The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
House and Senate members agreed that judges needed a pay raise. But they spent the final hours of the legislative session debating whether Texas lawmakers should also benefit from the boost. Full Story
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Former Empower Texans leader Michael Quinn Sullivan has challenged a $10,000 fine from the Texas Ethics Commission for failure to register as a lobbyist for more than 10 years at nearly every level of the state court system. Full Story
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The goal of the bill, according to the author, was to curb “nuclear verdicts” — ones that award victims $10 million or more. Full Story
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A bill to increase judicial salaries from $140,000 to $175,000 a year stalled amid a disagreement over lawmakers’ own retirement benefits. Full Story
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Senate Bill 1362 would prevent officials from taking someone’s firearms if they haven’t been charged with a crime or aren’t subject to a protective order under the Texas Family Code. Full Story
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The House made changes to the proposal that leave open ways for victims to be compensated beyond medical bills. Full Story
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Democrats declined to support Senate Joint Resolution 87, which sprinted through the Senate and needed 100 votes to clear the lower chamber. Full Story
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The trial in El Paso will hear a challenge over the redistricting maps drawn by the Legislature that are based on the 2020 census. Full Story
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The House passage of the measure asking voters to amend the state Constitution to tighten the state’s bail laws hands a major policy win to Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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Lawyers representing foster children asked the high court to reinstate a contempt order against the state, and the judge who issued it. Full Story
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Some measures that made it through before midnight dealt with jail bonds, an unconstitutional ban on gay sex, and the liability of vaccine manufacturers. Full Story
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An unlikely group of Republican allies joined Democrats to approve repealing the ban, which has been unenforced since 2003. It is the first time the bill has made it to the House floor since it was first proposed decades ago. Full Story
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House Bill 2988 was centered on who pays the legal fees of those who successfully defend themselves against libel or defamation lawsuits. Full Story
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Before the House takes a final vote on the bill, it could face a proposal that would allow adults and minors to marry if their age gap is three years or less. Full Story
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Amending the Texas Constitution to crack down on the state’s bail practices has been an elusive priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s for three consecutive sessions. Full Story
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The state attorney general sued Google in 2022, alleging it unlawfully tracked and collected users’ private data. Full Story
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The school district called the undercover videos that led to the accusations “heavily edited,” “manipulated” and “grossly misleading.” Full Story
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Lawmakers must act on two bills in order to ensure the lottery continues past September, or find a way to make up the $2 billion for schools the game provides yearly. Full Story
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The two graduates and two current students who are also suing UT trustees and other officials say they were unlawfully targeted because they expressed pro-Palestinian views. Full Story
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The federal judge is the first to rule that the Alien Enemies Act can’t be used against immigrants that the Trump administration claims are gang members invading the U.S. Full Story
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