INSIDER
Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low.
The 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.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ law, which adult entertainment website attorneys said were the most overreaching in the country, could determine the fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.
The court’s ruling could boost a state law that allows drunk driving victims to sue businesses that over-serve alcohol to intoxicated individuals.
Justices on Monday heard arguments from Annunciation House, which is fighting to stay open, and the Texas Attorney General’s office, which claims the shelter’s work with migrants violates state law.
Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.
Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench.
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson.
The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday.
The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.
Paxton’s office has accused 3M and DuPont of misrepresenting or concealing the health risks of PFAS, which have been sold for decades for use in consumer products.
The temporary injunction issued Monday would affect roughly 90,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in Texas.
Senior District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans recused herself after a challenge to her impartiality over longtime relationships with case prosecutors and judges.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the Biden administration after Border Patrol agents had cut the razor wire.
The attorney general has agreed not to contest a lawsuit brought by former employees accusing him of retaliation after they said he abused his office.
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.
The state’s highest civil court ruled that legislators can’t use subpoenas to block death row inmates’ executions, but suggested there’s still time for Roberson to testify before a Texas House panel.
The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.
Members of a Texas House committee say in a Texas Supreme Court filing that Paxton’s office is blocking the death row inmate from complying with a legislative subpoena.
The lawsuit claims the endangered designation for six mussel species is a misuse of environmental law that threatens Texas’ economy.
A candidate running against the judge accused him of emailing his students at Texas State to vote for him. State law prohibits using public resources for political advertising.
Texas’ junk science statute has remained hamstrung for the last decade. So too have other criminal justice reforms, despite efforts from the Texas House.
Hazel Eileen Diaz received nearly $40,000 in cash and money transfers for letting human smugglers use her rental properties.
Marcus Silva and the women agreed to drop lawsuits against each other just days before they were set to go to trial.
Todd Smith was indicted in 2022 on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s office.
The new videos largely affirm prior reporting and investigations that detailed law enforcement’s failures to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
A federal judge had ruled Senate Bill 1 unconstitutional, but an appeals court says the law can remain in effect as Texas appeals that previous decision
Attorney General Ken Paxton has investigated at least five organizations this year that do immigration-related work.
Dozens of districts sued Texas saying the ratings painted an unfair picture of their schools. Others voluntarily have released their own.
The card game company crowd-funded money to buy the land in an attempt to block a portion of Donald Trump’s border wall.
Paxton sued Dallas and state fair officials last month, arguing the fair’s private organizer had violated state law by banning firearms on the fairgrounds.
Pete Arredondo’s lawyers tell the court that the shooter, not the police, was to blame for the school violence.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, argues that the 2021 so-called “anti-ESG” law discriminates against specific political views.
Biden announced the program in June and Republicans in 16 states filed suit. The federal judge issued an order that puts the program on hold for at least two weeks.
Paxton’s office claimed the group broke rules prohibiting political activity by nonprofits, but the judge rejected the case outright.
The Texas Department of Public Safety rule change surfaced in an internal email that also asks driver license staff to compile the names of people seeking a gender marker change.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted similar organizations that aid migrants at the border. The lawsuit appears to be the first to focus on political speech and rules that govern nonprofits.
The Texas Attorney General is following his familiar playbook by taking the case to a federal judge with a record of rulings against the Biden administration’s agenda.
The decision in the case brought by the Texas Attorney General preempts any future Title IX regulations that extend federal protections to LGBTQ students.
The ruling marks the fifth consecutive year Texas families have not received a full picture of their schools’ ratings, which are used to determine how they are performing.
The city’s release ends a legal battle with news outlets, but other government agencies are withholding materials.
Texas Health and Human Services could face $100,000-per-day fines for violating a judge's orders. The state wants the judge off the case.
In a lawsuit challenging redistricting in Galveston County, the 5th Circuit said the protections afforded to a single racial group don’t apply to multiple groups who collectively claim voting rights violations.
Three other cities have passed similar measures but the Texas AG and others question whether they can be enforced because of conflicts with state law.
Ruben Gutierrez was sentenced to death for the 1998 Brownsville murder of an elderly woman. His execution was stayed in July.
A federal judge has taken the Texas’ foster care system to task for 13 years. Reforms have been made. Now armed with private legal fire power, the state wants the judge off the case.
A doctor says the government wants to punish him for calling attention to wrongdoing. Advocates say the families of trans kids are the ones at risk.
A state law passed last year requires pornographic websites to adopt age-verification measures, leading sites like Pornhub to block user access in Texas.
Former schools police chief Pete Arredondo faces 10 criminal charges, while former school district officer Adrian Gonzales faces 29 counts.
Parents and medical providers of transgender adolescents sued Texas, challenging the constitutionality of a restriction on puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
The ruling comes amid a nationwide surge in homelessness as high rents put pressure on low-income households and pandemic-era protections expire.
Justices ruled that the federal government did not violate a Texas man’s Second Amendment rights when barring him from possessing firearms.
Sylvia Gonzalez alleged the city of Castle Hills had arrested her on a minor charge in retaliation for criticizing the city manager.
Texas argues that Annunciation House is breaking state law by harboring undocumented immigrants, something the shelter's lawyers called "utter nonsense."
Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized the order, which limits asylum requests when illegal border crossings ramp up.
Judge Reed O’Connor said the Biden administration didn’t have the authority to make the changes, which would expand anti-discrimination protections.
The Texas Legislature created the court last year, with proponents saying it would increase efficiency and opponents arguing that it was an effort by Republicans to circumvent Democrat-dominated courts.
In March, the federal government said providers can’t deny gender care to transgender people that would be provided to others for other purposes.
Herrera said he doesn’t expect the results to change, “but I feel I owe it to my volunteers, voters, and supporters to leave no stone unturned.”
The lawsuit accuses Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the shooter’s weapon, of marketing its products to young people.
Political experts say court order for new election could spur more challenges to narrow wins.
Doctors, lawyers and advocates say the state board’s new guidance still doesn’t clarify when doctors can legally perform abortions.
Abbott’s executive order directs Texas universities to “review and update free speech policies to address the sharp rise in antisemitic speech.”
The 5th Circuit expressed skepticism about arguments from both sides in considering whether a coalition of Black and Latino voters should be granted the same protections as a single racial group under the Voting Rights Act.
Irada Akhoundova pleaded guilty to facilitating a $60,000 payment to Imelda Cuellar, the congressman’s wife, that she believed would benefit Azerbaijan and its state-run oil company.
Jonathan Mitchell has filed at least nine petitions seeking information from abortion activists, doctors and women. None have resulted in a deposition.
University President Walter Wendler canceled a drag performance last year, claiming such shows “denigrate and demean women.”
The new Title IX rules expanded the definition of sex-based harassment. Paxton said the change distorted the original intent of the law.
In June 2022, state Rep. Frederick Frazier was indicted on two charges of impersonating a public servant. A Collin County district judge dismissed the misdemeanor charges as part of his deferred adjudication.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suspected the hospital was helping Texas kids access puberty blockers or hormone treatments that are outlawed for juveniles.
Hospitals are required to stabilize anyone experiencing a medical emergency. Two lawsuits question whether that includes performing an abortion, despite state laws.
Two Texans are among 11 House impeachment managers initiating a trial of the Homeland Security secretary in the Senate.
Richie DeVillier, who owns land east of Houston, said the state owes him damages for constant flooding after Texas made changes to Interstate 10 near his property.
In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler.
Federal Title X clinics do not require parental consent for birth control — except in Texas, where a lawsuit upended the longstanding program.
Mason gained national attention after she was convicted for voting while under supervised release for felony tax fraud. She said she didn’t know she was ineligible to vote.
With his impeachment and securities fraud case behind him, Paxton’s political stock is on the rise.
Since Randall Mays was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of two sheriff’s deputies, his lawyers have argued his intellectual disability exempts him from execution.
