A decision on whether Texas’ state-based immigration enforcement, Senate Bill 4, will be put on hold could come later this week. But even if it’s temporarily halted, the matter is far from over.
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
Politics
Texas House map must be redrawn, federal court says
Federal judges on Thursday found fault with some of the state’s 150 state House districts, which must now be redrawn ahead of the 2018 elections.
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Courts
Federal judge tosses new Texas voter ID law; state plans to appeal
A federal judge has tossed out a new law softening Texas’ strict voter identification requirements. Texas’ attorney general says he will appeal the ruling.
Posted in
Lock the Vote
Puzzling shapes: Travel across this gerrymandered Texas district
As part of our Lock The Vote series, we examine a key piece of Republicans’ 2011 redistricting strategy, which courts said discriminated against minorities: U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s curiously-shaped 35th Congressional District.
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Criminal Justice
Court halts execution of convicted child killer who claims intellectual disability
A man convicted in the sexual assault and murder of an 11-year-old girl was set to die next Wednesday. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped his execution amid claims of intellectual disability.
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Courts
Texas voting law on language interpreters violates Voting Rights Act, court says
Texas violated the Voting Rights Act by restricting the interpretation assistance English-limited voters may receive, a federal appeals court ruled.
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Courts
Federal court invalidates part of Texas congressional map
Federal judges have invalidated two of Texas’ 36 congressional districts, setting up a scramble to redraw them ahead of the 2018 elections.
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Criminal Justice
Murderer Bernie Tiede denied new trial by appeals court
Bernie Tiede, the East Texas mortician-turned-murderer whose crime prompted a Hollywood movie, lost one round of his appeals Thursday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge approves temporary relocation of 1,000 hot prisoners
A federal judge signed off on Texas’ proposal to temporarily move more than 1,000 inmates from one hot prison to 11 different facilities around the state.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas plans to move 1,000 inmates to air-conditioned prison units
Texas submitted a court-ordered proposal Thursday to move about 1,000 medically sensitive inmates from an uncooled prison southeast of College Station to air-conditioned units elsewhere in the state.
