A letter from a state lawmaker asks the attorney general’s office to give an opinion on whether Texas cities’ bans on plastic bags are in compliance with the state’s health and safety laws.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
State Bar Opens Investigation Into Prosecutor
UPDATED: The State Bar has begun an investigation of a complaint filed against the prosecutor of former death row inmate Anthony Graves, who who spent 18 years behind bars before being exonerated.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Elections Officials See Few Voter ID Issues During Early Voting
Elections officials across the state said that voter ID was hardly an issue during the 11-day early voting period that led up to Tuesday’s primary. But opponents say the law has already disenfranchised voters.
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Immigration
2013 County Jail Costs for Detained Immigrants Fell
The cost of housing undocumented immigrants in Texas county jails fell about 8 percent in 2013 from the previous year. Use this interactive to explore trends in detentions of undocumented immigrants in county jails.
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Immigration
Interactive: County Jail Spending on Detained Immigrants
A state law passed in 2011 requires Texas jails to report monthly estimates of the cost of housing undocumented immigrants. Use this interactive to see how many immigrants jails across Texas housed and how much the jails spent.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Jasper Reaches $831,000 Settlement With Fired Police Chief
The East Texas town of Jasper has reached an $831,000 settlement in the federal discrimination lawsuit brought by its first black police chief after his 2012 firing.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Immigration Reform Groups Urge Obama to Act Without Congress
As Republican lawmakers seek to rein in the president’s executive authority, proponents of immigration reform are urging the president to keep using it to push through immigration changes.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
State Files Notice of Appeal on Gay Marriage Ruling
UPDATED: The state of Texas on Thursday filed a notice that it intends to appeal a federal judge’s ruling Wednesday that Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Eyebrow Threading Regulations to Go Before High Court
The state Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in a case challenging the state’s regulations on eyebrow threading, which several businesses and threaders say have hurt their ability to operate in Texas.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
In Supreme Court Races, a Clash Over Contributors
Three Texas Supreme Court justices up for re-election face GOP primary challenges. Backers of the incumbents are critical about where support for those challengers is coming from. And those challengers have questioned the current court’s conservatism.
