Todd Smith was indicted in 2022 on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s office.
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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Immigration
Immigrants brought to the U.S. as children ask judges to keep protections against deportation
Texas and other GOP-led states filed the lawsuit seeking to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gives protection to more than 500,000 immigrants.
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Energy
Fight over West Texas nuclear waste plan to hit U.S. Supreme Court
A company has long pursued the plan to move “high-level” nuclear waste from power plants across the nation to a storage facility in Andrews County.
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Uvalde school shooting
Uvalde city officials release missing footage from officers responding to 2022 Robb Elementary shooting
The new videos largely affirm prior reporting and investigations that detailed law enforcement’s failures to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
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Criminal Justice
Supreme Court to review death penalty appeal challenging Texas’s DNA testing law
Ruben Gutierrez was sentenced to death for the 1998 Brownsville murder of an elderly woman. His execution was stayed in July.
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State Government
Ken Paxton sues TikTok for violating new Texas social media law
The attorney general argues that the popular short form video app has not complied with a new state law that seeks to protect children who are active online.
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Politics
Texas Supreme Court leaves State Fair’s gun ban in place
Attorney General Ken Paxton had turned to the high court to overturn the ban after other lower courts declined to intercede.
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Public Education
A Black student punished for his hairstyle wants to return to the Houston-area school he left
The legal request comes after a judge dismissed most of the claims in a lawsuit accusing Barbers Hill ISD of discrimination.
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State Government
Attorney General Ken Paxton targets El Paso nonprofit that offers legal services to migrants
Attorney General Ken Paxton has investigated at least five organizations this year that do immigration-related work.
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We the Texans
Free speech or political intimidation? A jury says this Trump Train organizer crossed the line.
Eliazar Cisneros was accused of organizing and participating in a Trump Train that used harassment and intimidation to prevent others from exercising their support for a candidate.