The latest Judiciary of Texas news from The Texas Tribune.
Every year, thousands of Texans who can't afford to hire attorneys take a go at handling their own civil cases. Ahead of the next legislative session, lawmakers and legal service providers are looking for ways to make the process easier. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/14/CourtRoom-Scales.jpg)
Texas consistently ranks as one of the states with the most open seats on the federal bench, with some judgeships vacant for years. Five nominees are set for U.S. Senate committee hearings Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/11/22/CruzCornyn.jpg)
Seeking to bolster their chronically sparse representation on the state's highest courts, seven Latino voters are suing Texas to challenge the state's longtime method of electing judges statewide. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/18/BDS_4567.jpg)
A candidate who ran a low-key campaign and shares a name with the governor of Wisconsin won the GOP runoff race for a seat on Texas' highest criminal court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/24/Criminal_Appeals_Runoffs.jpg)
One candidate shares a name with a much more famous Republican. Another is accused of being a Democrat in disguise. A third has repeatedly pledged to take a criminal law certification test, which he’s already failed at least once. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/03/17/Keel_v._Wheless.jpg)
A survey taken after Travis County state District Judge Julie Kocurek was shot last fall in the driveway of her Austin home found that hundreds of Texas judges have feared for their safety at least once in the last two years. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/05/HechtN39athan.jpg)
Lawyers arguing in front of the Texas Supreme Court next year likely won’t need to memorize any new faces. All three Republican incumbents running for reelection are winning their primary races. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/03/01/TexasSupremeCourtBuildingTT.jpg)
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, 79, was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday morning at the Cibolo Creek Ranch resort near Marfa, a Presidio County official confirmed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2a7b920b99081ef1278c0a0633ba1650/BD%20INC%20Scalia%20CMS%20TT%202013)
In all three state Supreme Court seats up for election this year, Republican incumbents face primary challengers on March 1 – but that's where the similarities end. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/08/Texas_Supreme_Court.jpg)
The Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals Monday upheld the disbarment of former Burleson County District Attorney Charles Sebesta Jr. for professional misconduct in the capital murder case of Anthony Graves. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/gavel.jpg)
Although the Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest criminal court in the state — and it deals with a number of hot-button issues including the death penalty — its nine judges don’t attract much attention. That can make campaigning for a seat on the court difficult. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/02/CCAplace2.jpg)
A large number of Texans — mostly middle class — fall into a "justice gap" where they aren't poor enough to receive free legal aid provided to indigents but can't afford basic legal services on their own. Full Story
Between now and the next legislative session, Texas lawmakers will be tinkering with an obscure formula that links their own state pensions to the salaries of state judges. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/13/money-sky-capitol.jpg)
The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday morning to review a state tax on small cigarette manufacturers, known collectively as "Small Tobacco." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Cigarettes-Sky.jpg)
The state's highest criminal court ruled Wednesday that a Texas law banning defacement of the U.S.and state flags is unconstitutional. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/09/18/Flags_Over_Capitol.jpg)
The Texas Supreme Court scrutinized the legality of court costs imposed on indigent plaintiffs — in this case, fees the Tarrant County clerk’s office charged six poor plaintiffs pursuing divorces — during oral arguments on Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/09/23/UP9A0023.jpg)
When and how local clerks can make poor plaintiffs pay court fees to get divorced will be argued before the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday, with both sides hoping the justices provide clarity on the contentious issue. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b7619b535caf929a45793624a2921160/BD%20INC%20Supreme%20Court%2001%202011)
About 50 attorneys, prosecutors, defense attorneys and lab technicians on Friday discussed how past and future cases could be affected by a new standard in analyzing data involving "mixed DNA" evidence. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/dna.jpg)
A new standard, used by crime labs in Texas and nationwide when analyzing multiple sets of DNA taken from evidence, has prompted questions and a review of court cases dating back to 1999. Full Story
Nearly two years before the murder of six Houston siblings, a state district judge denied a request by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to keep them in foster care, according to a memo sent to members of the Legislature on Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/09/05/CPS-Texas.jpg)