The Texas attorney general’s office is advising agencies that serve crime victims to prepare for big cuts during the next budget cycle because of a severe shortfall projected for the state’s crime victims fund.
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
Pipeline Companies Fighting for Property Rights
The Texas Supreme Court could decide by this week whether it erred in allowing pipeline companies to force their way onto private land. As Dave Fehling of StateImpact Texas reports, the legal wrangling comes as drilling in the state is surging.
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Criminal Justice
State Seeking Room for Mentally Ill Inmates
A judge’s expected ruling forcing the state to find room to treat mentally ill inmates is sending officials in search of space at already-full mental hospitals.
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Criminal Justice
Williamson County Grand Jury Indicts Norwood
Mark Alan Norwood, a 57-year-old Bastrop resident, was indicted today by a Williamson County jury for the 1986 murder of Christine Morton, whose husband, Michael Morton, spent 25 years wrongly imprisoned for her death.
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Criminal Justice
Breast Cancer Group Drops Support of Planned Parenthood
The Dallas-based breast cancer prevention group Susan G. Komen for the Cure has halted its financial support of Planned Parenthood, yet another blow to the family planning organization that provides abortions in some of its clinics.
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Criminal Justice
Travis County Considers Review of Murder Case
The Travis County district attorney’s office is considering a review of the 1985 murder of Natalie Antonetti. Dennis Davis was convicted in 2011 of her murder, but the killing is eerily to two others that have been connected to another man.
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Guides
Texplainer: What is a Court of Inquiry?
Hey, Texplainer: Courts of inquiry have been used to exonerate wrongfully convicted Texans and to look at earlier cases. When does a judge call for a court of inquiry, and what else can judges review in these proceedings?
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Criminal Justice
Legal Dispute Leaves Poor Defendants in Limbo
In rural Val Verde County, defendants who are too poor to afford their own lawyers have waited years for resolution of their cases. As a new legal battle between their lawyers and the county begins, their day in court remains elusive.
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Criminal Justice
Consumer Group: High Court Favors Businesses
A report out today from the consumer advocacy group Texas Watch blasts the Texas Supreme Court for a decade of decisions that favor corporate interests and benefit the rich at the expense of consumers.
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Criminal Justice
Texas Supreme Court Moves Forward to Create Divorce Forms
Despite the State Bar of Texas’ suggestion to hold off on creating simple divorce forms, the Texas Supreme Court has decided not to halt the work of task force charged with creating forms that improve access to the courts for the poor.