The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
A federal lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s office of violating the constitutional rights of inmates, dozens of whom have died or been injured at the jail in recent years. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1bb3c4d94fc5e76366c4529e093c87a5/Harris%20Co.%20Jail%20MS%20TT%2001.jpg)
State District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum on Friday issued a temporary exemption to Texas’ abortion ban. Hours later, the attorney general’s office filed an appeal, which blocked the order. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7d45bf5b9f2f64834730bb2839db8717/0719%20Abortion%20Hearing%20Presser%20JT%2001%20TT.jpg)
State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2ea5eb6dbca62d6faca86a1667c901de/0323%20Drag%20Testimony%20LS%20TT%2001.jpg)
The impeached attorney general appeared in a Houston courtroom, where lawyers from both sides agreed to return in October to set an expected trial date on charges that have been pending since 2015. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cdcc5a57027f995a8fdb4bec8c32bc47/0803%20Paxton%20Houston%20CHRON%20TT%2006.jpg)
Barraging the Obama administration with lawsuits, the Texas attorney general’s office wasn’t just trying to block policies. It was injecting disruptive, overtly Christian legal philosophies into the mainstream, and grooming a generation of conservative legal warriors. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3058798d9c9c7f7f19837e2b336718d9/PART%20II.png)
With his election as Texas attorney general, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn planted the seeds of conservatism. Gov. Greg Abbott used his tenure to cultivate them into an aggressive strain of right-wing activism aimed at driving the nation’s courts and laws to the right. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/190c780a9c22ef6d931b7dd3a6f25e69/PART%20I.png)
A federal judiciary full of ideological allies is helping Texas block Democratic priorities and advance right-wing legal doctrines. But the bigger prize is conservative control of the rule of law itself. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b842a349ebe15ae62a6f4cc62ba3655a/PART%20III.png)
The string of buoys is a safety hazard that violates treaties and harms relations with Mexico, Justice Department lawyers tell a federal judge. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/34c9e98f1658f97f6e7f218fd5107559/Eagle%20Pass%20Buoys%20JV%20TT%2003.jpg)
Two Texas bookstores and three national bookseller associations file suit over House Bill 900, which requires private booksellers to rate books on appropriateness, and bans “sexually explicit” material from libraries. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9b41031f9a0311fb0326c47c09d5c344/Book%20File%20LW%20TT%2013.jpg)
The judge gave the Biden administration 14 days to appeal his ruling on the policy, which federal officials credit for reducing migrant arrests at the border to the lowest number since Biden took office. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f90ad38b16138e4de081247bb784457/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2013.JPG)
The women, believed to be the first to testify about an abortion ban’s impact on their pregnancy since 1973, are seeking to clarify when a medical emergency justifies an abortion. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cf1302dd1beedc34559d11c5088b45d2/0719%20Abortion%20Hearing%20Presser%20JT%2004%20TT.jpg)
The professors said the ban immediately halted research projects into TikTok and derailed their plans to lead classes discussing the social media app’s benefits and risks. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2880d343155eeab96942b58d975de2da/TikTok%20HQ%20REUTERS.jpg)
The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/db1f4d9c6b6987204c1ec63f127e4208/0512%20SB%2014%20House%20Friday%20EL%20TT%2007.jpg)
McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley filed a lawsuit after a state agency warned her about refusing to marry gay couples. She hopes a recent U.S. Supreme Court case about religious freedom helps her cause. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a2b0ba542b3a7dd492ae11f96fe5ab48/SCOTUS%20Pride%20REUTERS.jpg)
Higher education experts say universities can implement other strategies like targeted recruitment in underserved communities, eliminating legacy admissions and getting rid of test requirements. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dcc7c82c8c40e523f517036dc0a293a5/Rice%20U%20AM%20TT%20109.jpg)
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a federal judge’s previous injunction that barred the college from charging out-of-state American citizens more than undocumented immigrants living in the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b120fb35e44181fe5014f9e18d953f9a/0224%20UNT%20Campus%20ST%20TT%2002.jpg)
Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in federal court. He still faces state charges, and the local district attorney says he intends to seek the death penalty. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0be6dc83019a06a1eaf05877ebb3fdfd/Court%20Room%20Sketch%20Overview%20Day%203.jpg)
Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5e9c459c0f9cee4597aaed38b9cbabac/Harris%20County%20Jail%20CR%20TT%2001.jpg)
During the gunman’s sentencing, relatives of those killed nearly four years ago are telling him how he upended their lives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9292d52726a62f19fa2f83b0c7cd29d7/Javier%20Francisco%20Rodriguez%20TT%20NG.jpg)
House Bill 2127 — dubbed the “Death Star” law by opponents — prevents local governments from creating rules that go further than what’s allowed under broad areas of state law. Houston’s suit says the new law violates the state’s constitution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/413c037abf4deb74925c7e6aa84fdb55/Houston%20Skyline%20CR%20TT%2001.jpg)