Bill giving attorney general authority to prosecute election crimes heads to Abbottโs desk
Read full article: Bill giving attorney general authority to prosecute election crimes heads to Abbottโs deskThe measure comes four years after the stateโs highest criminal court ruled the agency could not bring election cases without an invitation from local prosecutors.
Texas Senate once again tries to give the attorney general authority to prosecute election crimes
Read full article: Texas Senate once again tries to give the attorney general authority to prosecute election crimesA similar proposal stalled out earlier this year over disagreements between the House and Senate. This time, lawmakers might clash over whether to approve the new bill along with a constitutional amendment.
Proposal to enhance Texasโ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas House
Read full article: Proposal to enhance Texasโ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas HouseLast year, lawmakers waded into a dramatic feud over the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen as the embodiment of the failures of Texasโ junk science law.
Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County Republican
Read full article: Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County RepublicanThe Court of Criminal Appeals will rehear a case it threw out last year. Three of the judges became targets of Attorney General Ken Paxton over another ruling and lost reelection.
Feds canโt destroy razor wire Texas installed near Eagle Pass, appeals court rules
Read full article: Feds canโt destroy razor wire Texas installed near Eagle Pass, appeals court rulesTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the Biden administration after Border Patrol agents had cut the razor wire.
When the science crumbles, Texas law says a conviction could, too. That rarely happens.
Read full article: When the science crumbles, Texas law says a conviction could, too. That rarely happens.Texasโ 2013 law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence was pioneering. But the stateโs highest criminal court has rejected most of those challenges.
Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judges
Read full article: Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judgesThree incumbent judges with nearly a century of criminal law experience fell victim to Paxtonโs political revenge tour after they ruled against the attorney general in a 2021 voter fraud case.
Paxtonโs push to oust incumbents puts spotlight on Court of Criminal Appeals primaries
Read full article: Paxtonโs push to oust incumbents puts spotlight on Court of Criminal Appeals primariesThe attorney general has tried to supplant eight Republican judges on the court after they rejected his efforts to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud. The judges are now pushing back.
Texas court confirms the attorney general canโt unilaterally prosecute election cases
Read full article: Texas court confirms the attorney general canโt unilaterally prosecute election casesTexasโ highest criminal court once again said the attorney general needs permission from local prosecutors to pursue election cases. Attorney General Ken Paxton had fought that decision.
Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?
Read full article: Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?For example, members of the Railroad Commission donโt deal with railroads. Hereโs what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them.
Texas attorney general cannot unilaterally prosecute election cases, state's highest criminal court rules
Read full article: Texas attorney general cannot unilaterally prosecute election cases, state's highest criminal court rulesThe 8-1 decision came Wednesday from the all-Republican Court of Criminal Appeals.
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Harris County DAโs Office forced to turn over key information to defense attorneys in Harding Street investigation
Read full article: Harris County DAโs Office forced to turn over key information to defense attorneys in Harding Street investigationThe Harris County District Attorneyโs Office is legally being forced to turn over key reports from their investigation into the deadly Harding Street raid.
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Court rules 'Innocent Man' defendant to remain imprisoned
Read full article: Court rules 'Innocent Man' defendant to remain imprisonedThe Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 that 60-year-old Tommy Ward remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower court's ruling. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)OKLAHOMA CITY โ A man who has spent 35 years in prison in a murder case featured in the book and television series โThe Innocent Manโ must remain incarcerated even after a judge ordered his release, an appeals court ruled Thursday. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tommy Ward, 60, to remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower courtโs ruling that he be released. Fontenot, Ward's co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order. After the details of both menโs confessions were proven untrue โ Harawayโs body was discovered years later in a different location and had been shot to death not stabbed as the pair had said โ a state appeals court ordered new trials.
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Houston judge Jesse McClure appointed to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Greg Abbott
Read full article: Houston judge Jesse McClure appointed to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Greg AbbottJesse McClure, a trial judge on a criminal court in Houston, will join the stateโs highest court for criminal matters in the new year. Greg Abbott appointed McClure, a Republican, to the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he will fill a seat being vacated by Judge Michael Keasler. McClure said heโs looking forward to joining the appellate court, where he hopes his experience on the trial bench will serve him well. Best known for its role in death penalty cases, the court is Texasโ last word on criminal matters. A Texas law that requires judges to retire within a few years of turning 75 forced Keasler to step down partway through his six-year term.