The high court upheld Austin’s ordinance that prohibits companies from digitizing some billboards, saying it does not violate free speech.
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
Prosecutor moves to stop execution of inmate whose religious freedom case reached U.S. Supreme Court
The Nueces County district attorney, Mark A. Gonzalez, has moved to withdraw the death warrant for John Henry Ramirez, convicted of a 2004 robbery and murder.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Distraught over orders to investigate trans kids’ families, Texas child welfare workers are resigning
Other investigators don’t want to follow an order they believe harms families but worry about the impact of a mass employee exodus on the state’s most vulnerable children.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: Texas candidates’ silence allows persistent foster care problems to fester
Candidates hardly ever talk about improving the safety net for kids — unless the holes in the safety net have become big enough to get the attention of voters.
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Health care
After pursuing an indictment, Starr County district attorney drops murder charge over self-induced abortion
Texas law exempts a pregnant person from being charged with murder or any lesser homicide charge for an abortion.
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Politics
Ted Cruz and John Cornyn vote no as Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court
Texas’ U.S. senators have acknowledged the historical nature of Jackson’s nomination but said ahead of their votes that they believe her ideology could be harmful for the court and the country.
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Texas 2022 Elections
“Unwinnable race”: State Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson ends reelection bid, citing redrawn political map
Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white.
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Foster Care in Texas
Over 100 children have died in Texas’ child welfare system since 2020, report says
Most of the deaths were attributed to “preexisting medical conditions” or abuse suffered before the children entered the system, according to the DFPS report. The numbers are on par with those reported in previous years.
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Redistricting Texas
Texas is quietly using redistricting lawsuits to launch a broader war against federal voting rights law
As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections.
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Foster Care in Texas
Judge loses trust in Texas’ child abuse investigation of foster care facility and calls for federal inquiry
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said she is seeking a federal criminal investigation into allegations that children were sexually abused and trafficked at The Refuge, a state-licensed foster care shelter for victims of sex trafficking.
