Updated: Chief Justice Pushes for "Innocence Commission"
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson pushed lawmakers to establish a commission to investigate wrongful convictions at his biannual State of the Judiciary speech on Wednesday. Full Story
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For Elected Judges, Facing Voters Without Heeding Political Urges
For the elected judges on the state's highest civil court, the trick is to survive politically without thinking about politics — even on big political issues like school finance. Full Story
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Lawmakers and Judge Push for Legal Aid Funding
A Texas Supreme Court Justice and several lawmakers are pushing to raise the amount of money that can be given by the attorney general's office to indigent legal aid services groups. Full Story
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Sons of Confederate Veterans Wants Plaque Removed From Building
Reigniting the flames of a years-long battle over plaques at the Texas Supreme Court building, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has filed a motion to remove a marker that the historical group says inadequately honors the Confederacy. Full Story
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Bill Renews Debate on Merging Top Two Courts
State Rep. Richard Peña Raymond has filed a bill to abolish the Court of Criminal Appeals and bring all of its related cases under the Texas Supreme Court. He's triggering a debate that goes all the way back to Reconstruction. Full Story
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Perry Shuffles the Deck
As he enters the last regular session of this term as governor, Rick Perry opts for a trusted supporter in a top political job and a respected agency manager to run his own office. Full Story
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![The second annual Texas Tribune Festival kicked off with with a conversation between Texas governor Rick Perry and Tribune founder and CEO Evan Smith in the Grand Ballroom of the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas on September 21, 2012.]()
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New Divorce Forms Make Breakups Cheaper, Easier, but Stoke Controversy
A Texas Supreme Court decision approving standardized divorce forms will give poor people easier access to divorce than ever before. But opponents of the forms worry that without a lawyer's help, the process could go wrong. Full Story
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Newsreel: Freshmen Invade, Perry Appoints
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: It's freshman orientation at the Texas Capitol, and Gov. Rick Perry has appointed a new Texas Supreme Court justice and a new secretary of state. Full Story
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Perry Taps Chief of Staff for Texas Supreme Court
Gov. Rick Perry has named Jeff Boyd, his chief of staff, as his choice to replace Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright, who resigned from the state's highest civil court earlier this year. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Rejects Crash Victim's Case
For a second time — and likely the last — the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Michelle Gaines, who suffered debilitating injuries in a 2006 car accident. Full Story
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![Michelle Gaines, 26, and her father Michael Gaines in their home in Palestine, TX, on Sunday, July 22, 2012.]()
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Texas High Court Rejects Challenge to Franchise Tax
The Supreme Court of Texas has dismissed a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. The court said that the tax squares with the Texas and U.S. constitutions. Full Story
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Wainwright to Resign From Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright is resigning at the end of the month to join an Austin law firm, the court announced Wednesday. Full Story
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A Tragic Accident and a Continuing Legal Battle
Michelle Gaines is unlikely to ever live on her own after an auto accident. A jury awarded her $8 million in damages, but the decision was overturned. Her lawyers argue that if her appeal isn't heard, it would set a troubling precedent. Full Story
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![Michelle Gaines, 26, in her bedroom in Palestine, TX, on Sunday, July 22, 2012.]()
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Supreme Court Justice Faces Tough Runoff
A Texas Supreme Court GOP runoff has eight-year incumbent David Medina defending his spot against John Devine, a former district court judge known for his battle to keep the Ten Commandments displayed in his courtroom. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee to Consider Divorce Forms
A Texas Supreme Court advisory committee today will consider whether to approve divorce forms. But many family law attorneys argue that forms are insufficient. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Hands Victory to Landowners in Landmark Water Case
In a case with potentially vast implications for groundwater rules, the court has unanimously ruled in favor of two farmers in the San Antonio area who challenged a local aquifer authority's restrictions on their well use. Full Story
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Pipeline Companies Fighting for Property Rights
The Texas Supreme Court could decide by this week whether it erred in allowing pipeline companies to force their way onto private land. As Dave Fehling of StateImpact Texas reports, the legal wrangling comes as drilling in the state is surging. Full Story
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Consumer Group: High Court Favors Businesses
A report out today from the consumer advocacy group Texas Watch blasts the Texas Supreme Court for a decade of decisions that favor corporate interests and benefit the rich at the expense of consumers. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Moves Forward to Create Divorce Forms
Despite the State Bar of Texas' suggestion to hold off on creating simple divorce forms, the Texas Supreme Court has decided not to halt the work of task force charged with creating forms that improve access to the courts for the poor. Full Story
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U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear "Pole Tax" Case
Nearly five years into a legal battle over the constitutionality of Texas' $5-per-patron strip club fee, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take up the adult entertainment industry's case against the state. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Thomas Hawk
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