Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
Courts
Stay up to date on Texas courts with in-depth coverage of major rulings, judicial elections, criminal justice, and the judges shaping state law from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Judge blocks Beto O’Rourke from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state
The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Abbott’s bid to expel the House Democratic leader goes to a court filled with his appointees
The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider.
Posted in
Politics
Federal appeals court sides with Texas on ID requirements for voting by mail
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state’s voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots do not violate the Civil Rights Act.
Posted in
State Government
Texas AG can’t depose Catholic Charities leader in migrant aid case, appeals court rules
The three-judge panel agreed with a lower court that Ken Paxton’s office can’t question officials from Catholic Charities under oath without first filing a lawsuit.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas House panel advances redrawn congressional map that would add more GOP seats
The new district lines could be considered by the entire state House as soon as early next week.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas’ proposed congressional map dismantles districts flagged by DOJ
The Department of Justice said four districts unconstitutionally combined Black and Hispanic voters, a charge the state disputes. If the proposed map passes, two will still be multiracial.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Senate once again tries to give the attorney general authority to prosecute election crimes
A similar proposal stalled out earlier this year over disagreements between the House and Senate. This time, lawmakers might clash over whether to approve the new bill along with a constitutional amendment.
Posted in
Higher Education
From racism claims to a $725,000 settlement, a UNT professor’s lawsuit mirrors Texas’ shifting views on free speech
Professor Timothy Jackson was accused of making racist remarks at the height of the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd’s murder. His free speech suit against the university comes to an end in the era of DEI bans.
Posted in
Immigration
Trump’s “one-two punch” targeting immigration courts will test Texas detention centers, experts warn
Moves to end bond for migrants and fire dozens of immigration judges deprive undocumented detainees of due process and may keep them in overcrowded centers longer, experts say.