The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former religious liberty lawyer, found that a federal program that gives teens access to birth control denies a parent “a fundamental right to control and direct the upbringing of his minor children.” Full Story
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A jury found Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter last week for the fatal shooting of Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, while she was babysitting her nephew in a family home. Full Story
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Title 42, an emergency health order invoked at the start of the pandemic, allows immigration agents to quickly remove migrants from the country. It was scheduled to be lifted on Wednesday. Full Story
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The Biden administration attempted to end Title 42 earlier this year before a federal judge blocked the move. A different federal court has now ordered that the federal health order be lifted. Full Story
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A jury on Thursday found Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter for shooting Jefferson while she babysat her nephew in her mother’s home in 2019. Full Story
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Abbott announced Wednesday that the veteran lawyer Bill Hicks will serve the last two years of the former district attorney’s term. Full Story
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Hundreds of businesses have sought tax savings from the state before the Chapter 313 program expires. Two companies say they are missing out despite being eligible. Full Story
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The court’s ruling does not overturn the 2021 law, which banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. It also does not impact the near-total ban on abortion that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Full Story
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Warren, a Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren effectively bribed Gov. Greg Abbott with a $1 million campaign contribution following the 2021 power grid collapse. Full Story
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The 38-year-old Hill Country man faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Full Story
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State police often rely on federal immigration officials to lock up migrants on state trespassing charges, according to a new complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. The collaboration contradicts federal and Texas officials’ attacks on each other’s immigration policies. Full Story
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A handful of the Texas-based conspiracy theorist’s companies already filed for bankruptcy. Earlier this year, a Texas jury awarded Sandy Hook parents $49 million in a defamation case against Jones. Full Story
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More than 16 million people had already been approved for student loan debt relief by the Education Department when a federal judge in North Texas struck down the plan last month. Full Story
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The district judge has asked the embattled district attorney, who resigned Monday, to appear in court Thursday or risk being arrested. Full Story
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The 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier’s murder prompted nationwide outrage and calls to reform the way the military addresses sexual violence within its ranks. Full Story
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The Biden administration instructed immigration agents to focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of felonies or pose a danger to public safety. Texas filed a lawsuit saying the change was illegal. Full Story
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The lawsuit accuses Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the shooter’s weapon, of marketing that primes “young buyers to purchase AR-15-style rifles as soon as they are legally able.” Full Story
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In response to the open-ended strike, the McClatchy-owned newspaper has revoked their health care benefits and listed their jobs. Full Story
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Former DFPS commissioner Anne Heiligenstein was tapped by Abbott in June to serve as the agency’s executive deputy commissioner. Last month, she was out. Now she’s back. Full Story
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The judge opted not to apply a $750,000 cap Texas imposes on punitive damages, questioning its constitutionality and saying Jones had “done something horrible” in claiming the shooting was faked. Full Story
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