Stockman, former aide indicted on fraud charges
The case against Steve Stockman is growing. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call -
Supreme Court says Texas can’t use old medical standards for death row inmates
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas death row inmate Tuesday, sending his case back to the appeals court and invalidating the state's method of determining if a death-sentenced inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Full Story
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![Bobby Moore has been on death row since 1980, convicted of murdering James McCarble, a 72-year-old grocery clerk, during a robbery.]()
Credit: TDCJ/Abby Livingston -
Texas death penalty juror hopes to change law as execution looms
As Paul Storey's execution looms, one juror is asking the Texas Legislature to clarify the jury instructions in death penalty cases, claiming he didn't know he alone could have stopped the sentence. Full Story
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![Paul Storey]()
Credit: Illustration by Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Stockman says he'll be vindicated as lawyers brush off "deep state" blame
Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, said Friday he will be vindicated in the conspiracy case against him while his lawyers brushed off the suggestion a "deep state" shadow government was behind his arrest. Full Story
![Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call -
Yet again, lawmakers poised to do little to help sex-trafficking victims
When it comes to child sex trafficking, Texas lawmakers are once again poised to focus on criminal enforcement this legislative session rather than providing resources to victims. Full Story
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![People who care for sex-trafficking victims have a common refrain: It's not if they'll run away, but when.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Senate panel OKs bill requiring schools to teach teens about interacting with police
The proposal, Senate Bill 30, is a bipartisan response to deadly encounters between law enforcement and civilians seen in recent years throughout the country. Full Story
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House committee makes changes to anti-"sanctuary" bill
More than 600 people signed up on Wednesday to testify before the House State Affairs Committee on the lower chamber's version of the controversial proposal to outlaw "sanctuary" jurisdictions. Full Story
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![State Affairs Committee member Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, at the hearing on Senate Bill 4, the "sanctuary cities" bill, on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas proposal would limit prosecutors in grand jury proceedings
Grand jury reform legislation would allow suspects' attorneys to be present during questioning and would prevent prosecutors from going to another grand jury if the first one declines to indict – unless there's new evidence. Full Story
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Texas executes Fort Worth man who killed a father and an infant
The state carried out its fourth execution of the year, putting to death 61-year-old James Bigby. He was convicted in the 1987 murders of his friend and a 4-month-old during a killing spree in Fort Worth. Full Story
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![Death row inmate James Bigby, sentenced to death for the 1987 murders of Michael Trekell and Trekell's 4-month-old son, Jayson Kehler.]()
Credit: TDCJ -
Senators grill one another in tense hearing on property tax bill
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt's attempt to limit when cities and counties can increase property tax collections without an election drew bipartisan opposition Tuesday. But many supporters also came to the bill's defense. Full Story
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![State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, listens to testimony on SB2 at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what the revised Texas bathroom bill means in plain English
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, the author of the so-called "bathroom bill," last week unveiled a revised version of Senate Bill 6. We've updated our plain English annotation of the bill to explain how it would impact communities across Texas. Full Story
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![An all-gender restroom at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang / The Texas Tribune -
Advocates hope to end policy in Texas of jailing poor for unpaid fines
Thousands of Texans are at risk of being arrested at any given moment for not paying fines often related to traffic offenses or other city ordinance violations, according to a recent report. Full Story
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![Inmates in the Harris County Jail in 2011.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Proposed law would crowdfund donations to help with rape kit backlog
As Texas faces a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, lawmakers appear unwilling to spend state dollars to address the problem — but they're considering crowdfunding. Full Story
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![Jenny Black, executive director/coordinator at Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, shows a sexual assault evidence collection kit at St. David's Medical Center in Austin on July 29, 2013.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Mayors say Texas, U.S. politics increasingly undermine city needs
A major source of division among cities and state officials is differing opinions on what local control means — and to whom it provides the power to govern. Full Story
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![Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings was among a group of Texas mayors at a Feb. 17, 2017, news conference discussing their unified agenda in working with the 85th Texas Legislature.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Paxton prosecutors want to delay May 1 trial until they can get paid
The special prosecutors handling the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are asking to put off his trial until they can get paid. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Texas counties rally against statewide court records portal
Texas counties are trying to kill an effort to allow public access to court records from all 254 counties through an online portal, and they've found friendly ears in the Legislature. Full Story
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Homeland Security notes sharp drop in illegal crossings in February
The Trump administration on Wednesday celebrated what the Department of Homeland Security said was an unprecedented drop in illegal crossing on the country’s Southwest border since the president took office Jan. 20. Full Story
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![Customs and Border Protection agents constantly patrol wide gravel roads along the border fence. The traffic — which has increased as border enforcement budgets have soared — is another threat to border wildlife, according to scientists and conservationists.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Senate passes bill on inappropriate teacher-student relationships
Senate Bill 7 would punish school principals and superintendents who fail to report teachers with a history of inappropriate romantic or sexual relationships with students. Full Story
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![Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Bill to bar death penalty for mentally ill faces uphill battle
State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, has filed long-shot House Bill 3080, which would prevent offenders proven to have had a severe mental illness at the time of their crime from being sentenced to death in a capital murder case. Full Story
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![State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, announces a bill on March 7, 2017, that would make it illegal to sentence to death someone who is severely mentally ill.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes triggerman in San Antonio murder-for-hire case
Texas executed hitman Ronaldo Ruiz late Tuesday night, 25 years after he killed a San Antonio woman for $2,000. Full Story
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![Death row inmate Rolando Ruiz was executed on March 7, 2017. He was convicted of murdering Theresa Rodriguez, 29, of San Antonio. He was hired by her husband, Michael Rodriguez, and his brother, Mark.]()
Credit: TDCJ