Ryan Patrick, who worked as a state district judge until losing a re-election campaign this past November, would become the top federal prosecutor in one of the busiest districts in the country.
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.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court examines investigatory funding in Texas death penalty case
A 1995 murder of a Houston woman led a case to the nation’s highest court Monday. The U.S Supreme Court heard arguments on the issue of federal funding in death penalty investigations during the appeals process.
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Criminal Justice
District attorney closes probe into Paxton legal defense gift
Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley said her office had closed its investigation into whether Attorney General Ken Paxton acted illegally in accepting a $100,000 gift from a CEO whose company was under investigation for fraud.
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State Government
Texas attorney general sues feds, seeks to help family adopt Native American 2-year-old
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the federal government over a law that seeks to keep Native American children from being separated from their families.
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In Harvey's Wake
How Harvey-affected kids in jail or on probation are getting help in Houston
Dozens of minors in jail or on probation in Harris County are facing new hurdles after Hurricane Harvey. A local nonprofit is expanding to help youth in the criminal justice system who’ve lost everything in the storm.
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Health care
ACLU asks appeals court to reconsider ruling delaying abortion for undocumented teen
Days after a three-judge panel ruled that an undocumented teen in Texas would not immediately have access to an abortion, the American Civil Liberties Union is asking all 10 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reconsider.
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Criminal Justice
In Austin, Sessions touts Trump’s hardline stance on immigration
“The President is determined, first and finally, to build a wall at the border,” Sessions said during a 20-minute speech in downtown Austin in which he praised state Republicans who approved an anti-“sanctuary” law earlier this year.
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Immigration
Federal judge rules pregnant, undocumented teen in Texas has right to abortion access
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a pregnant, undocumented teenager under federal custody in Brownsville has the right to access abortion services in Texas.
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Criminal Justice
Texas court halts execution to review claims that co-defendant lied at trial
The execution of Clinton Young, convicted in a 2001 Midland-area murder, was stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The courts will look into claims that Young’s co-defendant lied in his testimony against Young.
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Politics
Cruz presses Sessions on Trump administration’s “catch-and-release” policy
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday pressed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on why the Trump administration was still operating under a “catch-and-release” policy for undocumented immigrants in federal custody.
