After ex-employee is accused of fraud, UT hires a former federal prosecutor to investigate internal controls
A former director at the university's law school is accused of fraud in a case potentially involving millions of dollars. 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 -
Asked to propose a fix to voting rights violation, Texas offers few answers
Following a ruling last month that Texas was violating a law designed to ease the voter registration process, a federal judge ordered the state to submit a plan to fix it. Texas' response offered few specifics. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Little-known state agency causes controversy as chief judge forces resignation
The administrative law judges who oversee disputes involving state agencies typically don't attract much attention, but the forced departure of a judge has critics questioning whether the agency's independence is at risk — and calling on the governor to replace her. Full Story
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![The State Office of Administrative Hearings' Chief Administrative Law Judge Lesli G. Ginn.]()
Credit: State Office of Administrative Hearings website -
Texas executed Juan Castillo, who said he was innocent, for 2003 San Antonio murder
A Texas death row inmate was executed Wednesday — his fourth execution date in a year. Though advocates and his attorneys insisted on Juan Castillo's innocence, he lost all his fights in court and was put to death for a 2003 San Antonio murder. Full Story
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![Juan Castillo was sentenced to death in a 2003 robbery and murder in San Antonio.]()
Credit: TDCJ -
Judge allows group of "Dreamers" to formally fight Texas' lawsuit to end DACA
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund can represent a group of young undocumented immigrants in opposing a lawsuit aimed at ending an Obama-era immigration program shielding people like them from deportation. Full Story
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![Texans protest in front of the attorney general's office after the White House announced it would phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.]()
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Texas sues the maker of OxyContin over the opioid epidemic
The Texas Attorney General's Office says Purdue Pharma fueled "the nation's opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers," including OxyContin. Full Story
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![A pharmacist holds prescription painkiller OxyContin, 40mg pills, made by Purdue Pharma.]()
Credit: REUTERS/George Frey -
The Supreme Court ruled that states can legalize sports gambling. But Texas still might not play.
Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders have shown resistance to expanding gambling in the state in recent years. Full Story
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![The 2008 NCAA Men's Division basketball tournament at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 27, 2008.]()
Credit: Jeff Turner/Wikimedia Commons -
How a federal lawsuit could open the door to online voter registration in Texas
Texas is one of just a handful of states that doesn't offer online voter registration. Advocates are hoping a recent ruling from a federal judge could change that. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Saying the state is violating a voter registration law, federal judge gives Texas until Thursday to propose a fix
Civil rights advocates hope that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia could force Texas to adopt a version of online voter registration. Full Story
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![Voters line up at an early voting station in Houston on Oct. 24, 2016. Poll workers said the lines were much longer than normal for early voting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Survivors ask Texas AG to take action against owners of Karolyi Ranch, site of alleged sexual abuse of female gymnasts
The Texas Rangers have been investigating Karolyi Ranch since January, but lawyers for survivors say action from the state attorney general is needed as well. Full Story
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![Autumn Blaney, a teenager who says she suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar, a former doctor for the Olympic women's gymnastics team, speaks at a press conference in Austin on May 10, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Judge says Texas death row inmate's sentence should be reduced due to false evidence at trial
Paul Storey's case had been granted another review less than one week before he was scheduled to be executed. Full Story
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![Paul Storey]()
Credit: Illustration by Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Judge approves settlement mandating air conditioning at hot Texas prison
“I never dreamt we’d get the Pack Unit air-conditioned,” the federal judge said at a Houston hearing. Full Story
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![Inmates shuffle past new fans in the TDCJ Memorial Unit in Brazoria Co. on July 12, 2017. The prison was called the Darrington Unit until 2023.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas lawsuit killed one Obama immigration policy. Can the same strategy defeat DACA?
Two years ago, Texas won a case blocking an immigration policy just one letter different from DACA. As it challenges the narrower, more popular program, Texas has come armed with the same legal arguments that succeeded last time around. Full Story
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![Undocumented youth and allies showed signs to protest the Supreme Court's decision in 2016, which blocked President Obama's DAPA program.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang/The Texas Tribune -
Are charter schools private? In Texas courts, it depends why you're asking.
Texas charter schools are sometimes private and sometimes governmental — a legal framework that has helped them avoid costly lawsuits. Full Story
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Former University of Texas law school official arrested as part of ongoing fraud investigation
Jason Shoumaker, the law school's former facilities director, was arrested Thursday. The alleged fraud could involve "several million dollars of questionable expenses," a source familiar with the probe said. 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 -
The government took $41,000 from this Texan at a Houston airport six months ago. They never gave it back.
A nurse from Katy is suing Customs and Border Protection after the agency took the cash from her last October and never charged her with a crime. Advocates say the case shows just how abusive the practice of civil asset forfeiture can be. Full Story
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![Anthonia Nwaorie, a 59-year-old nurse who lives in Katy, is suing Customs and Border Protection after the agency took $41,000 from her and never charged her with a crime. Nwaorie planned to use the money to build a medical clinic in her home country of Nigeria.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Blake Farenthold tells Gov. Abbott he won't pay for special election to replace him
Farenthold resigned in April, months after it came to light that he settled a sexual harassment claim from a former staff member with $84,000 in taxpayer money. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott (left) and former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Abbott/Bob Daemmrich: Farenthold -
Harris County appoints investigator to look into former death row inmate's innocence claim
Nearly three years after his release from prison, Alfred Dewayne Brown is still trying to get state compensation for his years spent on Texas' death row. On Wednesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced an independent review of Brown's innocence claim. Full Story
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![Alfred Dewayne Brown hugs his sister Connie Brown on the day of his release, June 8, 2015.]()
Credit: Karen Warren/ Houston Chronicle -
Immigration shelters nationwide ordered to show minors disputed Texas booklet that links abortion to cancer
Four congressional Democrats objected to the pamphlet this week, saying it includes "blatant lies about the safety of abortion." Full Story
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![Pages from the state's proposed update to "A Woman's Right to Know" booklet]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. René Oliveira arrested, charged with DWI
State Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville, has been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, according to authorities. Full Story
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![Mugshot of state Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville. Oliveira was arrested Friday night, April 27, 2018, and charged with driving while intoxicated.]()
Credit: Brownsville Police Department
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