For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in politics and government, we returned to the subject of gun laws, asking the same set of questions posed after July’s theater shooting in Colorado. After Connecticut’s schoolhouse shooting, the answers have changed.
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 Weekly Newsreel: Money for Schools, Guns for Schools
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, unveiled their school choice legislation, without many financial details and hardly a word about vouchers. And last week’s schoolhouse shootings in Connecticut prompted Texas legislators to propose changes in the state’s gun laws.
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Criminal Justice
The State of the Gun
Texas is a gun state, more likely to expand gun rights after a mass killing than to restrict them. While there are proposals to buy back guns or restrict sales, Texas leaders are pushing to allow guns in more places.
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Criminal Justice
Bill Aims to Increase Child Sex Assault Convictions
State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, a former prosecutor and judge, has filed a bill that would allow prosecutors to include accusations by other victims in child sexual assault cases. Defense attorneys worry it would lead to wrongful convictions.
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Criminal Justice
Video: Gohmert on Guns
On this morning’s edition of Fox News Sunday, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, rejected calls for stricter gun laws following Friday’s tragic school shooting in Connecticut.
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Criminal Justice
Bill Renews Debate on Merging Top Two Courts
State Rep. Richard Peña Raymond has filed a bill to abolish the Court of Criminal Appeals and bring all of its related cases under the Texas Supreme Court. He’s triggering a debate that goes all the way back to Reconstruction.
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Criminal Justice
Death Row Population at Its Lowest Since 1989
Mirroring a national trend, death sentences in Texas have declined over the last decade. Death sentences have fallen 75 percent since 2002, according to a new report. And the Texas death row population is the lowest in more than 20 years.
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Criminal Justice
Abbott Backs Federal Measure Increasing Child Porn Penalties
Attorney General Greg Abbott expressed support Friday for a federal measure that increases penalties for viewing child pornography. Federal judges and advocates have said that the penalties are already steep enough.
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Criminal Justice
Perry Shuffles the Deck
As he enters the last regular session of this term as governor, Rick Perry opts for a trusted supporter in a top political job and a respected agency manager to run his own office.
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Criminal Justice
New Divorce Forms Make Breakups Cheaper, Easier, but Stoke Controversy
A Texas Supreme Court decision approving standardized divorce forms will give poor people easier access to divorce than ever before. But opponents of the forms worry that without a lawyer’s help, the process could go wrong.