During a trip to Austin Wednesday, Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, the governor-elect of Tamaulipas, got a head start on improving the relationship between Mexico and Texas.
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
Texas Sees an Unusual Lull in Executions
It’s been more than five months since the last execution in Texas, an unusual gap for the nation’s most prolific death penalty state.
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Criminal Justice
Dan Patrick Again Targeting In-State Tuition For Undocumented Students
When Texas lawmakers meet next year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is promising to again target a 2001 law that lets some undocumented immigrants pay in-state college tuition.
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Criminal Justice
Empower Texans Escalates Battle With Ethics Commission
The influential conservative group Empower Texans is escalating its long-running battle against the Texas Ethics Commission, accusing a former member of improperly seeking to influence state legislation.
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Criminal Justice
Keep Preteens Out of Juvenile System, Texas House Panel Told
Already facing calls to limit when teenagers are treated as adults in the criminal justice system, Texas lawmakers next year may also see legislation trying to keep preteens from being shunted into the juvenile justice system.
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Criminal Justice
Senators Consider Texas Nominees for Long-Vacant Judicial Seats
During a hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee that convened to consider nominees for five federal district court seats in Texas, the candidates promised senators they would steer clear of becoming activist judges.
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Criminal Justice
Cruz, Cornyn Try to Deliver Five New Federal Judges for Texas
Texas consistently ranks as one of the states with the most open seats on the federal bench, with some judgeships vacant for years. Five nominees are set for U.S. Senate committee hearings Wednesday.
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Criminal Justice
Juvenile Justice Agency Making Case to Escape Budget Cuts
If state leaders insist, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department has identified ways to cut its budget by $16.8 million, or 2.8 percent, for the 2018-2019 biennium.
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Criminal Justice
Texas Rep Wants to Limit His Industry’s Liability For Busting Pipes
State Rep. Cecil Bell, a private contractor, says he has a plan to curb costly and sometimes dangerous strikes to underground pipelines during construction: make sure whoever is responsible pays to fix them.
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Criminal Justice
In Ken Paxton Case, SEC Lawyers Face Skeptical Judge at Hearing
A federal judge considering whether to dismiss the civil fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested that the Securities and Exchange Commission was trying to fit a “square peg into a round hole,” basing its case on precedents that do not back up their arguments.
