Some local district and county attorneys have said they will not pursue abortion-related cases, or prioritize certain drug, property and election crimes.
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 troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage
Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city’s more than 200 police vacancies.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate budget writers propose billions for teacher raises, lower property taxes and water projects
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Dallas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt arrested at protest in McKinney
The protest was in memory of Marvin Scott III, who died in Collin County Jail custody in 2021. Scott’s sister and a local photojournalist were also arrested.
Posted in
TribCast
TribCast: Police officers’ fear of the AR-15 in Robb Elementary
In this week’s episode, we discuss the weapon used by the school shooter in Uvalde and new details that highlight how fear of the gun contributed to the botched police response.
Sponsor Post
Are Texas students prepared for life after high school?
A new report by Texas 2036 and the George W. Bush Institute details how far too many Texas students are graduating high school without the knowledge and skills to succeed.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
In rural counties, Texas law puts low-income defendants at a disadvantage
A two-tiered system gives less populated counties more time to provide court-appointed lawyers, requiring creative responses to a long-standing problem.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Senate passes bill opening door for prosecutors to charge fentanyl distributors with murder
Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers have taken a tough-on-drugs approach to the fentanyl crisis, primarily pushing efforts to increase criminal penalties.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas bill requiring 10-year prison sentences for gun felonies faces opposition from criminal justice and firearm advocates
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas executes Arthur Brown Jr. for Houston slayings despite claims of innocence, intellectual disability
Brown’s appeals ran out after almost 30 years on death row. Defense attorneys claim Harris County prosecutors hid evidence pointing to another suspect in the 1992 shooting deaths of four people in a Houston drug house.