courts

Updated: Shooting Victim's Case Sent to Federal Court

By Ingrid Husby and Ioanna Makris July 14, 2011

Rais Bhuiyan is suing Gov. Rick Perry to stop the state from executing the man who shot him in the head 10 years ago. Full Story

Credit: Ingrid Husby
TribLive: A Conversation About Cameron Todd Willingham

By Evan Smith July 14, 2011

Following our Tuesday night screening of Incendiary: The Willingham Case, I talked about the science of fire and death penalty politics with the filmmakers, Steve Mims and Joe Bailey Jr.; former Forensic Science Commission Chairman Sam Bassett; former Texas Gov. Mark White; and acting Corsicana City Attorney Terry Jacobson. Full Story
Perry Blasts New Federal Gun Rules

By Chris Hooks July 13, 2011

Gov. Rick Perry is attacking new Department of Justice reporting requirements for gun dealers in states on the U.S.-Mexico border, calling the new rules “misguided” and “constitutionally questionable.” Full Story

Credit: @rickperryfacts
After Execution, Perry Faces Political Fallout

By Matt Largey, KUT News July 11, 2011

The U.N.'s top human rights official says that the U.S. broke international law when the state of Texas executed a Mexican national last week. Matt Largey of KUT News reports on what that could mean for Gov. Rick Perry as he nears a presidential run. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith July 9, 2011

Aguilar on a change in law that affects applications for state-issued IDs, Galbraith on how the drought is taking its toll on wildlife, Hamilton on an outsider's attempt to lower the cost of higher ed, Murphy visualizes the partisanship of House members, Ramsey on who becomes Lite Guv if David Dewhurst takes another job, Ramshaw on life in the colonias and three stories about Rick Perry — Grissom on how his death penalty stance might play in a 2012 presidential race, Root on how he cemented his reputation as one of the state's most powerful governors and Tan on the growing demand for him to speak elsewhere: The best of our best content from July 4 to July 8, 2011. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Supreme Court Gives OK to Leal Execution

By Morgan Smith July 7, 2011

Despite the Obama administration's plea for a stay, the U.S. Supreme Court won't stand in the way of Texas' plans to execute Mexican citizen Humberto Leal Jr. tonight. Full Story
For Perry, Support of Death Penalty May Be Mixed Bag Nationally

By Brandi Grissom July 5, 2011

In tough-on-crime Texas, Rick Perry has overseen the executions of 230 prisoners — more than any other modern governor. As he eyes a White House bid, his support of the death penalty could have mixed consequences. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Bob Daemmrich / Jacob Villanueva
Comptroller Pays Anthony Graves $1.4 Million

By Brandi Grissom June 30, 2011

Anthony Graves got a check for $1.45 million today from Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, money the state owed him for keeping him behind bars for nearly two decades for a crime he did not commit. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Intervene in Death Penalty Case

By Ari Auber and Beth Brown June 28, 2011

Ten days before death row inmate Humberto Leal's scheduled execution, his attorneys and the Mexican government have asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution. Full Story
On the Records: Twitter Visual Tool Useful — and Pretty

By Becca Aaronson June 28, 2011

A new data visualization tool, the Tweet Topic Explorer, makes analyzing a user’s Twitter feed quick, painless and beautiful. Check out what Gov. Rick Perry tweets about most on his personal twitter feed, and see how his tweets compare to others. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Becca Aaronson
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey June 25, 2011

An Everybody-in-the-Pool effort on what's left to do in the special session, Ramshaw on a doozy of a congressional race shaping up, Aguilar on the debate over sanctuary cities and other immigration proposals, M. Smith on the state's used-up Rainy Day Fund, Grissom on efforts to kick the special interests out of an insurance fight, Dehn and Tan on whether the special session helps or hurts the governor's national ambitions, Galbraith and KUT Radio team up for a series on the long-term outlook for Central Texas water, Aaronson on government attempts to balance openness and privacy with data releases, yours truly on Amazon's run at a sales tax break, and Hamilton on an ethnic gap in higher education: The best of our best from June 20 to 24, 2011. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Ben Hasson
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for June 23, 2011

By Becca Aaronson June 23, 2011

Your afternoon reading: Could ghosts of Gov. Rick Perry's past affect his presidential intentions? Meanwhile, parents prepare for budget cuts in the classroom, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says he'll reveal his next campaign move in July. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Caleb Bryant Miller
Updated: Advocates Say Change to Strip Club Fee is Dead

By Emily Ramshaw June 23, 2011

Advocates for a $5 "pole tax" on strip club patrons that raises money for state services say their effort to change which programs benefit from the fee is dead. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Thomas Hawk
Laws Push Transparency, Protect Privacy

By Becca Aaronson June 22, 2011

In the wake of high-profile data breaches that left the personal information of millions of state workers exposed, state lawmakers are trying to strike a balance between promoting transparency and protecting records. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Perry Signs, Abbott Lauds Sexting Bill

By Beth Brown June 21, 2011

Prosecutors will be able to punish kids who send explicit photos to each other without resorting to putting them on the sex offender registry, under a bill Attorney General Greg Abbott lauded in a press release today. Full Story

Credit: Muliadi Soenaryo
Anthony Graves: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom June 16, 2011

The state of Texas incarcerated him for nearly two decades — and nearly executed him twice — for murders he didn't commit. Now, the state is balking at giving him the $1 million he's owed for all the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. Despite it all, Anthony Graves remains positive. Full Story
Anthony Graves: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom June 16, 2011

The state of Texas incarcerated him for nearly two decades — and nearly executed him twice — for murders he didn't commit. Now, the state is balking at giving him the $1 million he's owed for all the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. Despite it all, Anthony Graves remains positive. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
Poll: Obama Almost as Popular as Perry in Texas

By Ari Auber June 16, 2011

Likely voters in Texas approve of President Barack Obama almost as much as they approve of Gov. Rick Perry, according to the third and final release of poll results from the Texas Lyceum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of civic leaders. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Government Pay Update Completes UT System

By Ryan Murphy June 16, 2011

We have a special update to the Tribune's government employee salary database, adding recently acquired salary data from the last six agencies missing from the the University of Texas System, Texas Woman's University and the Sabine River Authority. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Another State Agency Data Breach Reported

By Brandi Grissom June 10, 2011

The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services said today that the personal data of about 4,900 current and former state employees may have been exposed in a security breach. Full Story