Former UT-Austin director indicted on counts of theft, money laundering and abuse of official capacity
A spokesman said the University of Texas at Austin has already taken steps to improve its spending procedures. Full Story
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![The University of Texas Law School building on Wednesday, April 11, 2018]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge overturns White House policy on asylum seekers fleeing domestic or gang violence
A Washington D.C.-based judge ruled the policy, which was implemented by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in June, went against standards set forth in the Immigration and Naturalization Act. Full Story
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![Gissela Diaz, 3, is held by her father a few feet from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint. The father says they have been waiting on the bridge for days.]()
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By gutting Obamacare, Judge Reed O’Connor handed Texas a win. It wasn’t the first time.
The Texas Attorney General's Office has made a habit of filing lawsuits against the federal government that land in O'Connor's court. Full Story
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Murder conviction thrown out for Steven Mark Chaney
The Court of Criminal Appeals said Steven Mark Chaney's conviction was based partly on faulty science. Full Story
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Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, handing Texas an early win
Fort Worth U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the individual mandate — a critical component of Obamacare — is unconstitutional, rendering the rest of the law invalid as well. Full Story
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![Dr. Javier Saenz, who has a medical practice in the Rio Grande Valley town of La Joya, prepared his clinic’s X-ray machine in 2012.]()
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Texas sees uptick in executions, death sentences in 2018
The state put to death 13 men this year. That's more than half the total number of people executed in the entire country: 25. Still, the death row population — both here and nationwide — is at a historic low. Full Story
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![The clock nears 6 p.m. at the "Walls" unit in Huntsville, where Texas executes its prisoners, on Jan. 26, 2017.]()
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Is “revenge porn” protected free speech? Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to weigh in.
A state appeals court ruled Texas' "revenge porn" law unconstitutional. Now, the state's highest criminal court will decide. Full Story
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Convicted murderer Alvin Braziel executed for killing Mesquite man and raping his wife
Braziel's attorneys failed to secure a delay in the execution after last-minute argument that prosecutorial conduct tainted his trail. He was the 13th and final inmate Texas put to death this year. Full Story
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![Alvin Braziel was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of Doug and Lora White on a Mesquite jogging trail.]()
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Richardson ISD's student demographics have significantly changed. The makeup of its school board hasn't.
Only one person of color has ever served on the Richardson ISD board. Now, he's suing the district over its method of electing school board members, alleging it denies people of color a fair say in who represents them. Full Story
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![Karen Hill (sp?) in her home in the Hamilton Park subdivision of Dallas. Her father, A. Maceo Johnson was a school teacher and had other prominent career rolls in education and served on the Dallas Civil Service Commission.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Report highlights the trauma that thousands of Texas families have experienced with incarceration
Researchers reviewed prison data and surveyed more than 4,000 adults this summer to determine how incarceration affects family members of prisoners. Full Story
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![Jaden opens his gift bag from his father Jason Jackson. Volunteers collect and organize age appropriate items that fathers then put into gift bags the day before the Day with Dad.]()
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Can public officials block users on Facebook? This Texas case could help answer that
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Thursday for Deanna Robinson's First Amendment case against the Hunt County Sheriff's Office. At issue is whether the sheriff's office was allowed to block her from its Facebook page. Full Story
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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturns death sentence for inmate Kenneth Wayne Thomas
Thomas' conviction stands, but he is entitled to a new punishment hearing based on modern standards for assessing intellectual disabilities, the court ruled. Full Story
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![Exterior of the Texas Supreme court building in Austin on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Texas liquor giant Spec's sues Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for "abusive" enforcement attempts
In a case that alleges overzealous business regulation, Spec's, the state's largest liquor store chain, is suing the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for “wrongfully and maliciously” trying to impose huge fines and sanctions on the retailer. The state says it's immune from such suits. Full Story
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![Spec’s Liquor President John Rydman, with wife and owner Lindy Rydman in blue and their daughter Lisa Rydman, granddaughter of the chain's founder, at the flagship store in Houston on June 29, 2017. Spec's got the green light to begin expanding again after an administrative court poured cold water on sanctions sought by state liquor regulators.]()
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Why did the Texas AG get into — and then out of — a controversial lawsuit in his home county?
On Nov. 19, the Texas Attorney General's Office backed Plano in a heated lawsuit over the city's development plan. On Nov. 20, the agency said it had made a mistake. Full Story
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![The Municipal Center in Plano on Oct. 10, 2015.]()
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Ken Paxton prosecutors to seek rehearing in pay decision
The court ruled Nov. 21 that six-figure payments for the prosecutors' work were outside legal limits. Full Story
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![Special prosecutors Brian Wice, left, and Kent Schaffer enter the Collin County Courthouse during a pre-trial motion hearing for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in McKinney.]()
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Texas executes Joseph Garcia, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees
Garcia was executed Tuesday night. He was the fourth of the "Texas Seven" inmates executed after the group escaped the Connally Unit in 2000 and killed Irving Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins during a Christmas Eve robbery. Full Story
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![Joseph Garcia was sentenced to death of the murder of Irving Police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Dec. 24, 2000.]()
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Dallas grand jury indicts Amber Guyger, fired officer who killed Botham Jean in alleged apartment mixup
The grand jury decided to indict Guyger on a murder charge for the Sept. 6 killing of Jean, an unarmed black man. Full Story
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![Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, left, shot and killed Botham Shem Jean in his apartment.]()
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AG Ken Paxton sues San Antonio, saying the city is violating Texas' anti-"sanctuary cities" law
The attorney general's office seeks more than $11 million in fines against San Antonio and accuses the city of "thwarting federal immigration enforcement." Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.]()
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Report: Houston-based pharmacy is supplier of state's execution drugs
Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy has been selling Texas drugs for lethal injections for three and a half years, according to a BuzzFeed News report. Full Story
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Advocates say the timing is right for independent oversight of Texas prisons
A bill aiming to detach the ombudsman from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice died in 2017. But news from the past year makes advocates hopeful that 2019 will be different. Full Story
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune
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