Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low.
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
More than 100 Texans active in the Jan. 6 insurrection among those pardoned
A Texan was the first to breach the Capitol and many others joined the assault. The presidential pardon helps cast all of them as folk heroes.
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Immigration
Appeals court rules against DACA, but leaves protections for migrants in place
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed the ruling as a victory. But DACA recipients can continue renewing permits to live and work in the U.S.
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Environment
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 22 other states sue to halt planned federal methane fines
The rule fines certain oil and gas facilities that exceed federal limits for methane emissions.
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Courts
Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County Republican
The Court of Criminal Appeals will rehear a case it threw out last year. Three of the judges became targets of Attorney General Ken Paxton over another ruling and lost reelection.
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Politics
U.S. Supreme Court weighing constitutionality of Texas’ age-verification requirement for porn sites
The Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ law, which adult entertainment website attorneys said were the most overreaching in the country, could determine the fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.
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Courts
When is a business to blame for over-serving? Texas Supreme Court weighs the line in drunk driving case
The court’s ruling could boost a state law that allows drunk driving victims to sue businesses that over-serve alcohol to intoxicated individuals.
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State Government
Ken Paxton files second lawsuit against TikTok for exposing minors to explicit content
The attorney general argues that the social media company violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by listing itself as appropriate for children.
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Politics
Jimmy Blacklock named new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court
Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.
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Criminal Justice
Seven Texans facing federal execution given clemency, four others given state pardons
On the same day that President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of seven Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott issued his own set of pardons.