Michael Morton’s tragic wrongful conviction for his wife’s murder 25 years ago illustrates the best and worst of science in the courtroom, a judge said on Monday.
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
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on Rick Perry’s Texas Enterprise Fund, Aguliar on the DOJ’s Joe Arpaio problem, Galbraith on the uncertainty about Texas’ electric grid, Grissom and Schwartz of The New York Times on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton on the first leg of Perry’s Iowa bus tour, Murphy and McLain unveil our new campaign finance database, Ramsey et al. go live with the first round of our 2012 election brackets, Root on a GOP rival’s queries about Perry’s pension play, M. Smith contrasts the various school finance lawsuits and Tan, Dehn and Murphy on a shortage of mental health professionals: The best of our best content from December 19-23, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Texas Has Largest Population Growth
The Lone Star State is getting bigger. Texas had the largest population growth of any state between April 2010 and July 2011, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Morton Seeks Inquiry of Former Prosecutor
When Michael Morton is officially cleared of wrongful murder charges on Monday, his lawyers will try to do something unprecedented: They will ask for a special inquiry into former prosecutor Ken Anderson’s role in his conviction.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Root’s scoop on Rick Perry’s working retirement, Aaronson maps poverty in Texas, Aguilar on a voting rights warning shot from the U.S. Attorney General, Galbraith on the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations, Grissom on the drop in executions, Hamilton and M. Smith on UT-Austin President Bill Powers’ rough year, Murphy and Tan and Dehn on the shortage of psychiatrists and Ramshaw on the federal refusal to exclude operators like Planned Parenthood from family planning programs: The best of our best content from December 12 to 16, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
Dallas Fed President: Indecision Stymies Economy
The engine is primed to rev up the national economy, but businesses aren’t putting the pedal to the metal, Richard W. Fisher, the president and CEO of the Dallas Federal Reserve, said today.
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Criminal Justice
Executions, Death Sentences Drop in Texas, Nation
Leading a national downward trend in the use of the death penalty, Texas has executed just 13 prisoners so far in 2011, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries meted out only eight new death sentences.
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Criminal Justice
Jana Duty: The Texas Tribune Interview
The Williamson County attorney on how the Michael Morton case inspired her to run against Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, and her concerns that his office could still allow the same mistakes.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: What Are Federal Lawmakers Saying?
The Sunlight Foundation released an update to the interactive Capitol Words on Monday. The application allows users to search and compare words spoken by federal legislators using data from the Congressional Record.
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Criminal Justice
New Youth Agency Taking Shape as Two Close
With the closure of two previous youth agencies, lawmakers and advocates hope to see cost savings and better results out of the new Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
