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The latest Texas Supreme Court news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw on the state's quiet sharing of infant blood samples with the military and on the things Rick Perry's opponents aren't saying about him, Grissom on Farouk Shami's surprising popularity in El Paso, Philpott on the political advantages of a job creation fund and how Debra Medina's supporters are reacting to her "truther" comments, Hu on Debra Medina in the latest installment of Stump Interrupted, Thevenot on how the kids feel about the federal option of closing bad high schools, Rapoport on the newest mutation of the state's pay-as-you-go transportation philosophy, and our roundup of party primaries in the last week before the election: Rapoport on HD-7, Ramsey on HD-11, Aguilar on HD-36 and HD-43, Philpott on HD-47, Thevenot on HD-52 and SD-5, Kreighbaum on HD-105 and one Supreme Court race, M. Smith on another, and Hamilton on the colorful Democratic candidates for Agriculture Commissioner. The best of our best from February 22 to 26, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Primary Color: The Final Five

    By Reeve Hamilton, Ross Ramsey, Brian Thevenot, Julián Aguilar and Andrew Kreighbaum

    This is the final day of early voting — a period in which many more energized and engaged Texans cast ballots for their favorite candidates than their counterparts did in 2006. During the last two weeks, we've published fifteen installments in our Primary Color series, analyzing the marquee contested party primaries for Texas House and Senate seats, for Congressional seats, and for slots on the State Board of Education and the Texas Supreme Court. Today we present the last five of our stories. Brian Thevenot reports on the face-off between very different GOP insiders to take on state Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, in House District 52. Julian Aguilar looks at the ideological purity test in HD-43, where incumbent Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, has been called a "closet Republican" by her Democratic challenger. Reeve Hamilton explains how Democrats have to choose between an Agriculture Commissioner candidate with ranching experience and one who's the consummate promoter. Andrew Kreighbaum weighs in on the six-way free-for-all to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill in Place 3. And Ross Ramsey contemplates the potential karmic payback of state Rep. Chuck Hopson, of Jacksonville, who quit the Democratic party and filed for reelection as a Republican, only to find two GOP primary opponents lying in wait. Full Story 

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  • Primary Color: Supreme Court Place 9

    By Morgan Smith

    Rose Vela is no stranger to challenging establishment-backed judicial candidates — and unlike most who run upstart campaigns, she wins. But this year she's taking on Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, the appointee of a governor with the most formidable political machine in recent Texas history. Full Story 

    Eva Guzman (left), Rose Vela
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • The Trials of Felipe Reyna

    By Morgan Smith

    Two former Texas Supreme Court justices and a Goliath of state judicial politics are trying to oust the 10th Court of Appeals judge from the courthouse that he once cleaned as a janitor. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed's coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge's guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety's use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state's border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami's accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT's hard road and the State Board of Education's lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama's budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Odor in the Court

    By Morgan Smith

    Even if 84 percent of Americans believe judges should not hear cases from major campaign contributors, the big Texas law firms that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to them over the last ten years see nothing wrong with business as usual. Full Story 

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    Credit: iStockphoto

  • Time's Up

    By Ross Ramsey

    The political window is about to close: Today's the last day to become a candidate in the 2010 state elections. What we know so far is that the ballot will have a fireworks show at the top, with contested and well-financed gubernatorial primaries on both sides. A couple of statewide Democratic races will be competitive, but with incumbents seeking reelection on the Republican side, there's little action there. Full Story 

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  • Legal Lottery

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Can Texas lottery winners sell all of their payments to private finance companies? State attorneys say no. A state appeals court says yes. The Texas Supreme Court will decide. Full Story 

  • Wallace Jefferson on That Exxon Case

    By Evan Smith

    The Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court on the not-quite-settled case that has everyone talking: Exxon v. Emerald, or, as you might prefer to think of it (we do), the biggest oil and gas company on earth vs. one of the state's most mythic ranching families. Full Story 

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  • On Being a Black Republican

    By Evan Smith

    Wallace Jefferson, the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, on what race has to do with politics, why he's a member of his party, and whether the GOP has been sufficiently hospitable to African Americans. Full Story 

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  • Video: On Being a Black Republican

    By Evan Smith

    Wallace Jefferson, the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, on what race has to do with politics, why he's a member of the GOP, and whether the party has been sufficiently hospitable to African Americans. Full Story 

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    Credit: Texas Politics Project screengrab

  • Help Wanted

    By Matt Stiles

    More than two-dozen people have asked Gov. Rick Perry to appoint them to replace former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, who resigned recently to return to private practice. Full Story