Courts

Two Texas Democrats have been campaigning in a statewide race that probably won't be on the ballot

by Emma Platoff

Amid confusion over the state’s mandatory retirement law, a state official confirmed to the Democratic Party months ago that the race for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6 would appear on the 2020 ballot. It probably won't. Full Story 

At 69, she's still paying off $12,000 of student debt — including out of her Social Security checks. It isn't just a millennial problem.

by Shannon Najmabadi

About 222,140 Texans ages 60 and older had student loan debt in 2017, carrying a median load of $15,754, according to government data. Full Story 

Contender in Houston state House special election owed thousands in delinquent taxes

by Alex Samuels

Michele Leal blamed a lien from the Internal Revenue Service on a "communication error." Full Story 

House Speaker Dennis Bonnen says, “No laws were broken.” Legal hurdles remain.

by Emma Platoff and Jolie McCullough

Bonnen has been eager to dismiss speculation that he did anything illegal during a June 12 meeting with conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan. But a probe into the event is ongoing. Full Story 

Anti-abortion activists take their fight to small-town East Texas

by Edgar Walters

Five towns have passed ordinances aiming to outlaw abortion. Critics say a legal challenge is likely. Full Story 

Fort Worth police shooting spurs calls for transparency, justice in death of 28-year-old woman

by Carrington Tatum

A white Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a black woman in a home while responding to a request for a wellness check. Full Story 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recuses himself from opinion, citing conflict of interest

by Emma Platoff

A local official had asked Paxton for legal guidance on special prosecutor pay — a major question in the criminal case against Paxton himself. Full Story 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Google’s new competition cop, says everything is "on the table"

by Tony Romm, The Washington Post

In a multi-state investigation that is focused on online advertising, Paxton vows to get to the bottom of Google’s business practices. Full Story 

Judge halts execution for man convicted of killing two Henderson County deputies

by Jolie McCullough

Randall Mays was scheduled to be executed Oct. 16, but the judge removed the death warrant amid questions that Mays may not be mentally competent to be put to death. Full Story 

A GPS company repossessed a Houston murder suspect's ankle monitor for late fees. He was untracked for two weeks.

by Jolie McCullough

The incident highlights differences in GPS monitoring for defendants released from jail on money bonds and no-cash bonds. One department has arrestees pay vendors directly, the other has costs go through them. Full Story 

Amber Guyger trial highlighted why Dallas communities of color often distrust law enforcement

by Juan Pablo Garnham and Jolie McCullough

Hours after the former Dallas police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing Botham Jean, the city's top cop vowed to launch an internal investigation into police behavior exposed at trial. Full Story 

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger sentenced to 10 years in prison in murder of Botham Jean

by Jolie McCullough and Stacy Fernández

Guyger could have received as few as five years or a sentence of up to life in prison. Full Story 

A trial judge recommended taking Paul Storey off death row. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said no.

by Jolie McCullough

The state's highest criminal court rejected the judge's finding that Storey should be resentenced to life in prison after prosecutors falsely said at trial that the murder victim's family wanted the death penalty. Full Story 

What is Texas' Castle Doctrine and what does it mean in the Amber Guyger case?

by Stacy Fernández

The Castle Doctrine justifies deadly force when a person intrudes on your property. Guyger's case is murky since she thought she was in her apartment but was actually in the apartment of unarmed Botham Jean. Full Story 

Jury deliberating fate of Dallas police officer who shot unarmed man in his apartment

by Tasha Tsiaperas and Bradley Blackburn, WFAA-TV

A Dallas County jury will decide if Amber Guyger committed murder, manslaughter or no crime at all when she shot and killed Botham Jean in 2018. And a judge said jurors can consider the state's Castle Doctrine while deliberating. Full Story 

Texas executes Robert Sparks after brutal deaths of his stepsons, wife

by Jolie McCullough

Sparks was convicted in the 2007 stabbing deaths of his family members in his Dallas home. His lawyers sought to stop his execution with arguments of intellectual disability and a jury tainted by a bailiff wearing a syringe tie. Full Story 

Texas court halts the execution of Stephen Barbee to consider U.S. Supreme Court precedent

by Jolie McCullough

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay in Barbee's case. He was scheduled to be executed Oct. 2. Full Story 

Texas raises sentencing for hit-and-run car accidents to equivalent of DWI manslaughter

by Chase Karacostas and Stacy Fernández

A new law increased the punishment for failing to stop and render aid to match the sentence for DWI manslaughter. The goal is to deter drunken drivers from leaving the scene of an accident. Full Story 

How hard-charging Dallas lawyer William Brewer III helped fuel a civil war inside the NRA

by Carol D. Leonnig and Tom Hamburger, The Washington Post

The well-known attorney’s hardball methods were labeled “Rambo tactics” long ago by other Dallas lawyers. Now the Democratic donor has emerged as a major figure in the fracturing of the powerful gun lobby. Full Story 

Crystal Mason's ballot was never counted. Will she still serve five years in prison for illegally voting?

by Emma Platoff and Alexa Ura

Her lawyers say if her sentence stands, it could discourage low-information voters from going to the polls at all. Full Story