Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco received a 30-year prison sentence in a San Antonio migrant smuggling case that left 53 people dead.
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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Foster Care in Texas
More than $320M in foster care reforms, oversight, enough to end court monitoring, state tells court
“Substantial” compliance to federal court-ordered improvements should be enough to end 15-year-old lawsuit, state argues
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Health care
Federal judge to weigh Texas bid to dismiss 15-year-old suit seeking foster care system reform
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane will hold the first public hearing in two years this week on the lawsuit, which prompted constant court oversight of the troubled system.
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Courts
Texas man seeks to have armed robbery conviction tossed over no-warrant Flock camera search
Defense lawyers asked a federal appeals court to void the conviction, arguing the cameras give police more power than the Constitution allows.
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2026 Texas Elections
Texas sued for failing to process more than 500,000 voter registrations
Voting rights groups are asking a judge to enforce a 2021 settlement aimed at providing reliable online registration through DPS.
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Health care
Texas woman uses state law to sue anti-abortion group that allegedly ordered abortion pills online
Unable to abort two unplanned pregnancies because of the law, the woman is suing Students for Life for the cost of raising the children. The group posted about buying the pills undercover.
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Immigration
San Antonio sues to block plans to convert warehouse into an ICE detention center
The city argued that federal officials failed to review the environmental impact of a proposed facility that could hold 1,500 people a day.
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Criminal Justice
Texas carries out nation’s first execution since Tennessee’s botched attempt
Jamaal Howard’s lawyers had sought a last-minute stay citing the inmate’s mental fitness, but their bid was denied by a state and federal court.
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Higher Education
Texas college campus protest law faces First Amendment challenge
A federal appeals court will consider whether restrictions on protests at Texas’ public universities and colleges violate constitutional rights.
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Immigration
Judge halts border barrier construction in Big Bend
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone’s ruling means federal contractors can’t continue construction in the national park or surrounding areas until a lawsuit opposing the work is resolved.
