John Morton, who has overseen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2009, is resigning from his post.
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
Exoneree Faces Ex-Wife in Compensation Lawsuit
Ten years after he was sent to prison for sex crimes he didn’t commit, Steven Phillips and his wife divorced. In 2009, he was exonerated and awarded nearly $6 million in compensation. His ex-wife says she’s entitled to some of it.
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Criminal Justice
Senate Approves Life With Parole for 17-Year-Old Murderers
The Senate on Friday approved a measure that would require judges and juries to sentence 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder to life in prison with the chance of parole after 40 years.
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Criminal Justice
Inmate Families Sue Over Heat-Related Prison Deaths
Four inmates’ families on Thursday sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for wrongful deaths, alleging that prison officials failed to protect the men from extreme heat.
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Criminal Justice
Complaint Targets Process Used by Truancy Court
A complaint being filed with the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to declare that a Dallas County court’s process of prosecuting truancy as a crime is unconstitutional. But officials in the county say the initiative has been a model of success.
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Criminal Justice
Gallego Wants Combs to Update Study on Immigrants’ Fiscal Impact
U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, is asking the state comptroller to update a study on the fiscal impact of Texas’ population of undocumented immigrants.
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Criminal Justice
TDCJ to Close Two Privately Run Jails in August
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has decided to end operations at two privately run Texas prison facilities — the Dawson State Jail in Dallas and the Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility — on Aug. 31.
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Criminal Justice
Abortion-Related Legislation Added to Special Session Agenda
The special session’s agenda now includes the hot-button issue of abortion — which is sure to spark partisan warfare. Gov. Rick Perry also ordered the Legislature to take up a measure dealing with sentences for 17-year-olds convicted of capital felonies.
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Criminal Justice
Budget Plan for DPS Has Pay Hikes for Troopers
The 2014-15 budget plan for the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn’t include money for big-ticket items like gunboats or planes, but it does include money for troopers’ raises and retains funding for the agency’s fusion center.
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Criminal Justice
Water Treaty Concerns Trigger Lobbying Efforts, Calls for Changes
The Rio Grande Regional Water Authority has hired a PR firm to help urge the federal government to mandate that Mexico deliver water to the U.S. under a decades-old treaty. Legal experts say such conflicts would continue if the treaty isn’t amended.