The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The Senate on Wednesday gave initial approval to legislation that would roll back local mobile phone ordinances that go beyond the recent statewide ban on texting while driving. Full Story
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Eight doses of the state's supply of pentobarbital, the only drug used in Texas executions, expired on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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With two days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel committed fraud. Full Story
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Most Texas prisons remain un-air conditioned, but a federal judge's ruling Wednesday called conditions at one prison cruel and unusual and ordered temporary air conditioning for heat-sensitive inmates. Full Story
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Sources say that Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax has hired Detroit Deputy Chief Ulysha Renee Hall, who'll be the first female to serve as police chief in Dallas. Full Story
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The former police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards has been indicted on a murder charge, a rare occurrence in a state and nation where criminal charges against an officer are almost nonexistent. Full Story
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Mandy Mann thought she had paid her dues for a 2009 traffic stop. But six years later, the Waco mom was stopped and arrested — for failing to comply with the state's troubled Driver Responsibility Program. Full Story
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Texas death row inmate Scott Panetti, diagnosed with schizophrenia, will be given a new shot to prove his incompetency after a federal appeals court ruling on Tuesday. Full Story
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Texas and its legal foes are back in court this week to hash out whether the state can hold the 2018 elections with its existing political maps. Full Story
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A federal judge said that three professors suing the state to block campus carry didn't present any "concrete evidence to substantiate their fears" that the law would have a chilling effect on free speech. Full Story
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Raising money for a politician for non-political purposes raises a question: Were the donors politically motivated, or just friends with a lot of cash on hand? Full Story
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"Family friends" of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are continuing to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into his effort to fight securities fraud charges. Full Story
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An Austin-based writer's quest to learn his grandfather's story leads to death row — and a little-known series of experiments that involved giving hallucinogens to inmates in the early 1960s. Full Story
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Texas police officers and other first responders who have job-related mental health issues can soon be diverted into pretrial treatment programs if they commit a crime, but many large counties don't appear interested in creating the new specialty courts. Full Story
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After 10 months and 81 decisions, the Texas Supreme Court wrapped up its 2017 term on Friday. Here's a look back at what the nine justices decided — and didn't. Full Story
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Organizations representing hundreds of Texas cities and school boards unsuccessfully urged Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a bill aimed at restricting drone use around the state. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state’s ban on direct corporate campaign contributions, denying a challenge from a Tea Party group that called it unconstitutional. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lower court ruling that said spouses of gay and lesbian public employees are entitled to government-subsidized same-sex marriage benefits. Full Story
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All four U.S. attorney seats, 11 district judgeships and two slots on the historically conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sit open. Full Story
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The securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton kicked off Thursday in Harris County with no new trial date being set. Paxton has had two previous trial dates scrapped due to legal disputes. Full Story
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