DAY 28 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Under a new tort reform law, the Texas Supreme Court will make rules to expedite certain lawsuits and to allow judges to dismiss meritless ones early on.
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
Out of Jail, Into Danger: Lockups Continue Nighttime Releases
County jail inmates are often released in the dark of night with little or no money and no transportation. Despite tragic stories of death and assaults, lawmakers this year failed to approve legislation that would require releases during daylight hours.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Tan on coming prison school cuts and online sales taxes, Root on Rick Perry’s support for tax increases when he was a lawmaker, Ramshaw and Serafini on what “Perrycare” would entail, yours truly on the differences between Perry and George W. Bush, Philpott on the passions of the Paulites, Murphy and Seger unveil the Trib’s Texas Public Schools Database, Hamilton on UT’s answer to calls for improvements in higher ed, Galbraith on predictions that the record heat in Texas will be a long-term problem and Aguilar on the legal shootout over gun sales in Texas: The best of our best content from Aug. 22 to 26, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
High Court Approves “Pole Tax” on Strip Clubs
The Texas Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a $5-per-patron tax on strips clubs does not violate the First Amendment, adding the latest chapter to a four-year legal battle.
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Criminal Justice
Texas Gun Dealer Sues Feds Over New Reporting Requirement
A new reporting requirement for firearms dealers in four border states, including Texas, intended to curb the flow of weapons into Mexico has prompted a veteran San Antonio gun dealer to file suit against the federal government.
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Criminal Justice
Despite Questions of Bias, Williamson County DA Will Stay on Morton Case
A state judge has declined to remove District Attorney John Bradley from continuing to investigate the case of Michael Morton, whose 1987 murder conviction has been called into question by new DNA evidence suggesting someone else killed his wife.
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Criminal Justice
DNA Implicates Another Man in 25-Year-Old Murder Case
New DNA test results in a 25-year-old murder case cast doubt on the conviction of Michael Morton, who was accused of killing his wife, Christine, in their Williamson County home on Aug. 13, 1986.
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Criminal Justice
31 Days, 31 Ways: Guns Allowed in Vehicles at Work
DAY 16 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Gun owners in Texas will not have to leave their weapons at home while they are at work anymore.
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Criminal Justice
Skinner, Awaiting DNA Ruling, Gets New Execution Date
For the fourth time, the state of Texas is scheduled to execute death row inmate Hank Skinner for the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons, potentially quashing his ability to request DNA testing under a new state law.
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Criminal Justice
Court Rules Against Individual Health Care Mandate
A federal appeals court today ruled that the individual insurance mandate in President Obama’s health care reform plan is unconstitutional, a decision Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott lauded as a step toward ending “Obamacare.”