Three of the biggest social services messes of Rick Perry’s ten-year tenure — the sexual abuse scandal at the Texas Youth Commission, fight clubs at state institutions for the disabled and deaths of children on Child Protective Services’ watch — have been noticeably absent from the campaign trail. Is it because Texans don’t hold him accountable for these tragedies? Or because his opponents think GOP primary voters simply don’t care?
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
TribBlog: Judges Gone Wild
A Supreme Court appeal has breathed new life into a two-decade-old scandal — this one with details a little less banal than a judge’s strict adherence to closing time.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: AG’s Office Fires Back At Blood Spot Attorney
The Texas Attorney General’s office is throwing its own punches at the attorney who sued the state over its storage of infant blood samples, saying all he wanted was the headlines.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: 10 Days, Give or Take
Did it just get easier for governmental agencies in Texas to delay releasing public information?
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Packin’ in the Park
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who has been taking his gun to Big Bend National Park anyway, says he is glad he can now carry without violating the rules.
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Criminal Justice
Data App: Day Care Danger
More than 120 federally subsidized day care centers had their licenses denied or revoked by the state for violations of regulations and minimum standards in the last two years. Map their locations and drill down into the records by the provider name or action taken by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
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Criminal Justice
The Brief: February 18, 2010
Shami takes another hit, Keller back in the spotlight and the state of Texas’ health.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Skinner Execution Postponed
The trial judge who initially decided Hank Skinner would die Feb. 24 — one week from today — has pushed the execution date back to March 24, says Skinner attorney Rob Owen, co-director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Capital Punishment Clinic.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: If You Can See This …
… you aren’t among the 40 percent of Texans who don’t use the Internet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Only Mississippi and West Virginia have a lower percentage of residents using the Web.
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Criminal Justice
A Better App: Public Employee Pay
Find the salaries of more than 340,000 public employees with our enhanced data application, including those working at the largest state agencies as well as individual public schools, cities and mass-transit operators. And universities: Did you know, for instance, that of the 10 highest-paid professors at the state’s two largest universities, nine are Aggies?