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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Grissom on the fall of Norma Chávez; M. Smith and Ramsey on the runoffs, the results, and the aftermath; Hu on the Tea Party's birthday party; Thevenot and Stiles on the path between schools and prisons; Ramshaw on prosecutors' reaction to helping hands from Austin; Hamilton on self-appointed lawyers; Galbraith on property rights and power lines; Aguilar and Grissom sit down with the mayor of Juárez to talk about his crime-ridden city; Kraft on telling the stories of Texans and other Americans who died in Vietnam; Ramsey on slots and horses and casinos; and Hamilton goes on a field trip with Jim Hightower to hear the history of populism. The best of our best from April 5 to 9, 2010. Full Story 

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  • 2010: Hey, Wait a Minute

    by Morgan Smith

    Late last night, Rick Green took to his Facebook page to dispute comments attributed to Debra Lehrmann claiming he had pledged to have his supporters back her in the general election campaign. Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Photo credit:  Morgan Smith

  • Thanks, But No Thanks

    by Emily Ramshaw

    Depending on whom you ask, Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins’ repeated refusal to allow Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott into a local corruption investigation is either bold or stupid. Either way, it’s unusual. Abbott has offered prosecution assistance to local district attorneys 226 times since 2007, when lawmakers first gave him permission to do it. In all but 16 cases, he’s been invited in. And Watkins didn't decline politely. Full Story 

    Greg Abbott (left), Craig Watkins (right)

  • Night of the Insurgents

    by Ross Ramsey and Morgan Smith

    Voters routed state Reps. Delwin Jones and Norma Chavez on Tuesday, turned back former Rep. Rick Green's bid for a spot on the Texas Supreme Court and handed victories to at least three candidates who appeared to benefit from the Tea Party insurgency in Texas. Full Story 

  • Going It Alone

    by Reeve Hamilton

    Attorneys, judges, legal aid experts and law librarians gathered last week to strategize about how to create a system that can accommodate an increasing number of self-represented litigants — a problem that some say is going to shut down the court system. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Reeve Hamilton

  • Runoff Day: A Spectator's Guide

    by Ross Ramsey

    Today’s elections in 18 Texas primary races, all but two involving Republicans, probably won't change the overall temperature of the statehouse or our delegation to Congress. The partisan makeup of those places isn't at stake until November. But for three House incumbents and challengers in two other races — for the State Board of Education and the Texas Supreme Court — how the vote turns out is a big deal. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Tipping the Scales

    by Morgan Smith

    If Rick Green wins his runoff against Debra Lehrmann on Tuesday, Democrats will be licking their chops — but do they really have a shot of occupying their first Texas Supreme Court seat in more than 10 years? Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Photo credit:  Morgan Smith

  • TribBlog: Back on the Short List

    by Morgan Smith

    Supporters may tout her as a Chicago justice for a Chicago president, but Diane Wood — said to be in serious consideration as a replacement for the retiring John Paul Stevens — got her start in Texas: as an undergrad and a law student at UT-Austin. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Linda Rux

  • The Inquisition

    by Morgan Smith

    Ninety minutes of back-and-forth on Wednesday between a House committee and representatives of the Texas Forensic Science Commission — but not its chairman — covered the besieged agency’s nonexistent enforcement power, lack of written procedural guidelines, and public records policy. Oh, and the late Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story 

    From left to right: Garry Adams, Sarah Kerrigan, and Aliece Watts at the House Public Safety Committee hearing.
    Photo credit:  Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The Senate's Biggest Spenders

    by Erin Mulvaney

    The 31-member body spent nearly $16 million last fiscal year on travel, staff and office expenses, according to records from the office of the Secretary of the Senate. Overall spending by individual senators ranged from $206,000, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, to $637,000, by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Graphic by Matt Stiles

  • 2010: Lubbock or Leave It

    by Morgan Smith

    Low voter turnout means that in a downballot statewide race like that between Debra Lehrmann and Rick Green the winner could be decided by chance — whose name comes first, or whose name sounds the friendliest. Green and Lehrmann are working to combat that dynamic in an unlikely place: Lubbock. Full Story 

    Rick Green and Judge Debra Lehrmann at a Young Republicans debate in San Antonio.
    Photo credit:  Morgan Smith

  • "I Won't Stop Dispensing Justice"

    by Emily Ramshaw

    Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins won’t go so far as to compare his support to the near-divine fervor of President Obama’s. But Watkins, who gained national prominence for using DNA evidence to exonerate nearly two dozen wrongfully convicted people in one of Texas’ notoriously tough-on-crime jurisdictions, will come close. “It’s a religious experience to vote for Craig Watkins,” Texas’ first African-American D.A. says without irony. Like Obama, he says, other Democratic candidates are “hanging their hats” on his re-election — and on the minority voters he draws to the polls. Like Obama, he’s got “a big target” on his back. “I’ve got to fight the political attacks coming at me from all directions," he insists. “I’ll say it publicly: If you throw punches at us, we’ll drop a bomb on you.” Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Jacob Villanueva

  • Sun on the Horizon

    by Matt Stiles

    A small but growing number of state officials are warming to the idea of greater transparency and open access to raw government data, following a budding trend across the country. In the latest example, state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, wrote to numerous Texas agencies, urging them to post "high-value" databases online in open-standard formats. Full Story 

    State Sen. Kirk Watson sent a letter urging more government transparency to the Texas Department of Information Resources,...

  • On the Records: The Census Gets Interactive

    by Kosaku Narioka

    The U.S. Census Bureau recently launched an interactive map that makes it easy to track participation in the decennial count of households. The map application, which relies on the Google Maps API, visualizes the participation rates by color — orange for higher rates, and blue for lower rates. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  U.S. Census Bureau

  • Down for the Count

    by Matt Stiles

    As of Friday, three-quarters of Texans hadn't returned their census forms. Only five states have a worse rate of participation so far. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Graphic by Matt Stiles