Texas gun store, Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday praised pro-gun groups and lawmakers for helping Texas ensure that the Second Amendment is alive and well in the Lone Star State. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs an open-carry bill passed by the state Legislature at Red’s Indoor Range, a gun store and shooting range in Pflugerville, Texas, on June 13, 2015.]()
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Crossings Down; State Buildup Forges Ahead
The numbers of unaccompanied children and families illegally crossing the border into Texas have fallen dramatically, but Gov. Greg Abbott says the state is still justified pumping about $800 million into beefing up border security. Full Story
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![The Catholic Charities shelter at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen has provided assistance to hundreds of displaced immigrants who have crossed the Texas-Mexico border.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
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