The criminal court decides death penalty case appeals and rules on petitions for those who believe they’ve been wrongfully detained. Here’s a look at who’s running for the court’s three seats on the 2026 ballot.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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2026 Texas Elections
“Rule follower”: In GOP primary, Joan Huffman promises to bring law and order to the attorney general’s office
Huffman is running on her criminal prosecution experience and allegiance to the rule of law, cutting a contrast with her opponents who are emphasizing a continuation of Paxton’s culture war battles.
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Immigration
After El Paso’s ME ruled migrant’s death a homicide, ICE sent the next body to an Army hospital
ICE bypassed the county medical examiner in favor of a military facility for the autopsy of a Nicaraguan man and won’t release a ruling to the public.
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Criminal Justice
Texas jails have more than 400 pregnant inmates monthly. The state is trying to understand what happens to them.
As a part of a yearlong study, Texas county jails are collecting data about pregnant inmates’ prenatal care, mental health indicators, pregnancy outcomes and more.
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Immigration
Two CBP agents identified in Alex Pretti shooting are from South Texas
Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez fired on Pretti during a protest in Minneapolis last month, according to government records viewed by ProPublica.
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Immigration
After a death at an El Paso ICE facility was ruled a homicide, will prosecutors pursue a criminal case?
Because Geraldo Lunas Campos died at a military base, the El Paso District Attorney says any criminal case may fall to federal prosecutors. But criminal law experts say the state doesn’t have to defer to them.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes man convicted of 1998 double murder
Charles Thompson was sentenced in 1999 for killing his then-girlfriend and another man. His execution in Texas is the first in the U.S. this year.
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Courts
Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar, brother of Rep. Henry Cuellar, indicted on federal fraud charges
The five-term sheriff and brother of Congressman Henry Cuellar denied all wrongdoing through his lawyer.
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2026 Texas Elections
Texas lieutenant governor primary: Who is running and what to know
The lieutenant governor’s office is often described as the most powerful in Texas government. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.
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Uvalde school shooting
Former Uvalde schools officer found not guilty in trial over his response to Robb Elementary shooting
Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding Adrian Gonzalez not guilty in the first trial over the response to the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers.