Criminal justice

The shooting death of Botham Jean introduced several legal decisions for the Dallas County district attorney's office, including whether Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger was acting under the authority of the law in the shooting.

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A lawsuit alleges that the county is jailing some of its poorest people without any meaningful inquiry into their ability to pay. In most cases, bail hearings that lead to those people being put behind bars last no more than 15 seconds.

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At a Capitol hearing, the Texas prison system's director said exceptions in construction requirements allowed for the cost decrease.

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After more than 13 hours of deliberation, jurors convicted former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver of murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed, 15-year-old black teenager.

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Austin "crypto-anarchist" Cody Wilson says buyers can name their price for 3D-printed gun blueprints.

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In Texas, people with unpaid traffic tickets can lose their driver's licenses and even go to jail because of the Driver Responsibility Program. Though lawmakers acknowledge the policy disproportionately hurts the poor, they've struggled to eliminate it.

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Costs will drop from 26 cents per minute to 6 cents per minute.

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After his candidacy was challenged, convicted felon Lewis Conway Jr. was cleared by the Austin city clerk on Tuesday.

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Roy Oliver was indicted on murder and aggravated assault charges in the 2017 police shooting that killed the unarmed black teen.

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James Byrd Jr., who was dragged to death in Texas 20 years ago, became one of the namesakes for a 2009 federal law expanding hate crime legislation. But just 100 hate crimes have been pursued by federal prosecutors between January 2010 and July 2018.

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The 2013 law was credited with stopping Robert Roberson's execution two years ago, and his conviction is now under review in county court.

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Abbott said he wanted to fix a flawed system in Texas that allowed the man suspected of killing a trooper last year to get out of jail on bond despite having been previously accused of assaulting a deputy.

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Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he sees a "coalescence" against the idea of having a so-called "red flag" law in Texas, further dooming the proposal's chances in the Legislature. Abbott asked lawmakers to consider the idea as part of the school safety plan he released earlier this year after the deadly Santa Fe High School shooting.

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Following a legal settlement, the prison system has added temporary air conditioning to one unit and made other statewide changes. But the road to change wasn't cheap.

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For the second time, it looks like the government's efforts to reunify separated migrant families will be stymied by its own bureaucratic failings.

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The groups say recent felony charges against prison employees highlight the need for external, independent oversight of the department.

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A federal judge has ordered immigration officials to reunite all migrant children 5 and older with their parents by Thursday — but officials' own data shows that will be near impossible.

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With new execution drugs in stock, the state is fighting a June Texas Supreme Court decision that would identify a 2014 supplier, claiming it would disrupt the state's ability to carry out the death penalty.

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The government has a court-ordered deadline of July 26 to reunify the rest of the children. But last time it came up against a deadline, the government declared almost half the children "ineligible."

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Students have been referred to law enforcement in dramatically higher numbers after the school shootings in Parkland and Santa Fe. A study suggests the arrests show a return to zero-tolerance policies that can harm students.

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