In a lawsuit challenging redistricting in Galveston County, the 5th Circuit said the protections afforded to a single racial group don’t apply to multiple groups who collectively claim voting rights violations.
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.
Posted in
Politics
Texas activist frustrates election officials with lawsuit about threat to ballot secrecy
Laura Pressley claims she found an “algorithmic pattern” that links voters to their ballots. But she won’t make it public.
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Criminal Justice
Former Texas prisoners describe suffocating heat during trial over state’s un-air conditioned lockups
A lawsuit seeks to force Texas to fully air condition its prison system. Inmate advocacy groups say temperatures can push above 120 degrees in some units.
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Economy
Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users’ permission
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission.
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Health care
State’s move to bump federal judge from longtime foster care lawsuit caps years of battles
A federal judge has taken the Texas’ foster care system to task for 13 years. Reforms have been made. Now armed with private legal fire power, the state wants the judge off the case.
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Health care
Fight over trans medical care is at the core of leaked Houston health records case
A doctor says the government wants to punish him for calling attention to wrongdoing. Advocates say the families of trans kids are the ones at risk.
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Criminal Justice
Judge denies Texas’ attempt to shut down El Paso migrant shelter
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has accused Annunciation House, which operates a network of migrant shelters, of human smuggling.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Texas death row inmate’s petition
Reed, on death row for more than 25 years, says he is innocent of the 1996 killing of Stacey Stites in Bastrop County.
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Courts
U.S. Supreme Court will hear challenge to Texas’ age verification requirement for porn sites
A state law passed last year requires pornographic websites to adopt age-verification measures, leading sites like Pornhub to block user access in Texas.
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Health care
Again and again, U.S. Supreme Court slaps down 5th Circuit
The New Orleans-based court, which hears Texas cases, is pushing the federal judiciary to the right, even when it gets overturned by a higher court.
