Plaintiffs in so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, use the court system to bury opponents in a crush of legal fees and paperwork of Bleak House proportions. They’re not concerned about winning damages. They usually don’t expect to be successful, and the targets often don’t have the money to adequately defend themselves. Yet in otherwise tort-reform-happy Texas, there is no prohibition on filing this particular form of meritless suit — yet.
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
TribBlog: No “Terror Baby” Records
State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, says “former FBI officials” are the sources of her information about a terror baby plot. When the Tribune asked her office for records of any such conversations, her chief of staff said they don’t exist.
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Criminal Justice
Slideshow: Dallas County Jail Inspection
Sights and sounds from the two-day long test of the Dallas County Jail smoke evacuation system.
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Criminal Justice
Jailhouse Revival
Since 2004, the the Dallas County Jail has failed every year to meet state jail standards, racking up dozens of violations. But on Wednesday, more than six years and $138 million later, the massive lockup finally earned a certificate of compliance.
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Criminal Justice
The Fox and the Hen House
Five of the nine members of the state’s Commission on Jail Standards, which oversees the 245 county lockups, are elected officials from or employees of the counties whose facilities they regulate. Advocates say that’s a conflict of interest, and they’re calling for a change in the commission’s makeup.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Abbott Takes On BP
The Texas attorney general accuses BP of “once again prioritizing profits over environmental compliance” at its Texas City refinery.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller’s Appeal Invalid, SCJC Says
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is taking on Judge Sharon Keller’s appeal of its sanction.
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Criminal Justice
TriBlog: Harris County Jail Controversy to Be Continued
It wasn’t so much a grilling as a polite discussion this morning between Harris County officials and members of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Despite continued overcrowding at the county’s four facilities and ongoing concerns about inmate conditions, the county is expected in November to ask the commission for permission to continue filling the jails with hundreds of so-called “variance beds” — beds beyond the capacity for which the buildings were designed.
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Criminal Justice
Weed All About It
For nearly a decade, advocates of expanded use of medical marijuana have been spurned by the Texas Legislature — but giving up isn’t how they roll. So they’re trying again with a limited proposal.
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Criminal Justice
The Big House Isn’t Big Enough
At today’s hearing of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, Sheriff Adrian Garcia will be grilled about efforts to control overcrowding at Harris County’s four jail facilities, which have seen a dramatic population spike. At the urging of Houston lawmakers, Garcia will be pressed to explain why he wants to keep housing more inmates than the facilities can accommodate, and why some recommendations by the county’s own consultant for ways to reduce its jail population have gone unheeded.