The Fort Hood shooter made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but a trial, the military court decided, won’t happen until October.
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
Memorial Data
Since our November launch, we’ve published more than 30 web applications made from government records, including the most comprehensive public payroll database in the state, an interactive database with all 160,000 inmates serving time in the 100-plus state prison units, rankings of more than 5,800 public schools, a comprehensive list of every red-light enforcement camera in Texas, and databases with state-level fundraising and spending for members of the Legislature and statewide elected officials. Readers have viewed these pages more than 2.3 million times — more than a third of the site’s overall traffic.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: It’s Lehrmann
Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann to the Place 3 seat that Harriet O’Neill will soon vacate on the Texas Supreme Court. Lehrmann, a Fort Worth District Court judge, won the Republican nomination for that seat in a runoff against former state Rep. Rick Green, R-Dripping Springs.
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Criminal Justice
Justice Delayed
Death row inmate Hank Skinner bought himself some time Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to address whether he can bring a federal civil rights lawsuit instead of making a habeas corpus claim. But legal experts say he’s unlikely to escape his ultimate punishment.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Supremes Will Hear Hank Skinner DNA Case
The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it will take up Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner’s case.
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Criminal Justice
The Price of Innocence
Let’s say you served time for a crime you didn’t commit: How much is each year you lost really worth? A new law increases the state’s payout to exonerees, but the process of getting compensated is its own form of punishment.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Search Perry’s People
Search our updated database of Gov. Rick Perry’s more than 2,000 current appointees to state boards and commissions.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Paycheck U.
Today we’re adding another 17 agencies to our government salaries database, an extra 67,000 workers who collectively earn $2.9 billion in public payroll. The database now has records on more than 550,000 employees working at 62 of the largest state agencies, cities, universities, counties and mass-transit authorities.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: The Capitol in 3-D
The next legislative session is more than eight months away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore the Capitol grounds — from your desk — thanks to Google Maps.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Senators Get Social
With more and more state employees and elected officials using websites like Facebook and Twitter the onslaught of social media use within governmental bodies brings with it a lot of questions.