courts

Piers Morgan to Hold Show at Texas Gun Range

By Cody Permenter Feb. 4, 2013

CNN host Piers Morgan, who has been fiercely critical of U.S. gun laws since the elementary school killings in Connecticut, is bringing his show to Texas on Monday to debate gun policy. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Morton's Conviction Comes to Define Former Williamson County DA

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 3, 2013

Williamson County State District Judge Ken Anderson faces a court of inquiry, starting Monday, that will determine whether he should face charges over a wrongful murder conviction. Full Story

Credit: Courtesy Williamson County Sun
Apprehensions, Narcotics Seizures Increase at Border

By Julián Aguilar Feb. 1, 2013

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized about 1.7 million pounds of narcotics in Texas in fiscal 2012, about 270,000 pounds more than their counterparts in Arizona, New Mexico and California combined. Full Story

Credit: CBP Photography
Hygiene Products Running Low in Prisons as State Contracts Lapse

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 30, 2013

Texas prisons are running low on hygiene products that are not considered necessities for inmates, including toothpaste and deodorant. Family members and inmates are frustrated as state officials try to find a contractor. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Lawmakers Renew Push to Ban Texting While Driving

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 29, 2013

At a briefing Tuesday, lawmakers and relatives of people killed while texting and driving renewed a push to make the practice illegal. A proposal passed during the last session but was vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story

Credit: Tamir Kalifa
Arson Reviewers Expect Small Number of Problem Cases

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 25, 2013

The Innocence Project of Texas told the state Forensic Science Commission on Friday that its investigation of old arson convictions for possible wrongful convictions has raised serious concerns in only a handful of cases. Full Story

Credit: Elvis Santana
Groups Urge Lawmakers to Shutter Privately Run Jail

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 24, 2013

Civil rights, human rights and criminal justice groups on Thursday sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to close a privately run state jail in downtown Dallas. Full Story

Credit: Neil Conway
Bill Would Count Prisoners Differently in Redistricting

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 24, 2013

Resuscitating the 2011 redistricting battle, two lawmakers have filed bills requiring the state to count prisoners at their last home address rather than where they are incarcerated. They say it cheats urban districts out of representatives. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
In Gun Control Debate, Potential Impact on Mexico is Addressed

By Julián Aguilar Jan. 20, 2013

Some Mexican and American officials hope that the gun control debate might spur laws that curb the flow of illegal weapons over the United States' southern border. But others say that changing gun laws in the U.S. would not change gun behavior in Mexico. Full Story

Credit: Julian Aguilar
Texans Rally Against More Gun Control

By Cody Permenter Jan. 19, 2013

Roughly a thousand Texans flooded the Capitol grounds on Saturday to rally against a renewed national push for gun control legislation and to criticize President Obama for signing gun-related executive orders. Full Story

Credit: Spencer Selvidge
Bill Looks to Adjust Medical Parole to Help Alleviate Prison Budget

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 18, 2013

As lawmakers try to trim the budget for health care for prison inmates, one bill aims to cut costs by re-examining a program that releases inmates deemed the oldest, sickest and most expensive. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
Variety of Gun-Related Bills on Table for Session

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Jan. 17, 2013

At least 20 bills have been filed or proposed by Texas lawmakers on the subject of guns, with most of the legislation aiming to widen access to guns. Here's a roundup of the proposals. Full Story
Video: Stockman Blasts Obama on Guns

By Evan Smith Jan. 16, 2013

On last night's edition of On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren, U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, repeated his calls for the possible impeachment of Barack Obama if the president pushes for gun control legislation. Full Story
Kerry Max Cook's 30-Year Exoneration Fight Takes Another Nasty Turn

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 11, 2013

Kerry Max Cook, who spent two decades on death row for a 1977 murder, says the prosecutor in Smith County is fighting dirty in his mission to stymie the ex-inmate's efforts to prove his innocence. Full Story
State of Mind: Mental Health Focus for Harris County

By Justin Dehn and Alana Rocha Jan. 10, 2013

Law enforcement is working to make sure lawmakers know an investment in mental health services is an investment in public safety. Full Story
Report: Investing in Drug Treatment Could Save State Millions of Dollars

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 10, 2013

A new report by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition says that rather than throwing drug addicts in jail, the state should invest more money in substance abuse treatment, which it says could save millions of dollars and improve public safety. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Chuck Grimmett / Todd Wiseman
Death Row Inmate's Case Adds to Debate on Recorded Interrogations

By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project Dec. 28, 2012

Death row inmate Max Soffar says his 1980 murder confession was coerced. As his lawyers say his case highlights a broader debate about false confessions, police and prosecutors say he told them details only the killer would know. Full Story

Credit: Tamir Kalifa
Year in Review: Criminal Justice, Immigration and the Texas-Mexico Border

By Brandi Grissom and Julián Aguilar Dec. 27, 2012

Prosecutorial misconduct, the politics of immigration and continuing bloodshed in the Mexican drug war dominated Tribune headlines in 2012. Here's a look back at the crime, immigration and border stories of the year. Full Story
Inside Intelligence: Another Look at Gun Laws...

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 26, 2012

For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in politics and government, we returned to the subject of gun laws, asking the same set of questions posed after July's theater shooting in Colorado. After Connecticut's schoolhouse shooting, the answers have changed. Full Story
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Money for Schools, Guns for Schools

By Justin Dehn Dec. 22, 2012

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, unveiled their school choice legislation, without many financial details and hardly a word about vouchers. And last week's schoolhouse shootings in Connecticut prompted Texas legislators to propose changes in the state's gun laws. Full Story