The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
The group, which was granted credentials in the Senate but denied them in the House, argues that the lower chamber's administration chairman engaged in "unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination." Full Story
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Citing security concerns, the state has fought for years to keep the supplier's name secret. Full Story
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The former congressional staffer, Jason Posey, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Houston. Full Story
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“The Constitution’s protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A’s chicken,” Paxton wrote in a Thursday letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the rest of the council. Full Story
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Lawmakers in the House and Senate have filed bills that aim to address a pair of 2015 court decisions seen as threats to open government. Full Story
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For years, Diane Wilson has tried to get Formosa Plastics Corp. to stop discharging plastic pellets from its sprawling petrochemical complex on the Central Texas coast. This week, she's getting her day in court. Full Story
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An estimate to put air conditioning into one prison changed from more than $20 million to $4 million last year. Full Story
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Busby, a Republican judge and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, served on an appellate court in Houston until voters rejected him in November as part of a Democratic sweep. Full Story
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There are now two sets of bail reform bills named after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who was murdered while the suspect was out of jail on a $15,500 bond after allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy. Full Story
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A now-erased provision in Senate Bill 15 explicitly said a potential new state law would not supersede local nondiscrimination ordinances. Without that language, many LGBTQ advocates fear Texans could be exposed to some discriminatory employment practices. Full Story
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If the U.S. Senate confirms Brown, the state's highest civil court would see its second vacancy in a period of months. Full Story
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Brown was freed from nearly a decade on death row in 2015, but because he was never declared "actually innocent," he couldn't get compensation for wrongful imprisonment — until Friday. Full Story
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The bill would also nullify mandates some local city councils in major Texas cities have already tried to put in place. The measure is now eligible to be taken up by the full Senate. Full Story
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A day earlier, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down a provision of the law that makes it a crime for public officials to deliberate privately in small groups. Full Story
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As the state put the 70-year-old to death, his son banged on the death chamber window. After an altercation with law enforcement, Coble's son and another relative were removed from the witness room and arrested. Full Story
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U.S. District Judge Fred Biery called the review "ham-handed" and ordered counties not to remove voters from the rolls without his approval and "a conclusive showing that the person is ineligible to vote." Full Story
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The ruling only pertains to a slice of the law, but open government advocates say the decision “removes a powerful disincentive” put in place to keep public officials from hiding public business. Full Story
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After state officials conceded that at least a quarter of a list of nearly 100,000 Texas voters flagged for citizenship review should never have been questioned, a federal judge said, "I wish all of this could've been done back as the original effort." Full Story
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A newly elected Democratic judge issued the decision in the latest turn of a 2013 legal challenge to Houston's policy extending benefits to municipal employees' same-sex spouses. Full Story
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The counties sent certain voters letters demanding that they prove their citizenship after they were flagged by the secretary of state's office. Full Story
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