In 2004, two brothers thought they had found the perfect ecologically friendly business venture: create a wetlands preserve on 4,000 acres of neglected farmland along the Sulphur River in Northeast Texas and make a pile of money selling mitigation credits to developers who build over environmentally sensitive lands elsewhere. Seven years later, the only thing stopping them from realizing that dream is the state of Texas, which has plans to submerge their property under 80 feet of water.
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
Stiles’ and Torres’ three-parter on the changing Texas political map, Ramsey on questions about Brian Birdwell’s voting history and residency, Aguilar on the Obama administration’s immigration crackdown, Reed on hospitals that won’t induce early labor, Stiles on what Troy Fraser left off his financial disclosure form, the latest installment of Hu’s Face-Off video debate series, Grissom on the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program, Galbraith on the controversy over fracking and M. Smith’s interview with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill: The best of our best from July 26 to 30, 2010.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Appeals
Judge Sharon Keller says that in sanctioning her, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct “acted in a lawless, unconstitutional manner.”
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: More Calls for Innocence Commission
Michael Anthony Green was supposed to be freed today after serving 27 years for a rape he didn’t commit. The exoneration is the second in two weeks to come from Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ Post Conviction Review Section. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said the findings give more credence to his argument that Texas needs a state innocence commission.
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Criminal Justice
A Conversation with Harriet O’Neill
After nearly two decades on the bench, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill stepped down earlier this year. She talks with the TT’s Morgan Smith about her legacy and what’s next.
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Criminal Justice
Harriet O’Neill: The TT Interview
The former Texas Supreme Court justice on her 18 years in the judiciary, women on the court, the all-Republican bench and what she really thinks about judicial elections.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: The Karate Kid
Supreme Court Justice David Medina can throw a punch — and take one too.
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Criminal Justice
Hide in Plain Sight
A few elected officials and municipalities in Texas are asking a federal judge to throw out the state’s open meetings law, which they claim is an infringement on free speech. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: A “Public Warning” For Keller [Updated]
Sharon Keller got a “public warning” from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for refusing to keep her office open past 5 pm on the day a Texas death row inmate was scheduled to die.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Cornyn Says No to Kagan
The senator says Kagan has not made clear she would “protect the fundamental rights written in our constitution.”