The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
Rose Vela is no stranger to challenging establishment-backed judicial candidates — and unlike most who run upstart campaigns, she wins. But this year she's taking on Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, the appointee of a governor with the most formidable political machine in recent Texas history. Full Story
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In an unexpected reversal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has thrown out Charles Dean Hood's death sentence on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court appeal and national media attention. Full Story
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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? Full Story
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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. Full Story
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. Full Story
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Did it just get easier for governmental agencies in Texas to delay releasing public information? Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Shami takes another hit, Keller back in the spotlight and the state of Texas' health. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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... 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. Full Story
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State agencies are expected to submit their budget cuts today. Full Story
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Texans are more worried about the economy and the direction of the country than anything else, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Other notable findings: Nearly two-thirds support either gay marriage or civil unions, nearly half prefer private health insurance to a government-run plan, and more than a third think the Legislature meets every year. Full Story
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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? Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a $5 tax on admission to the state's strip clubs — a measure lawmakers implemented in 2007 to raise money for sexual assault prevention and low-income health insurance. Full Story
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Getting a look at correspondence, documents, reports, etc. related to death row inmate Hank Skinner's case is proving more difficult than I imagined. Full Story
The Texas Ethics Commission and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts are opening up more of their data to the public at no charge. Full Story
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The federal push for accountability at "persistently low-achieving" schools across Texas is running smack into the hard, slow work of improvement at the local level. Full Story
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Two former Texas Supreme Court justices and a Goliath of state judicial politics are trying to oust the 10th Court of Appeals judge from the courthouse that he once cleaned as a janitor. Full Story
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Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed's coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge's guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety's use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state's border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami's accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT's hard road and the State Board of Education's lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama's budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story
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