The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Jack Stick, the top lawyer for the Health and Human Services Commission, asked an Austin judge on Thursday to suppress evidence in his DWI case, while prosecutors said blood test results proved his arrest two years ago was proper. Full Story
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The Obama administration deported a record-breaking 438,421 people in 2013, an increase of about 20,000 from 2012. That included about 198,400 immigrants with criminal records. Full Story
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For several years, residents in Maverick County have waged a war against a company that wants to mine low-grade coal on 6,300 acres of land in this impoverished borderland. A recent twist in the saga is giving them new hope. Full Story
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Siding with a decision made a year ago by a lower appeals court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday refused to reinstate money-laundering convictions against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Full Story
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A multistate effort urging churches and other places of worship to provide sanctuary for undocumented immigrants began this month. The effort could come to Texas, where some leaders say such shelter is already being provided. Full Story
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The DWI case of Republican Jack Stick, the top lawyer for the state’s health care agency, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing next week after two years of delay. But it has received little attention from politicians or the media. Full Story
A federal program that transfers surplus military equipment to local communities is drawing a mix of responses from border officials whose regions have benefited from the initiative. Full Story
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Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor who secured an indictment against Gov. Rick Perry in August, said he expected to reply in October to a challenge filed by Perry's legal team. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry should not be excused from all hearings leading up to his felony trial, the special prosecutor in the criminal case said in a motion filed Wednesday. Full Story
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The Travis County district attorney's office investigation into whether state Sen. Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Texas attorney general, committed a crime when he violated the Texas Securities Act will not proceed until after the Nov. 4 election. Full Story
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Following opposition from gun rights organizations, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission this week dropped proposed rules changes that would have allowed alcohol sales alongside gun sales. Full Story
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Texas' voter ID law was designed to thwart emerging minority voting power in the state and should be dropped, attorneys for the law's opponents said during closing arguments in a federal court on Monday. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, speaking on Sunday at The Texas Tribune Festival, said he still supports a Texas law that grants in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. He also said he would not decide whether he was going to run for president until 2015. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said on Saturday that he lamented his party’s contribution to what he said was a dysfunctional government, and he criticized the Obama administration's handling of the current crisis over the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Full Story
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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Immigration track. The sessions include panels on border security, Latinos and the Republican Party, the comprehensive immigration reform debate, and what to do with the DREAMers. Full Story
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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Justice track. The sessions include panels on criminal justice reform, the Texas Supreme Court, same-sex marriage and the death penalty. Full Story
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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Open Government track. The sessions include panels on disclosures by legislators, open records in Texas, transparency and the Texas budget, and the issue of donor privacy. Full Story
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Four years after fleeing Somalia, Dekha Hassan-Mohamed is living in El Paso after winning an asylum claim and bucking a national trend. Her lawyer is seeking the same protection for another client who fled Nigeria. Both women are grateful for the new chapters of their lives in El Paso. Full Story
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UPDATED: A 38-year-old Arlington woman was executed Wednesday for the starvation death of her girlfriend’s son. Lisa Ann Coleman is the sixth woman to be executed in the state since 1982. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday invited Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to witness for himself the operations of the National Guard patrolling the Texas side of the Rio Grande. Full Story
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