Senior District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans recused herself after a challenge to her impartiality over longtime relationships with case prosecutors and judges.
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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State Government
Feds can’t destroy razor wire Texas installed near Eagle Pass, appeals court rules
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the Biden administration after Border Patrol agents had cut the razor wire.
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Politics
Ken Paxton can’t be deposed under oath in whistleblower lawsuit, Texas Supreme Court says
The attorney general has agreed not to contest a lawsuit brought by former employees accusing him of retaliation after they said he abused his office.
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Criminal Justice
Federal appeals court affirms ruling that Caldwell County must hold public bail hearings
The Texas Tribune, the Caldwell/Hays Examiner and Mano Amiga challenged the county’s policy of barring the press and public from bail hearings, saying it violated the First Amendment.
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Robert Roberson
Texas can schedule Robert Roberson’s execution — but lawmakers still expect his testimony first
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.
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Robert Roberson
Texas Supreme Court removes temporary block to Robert Roberson’s execution
The state’s highest civil court ruled that legislators can’t use subpoenas to block death row inmates’ executions, but suggested there’s still time for Roberson to testify before a Texas House panel.
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Immigration
Judge strikes down Biden administration program shielding immigrant spouses from deportation
A Tyler-based federal judge ruled the administration overstepped its authority with the “Keeping Families Together” program. Texas and other states sued to halt it.
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Politics
Republican sweep in Texas also extended to state’s appellate courts
Republican judges won in 25 out of 26 contested races throughout the state in a show of the party’s broader strength up and down Tuesday’s ballot.
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Criminal Justice
Texas’ highest criminal court orders new trial for death row inmate over judge’s alleged antisemitic bias
Randy Halprin was a member of a gang of prisoners known as the “Texas 7” who escaped from custody and killed an Irving police officer in 2000.
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2024 Texas Elections
Paxton’s picks cement Republicans’ hold on Texas’ highest criminal court
Three new faces will join the bench, but the political balance of power will remain the same on the Court of Criminal Appeals.