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.
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
Criminal Justice
Lawmakers failed to end troubled Driver Responsibility Program
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas death row inmate Scott Panetti to get further competency review
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.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
With 2018 election looming, Texas back in court over political maps
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Federal judge throws out effort by UT professors to overturn campus carry
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Paxton’s “friends” are still helping attorney general pay for his legal defense
“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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Analysis: The advantages of having really, really good “friends”
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?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Everything you need to know about Texas’ “sanctuary cities” law
Here’s everything you need to know about Senate Bill 4, a controversial immigration enforcement measure banning “sanctuary cities” across Texas.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
My grandfather was a death row doctor. He tested psychedelic drugs on Texas inmates.
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Some counties question need of special courts for law enforcement
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.
