Mandatory 10-year sentences for some crimes involving guns revived by Texas Senate
The idea appeared to die in the Texas House over the weekend, but senators kept it alive by grafting the proposal on to another piece of legislation. Full Story
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![Gold-plated hand guns for sale at a gun show in San Marcos, TX, on Sunday, Jan 29, 2023.]()
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After doctors left Dell Children’s adolescent clinic, Austin teens and their families are scrambling to find specialty care
The adolescent clinic treated eating disorders and menstrual complications. It also offered gender-affirming care — which is still legal for now but triggered an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![People wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ+ bills at the outdoor rotunda in the state Capitol on March 27, 2023.]()
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Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
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Texas may soon have a process to remove local prosecutors who won’t pursue abortion, election cases
The bill would allow for the removal of prosecutors who adopt any policy to not pursue certain crimes, including some low-level theft and drug charges. The Senate’s version will need to be reconciled with the House, which had carved out some exemptions. Full Story
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![The Travis County Criminal Court, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, in Austin as screens display case information on May 9, 2023.]()
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Appeals court appears likely to restrict access to key abortion pill
A panel of judges aggressively questioned lawyers for the Justice Department and for the manufacturer of mifepristone about FDA regulations that made the drug more accessible over time. Full Story
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![Women’s March leads a protest against federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling imposing a national ban on mifepristone, at the Supreme Court of the United States on Saturday, April 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to protect against hairstyle discrimination sent to Texas governor
The CROWN Act would ensure protection for Texans who wear their hair in natural styles such as braids, locs, twists or knots. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ron Reynolds urges the passage of the CROWN act during a press conference held by the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in the state capitol on April 13, 2023.]()
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Texas billionaire Harlan Crow paid for Clarence Thomas’ relative to attend private school
Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer. Full Story
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![Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022.]()
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House committee advances tweak to free speech protection law, prompting fear from First Amendment advocates
The change is supported by business groups, but has drawn opposition from media companies, First Amendment lawyers and political groups from across the ideological spectrum. Full Story
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Women accused of facilitating abortion in Galveston wrongful-death lawsuit file countersuit
The women are accused of helping their friend terminate her pregnancy, but they now claim her ex-husband, who brought the lawsuit, knew she had obtained the medication and did nothing to stop her. Full Story
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![First approved by the FDA in 2000, mifepristone, when taken with another drug called misoprostol, is used to terminate early pregnancies.]()
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“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
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Two Texas “Trump Train” participants settle lawsuit claiming they harassed 2020 Biden campaign bus
Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger wrote in their settlement that they apologized for participating in the October 2020 incident in which dozens of Trump supporters surrounded and harassed a Joe Biden campaign bus driving down a Central Texas highway. Full Story
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![The Biden-Harris campaign bus arrives in Abilene on Oct. 28, 2020.]()
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Journalists fear Texas Legislature could weaken law designed to protect free speech
News publications and First Amendment advocates are fighting a bill to revise a state law meant to prevent litigants from weaponizing the legal system to punish people for speech they don’t like. Full Story
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Months after being freed, Afghan soldier arrested at border is now on a path toward asylum and healing
Wasi and his brother pray for their family’s safety as the holy month of Ramadan ends and the Taliban continues to rule Afghanistan. Full Story
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![Abdul Wasi Safi talks with his father in Afghanistan on Friday, April 21, 2023, in Houston, TX.]()
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Supreme Court leaves abortion drug on the market, for now
The legal challenge to mifepristone now returns to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Full Story
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![SCOTUS, Washington, DC - Women’s March leads a protest against federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling at imposing a national ban on mifepristone at the Supreme Court of the United States on Saturday, April 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court lets Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed pursue DNA testing in bid to prove innocence
Reed has long said he was wrongfully convicted for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. His lawyers will now be able to renew their legal fight for testing of crucial crime scene evidence. Full Story
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![Rodney Reed is scheduled to be executed next Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.]()
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Bills to create new Texas courts would likely reverse Democratic gains, restore GOP dominance
Supporters say the proposals would increase efficiency and expertise, but opponents argue the attempts are political and probably unconstitutional. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
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Medication abortion restrictions could worsen delays for Texans at out-of-state clinics
Texans are flooding abortion clinics in New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado. A recent court ruling could imperil access in those states. Full Story
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The controversial article Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk did not disclose to the Senate
The judge who delivered a high-stakes abortion pills ruling last week removed his name from a law review article during his judicial nomination process, emails show. Full Story
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![In a still image from a video, Matthew Kacsmaryk, deputy counsel for the First Liberty Institute, answers questions during his nomination hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2017.]()
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Supreme Court extends access to abortion drug until Friday
The U.S. Supreme Court originally planned to weigh in on the abortion pill case by Wednesday night, but extended the hold on the Amarillo ruling until Friday at midnight. Full Story
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![Supreme Court police officers walk alongside protective barriers in Washington D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
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TribCast: A major Texas abortion case and a potential Gov. Greg Abbott pardon in a murder trial
In this week’s episode, we discuss an attempt to use the courts in Texas to restrict the use of an abortion drug and Gov. Greg Abbott’s potential pardon of an Army sergeant found guilty of murdering a protester in Austin. Full Story
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![Andrea Gallegos sorts through abortion pills that they’re now no longer able to administer at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune
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