The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate talked to the Tribune on Friday about why more Texans should be armed, why same-sex unions should be allowed and her admittedly slim chances of dethroning Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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The FBI is investigating whether a hacker broke into the state’s confidential cancer database, possibly accessing personal information and medical records. Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs says state health officials notified his office in early May that a hacker was holding the Texas Cancer Registry hostage and demanding a ransom. Suehs says preliminary investigation results from the FBI indicate the threat may be a hoax but that if private records were compromised, health officials will quickly notify the people listed in the registry. Full Story
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M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story
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That's what the Texas Supreme Court said today when it ruled that children under the age of consent can't be charged with selling sex. Full Story
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After shocking abuse was uncovered at Texas Youth Commission facilities in 2007, lawmakers successfully overhauled the state juvenile justice system. Three years later, advocates worry that budget woes will halt that progress. Full Story
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See how Texas' fastest-growing areas compare with the 3,000 other counties across the country. Full Story
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Texas now has about 24.8 million residents, an increase of 3.9 million, or almost 20 percent, since 2000, and trails only California in the proportion of its residents who identify themselves as Hispanic. We're also the third-youngest state, with a median age of 33; only Utah and Alabama have younger populations. These and other fun facts can be discovered in a new database application that helps explain and visualize how the makeup of Texas counties has changed since the last U.S. Census. Full Story
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Seven of the jurors who sent Hank Skinner to death row for the murders of his girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her two sons now say they want the state to test all the DNA available in the case. Full Story
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Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, under fire at home for his handling of an investigation into Democratic county constables, played defense before an Austin crowd this morning in a TribLive interview with the Tribune's Evan Smith. Full Story
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Ramshaw on geriatric care in state prisons, with Miller's photo essay inside those walls; M. Smith interviews the state's newest Supreme Court justice, Debra Lehrmann; Aguilar finds fewer Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S; Galbraith sorts out the politics of pollution and whether our air is dangerous to breathe; Thevenot discovers authorities writing tickets for misbehavior to elementary school kids; Philpott reports on early hearing about political redistricting; Kreighbaum examines fines levied against polluters and finds they're often smaller than the economic benefits of the infractions; and Stiles and Babalola spotlight some of our data projects from our first seven months online: The best of our best from May 31 to June 4, 2010. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court justice-to-be (she'll take retiree Harriet O'Neill's seat on June 21) talks about about judicial elections, the recent ethics complaint filed against her and what happens when she disagrees with the law. Full Story
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The Fort Hood shooter made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but a trial, the military court decided, won't happen until October. Full Story
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Since our November launch, we've published more than 30 web applications made from government records, including the most comprehensive public payroll database in the state, an interactive database with all 160,000 inmates serving time in the 100-plus state prison units, rankings of more than 5,800 public schools, a comprehensive list of every red-light enforcement camera in Texas, and databases with state-level fundraising and spending for members of the Legislature and statewide elected officials. Readers have viewed these pages more than 2.3 million times — more than a third of the site's overall traffic. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann to the Place 3 seat that Harriet O’Neill will soon vacate on the Texas Supreme Court. Lehrmann, a Fort Worth District Court judge, won the Republican nomination for that seat in a runoff against former state Rep. Rick Green, R-Dripping Springs. Full Story
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Death row inmate Hank Skinner bought himself some time Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to address whether he can bring a federal civil rights lawsuit instead of making a habeas corpus claim. But legal experts say he's unlikely to escape his ultimate punishment. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it will take up Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner's case. Full Story
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Let's say you served time for a crime you didn't commit: How much is each year you lost really worth? A new law increases the state's payout to exonerees, but the process of getting compensated is its own form of punishment. Full Story
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Search our updated database of Gov. Rick Perry's more than 2,000 current appointees to state boards and commissions. Full Story
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Today we're adding another 17 agencies to our government salaries database, an extra 67,000 workers who collectively earn $2.9 billion in public payroll. The database now has records on more than 550,000 employees working at 62 of the largest state agencies, cities, universities, counties and mass-transit authorities. Full Story
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