Juvenile justice advocates applauded when the Texas Legislature decided this year that repeated school truancy will no longer be a crime. But school and court officials worry they are losing tools that have actually worked at keeping kids in school.
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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Criminal Justice
Texas Expects Another Win Against Obama’s Immigration Plan
Attorneys for the Obama administration will try again on Friday to persuade a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to let a controversial immigration policy take effect.
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Criminal Justice
Texas is Suing the EPA — Again
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday filed a lawsuit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of parts of a Texas clean air program, launching the state’s second battle against EPA regulations in less than two weeks.
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Criminal Justice
Here’s a Look at What Happened With Straus’ and Patrick’s Priority Bills
Over the course of this year’s legislative session, House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made their priorities known by what bills got the lowest bill numbers. Take a look at how those proposals fared.
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Criminal Justice
In Letter, Lawyers Threaten to File Complaint Against Paxton
Roughly 150 Texas attorneys have signed on to a letter threatening to file a complaint with the State Bar of Texas against Attorney General Ken Paxton for his response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage.
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Criminal Justice
Paxton Blasts Potential Indictment as “Politically Motivated”
In a statement, Attorney General Ken Paxton says the prosecutors pursuing a felony fraud indictment against him are inexperienced and politically motivated.
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Criminal Justice
Under BP Deal, Another $788 Million Will Flow to Texas
Texas is set to receive another $788 million stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill under a settlement between BP, the federal government and five Gulf Coast states.
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Criminal Justice
Prosecutors Developing Criminal Case Against Attorney General Paxton
Ken Paxton’s legal troubles — stemming for his admission last year that he violated state securities law — may be getting more serious. A special prosecutor says he plans to start presenting evidence in less than a month seeking to indict the attorney general for first-degree felony securities fraud.
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Criminal Justice
Some Texas Counties Withholding Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
Three days after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, some Texas county clerks are refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
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Criminal Justice
TDCJ Official: Supreme Court’s Ruling Won’t Impact Texas Executions
A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday that upheld the use of an execution drug used in Oklahoma will not change how death row inmates in Texas are executed, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman.
