Michelle Gaines is unlikely to ever live on her own after an auto accident. A jury awarded her $8 million in damages, but the decision was overturned. Her lawyers argue that if her appeal isn’t heard, it would set a troubling precedent.
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
Local Court Race Tests Judicial Campaign Law
A runoff for the state district court in Marshall, just east of Longview near the Louisiana border, has two Republicans slinging lawsuits and ethics complaints over provisions of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.
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Criminal Justice
TJJD Doing Blanket Review of Youths in Detention Centers
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is undergoing a review of all youths in its system to better assess security threats, but advocates worry it will become a tool to recommend more youths for imprisonment in adult facilities.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Williamson County Makes Arrest in 1980 Murder Case
Williamson County officials have arrested a 53-year-old former Garland resident in the 1980 murder of Mildred McKinney. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office says it identified the DNA and a fingerprint of Steven Alan Thomas at the crime scene.
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Criminal Justice
TABC Looking to Speed Up Alcohol Permitting
The director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission told lawmakers on Wednesday that the agency is working on plans to make obtaining a beer or liquor license simpler and faster.
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Criminal Justice
New Facility is Haven for Victims of Sex Trafficking
Freedom Place, outside of Houston, is Texas’ first privately run safe house that provides long-term housing for American girls who are victims of sex trafficking.
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Criminal Justice
Supreme Court Justice Faces Tough Runoff
A Texas Supreme Court GOP runoff has eight-year incumbent David Medina defending his spot against John Devine, a former district court judge known for his battle to keep the Ten Commandments displayed in his courtroom.
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Criminal Justice
Texas Will Change Its Lethal Injection Protocol
For Yokamon Hearn’s scheduled execution on July 18, officials plan to administer a lethal dose of pentobarbital instead of the three-drug cocktail that has been used since Texas reinstated the death penalty in 1982.
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Criminal Justice
Video: Errors in Judgment: Seeking Solutions
Michael Morton’s exoneration last year brought to a crescendo in Texas calls for change in the way that prosecutors are regulated. Morton and others discuss whether there is a need for more accountability for state lawyers and how it ought to be accomplished.
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Criminal Justice
Prosecutor Errors Haunt Long Exoneration Fight
Kerry Max Cook is battling with prosecutors to clear his name of a 1978 murder conviction, and says his mission is doomed if he must fight in Smith County. That’s where a court ruled misconduct had “tainted this entire matter from the outset.”
