The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Detainees trying to contact their family members are stymied by long wait times, confusing instructions, dropped calls and sometimes per-minute phone charges that critics say are exorbitant. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/90528882a8b7fa713694176fb3b5f963/Tornillo_kids_phones_HHS_TT.jpg)
President Donald Trump’s administration’s practice of indefinitely detaining some asylum seekers can’t proceed, a federal district judge has ruled. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d411ae9ba0da8d96bcb294aa91d6f917/Brownville_ACLU_rally_5_June_28_RL_TT.jpg)
For Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy represents an opportunity. For Democrats, it has inspired fear. And for the U.S. Senate race in Texas, it has already become a rallying cry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/10/23/OROURKE_CRUZ.jpg)
In deep-red Texas, abortion opponents are already eyeing the new U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as a chance to push more aggressive legislation without fear of judicial override. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6c565e76290fd41f58639b49f3ec459c/Justice_Kennedy_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
The high court's decision lowers the burden of proof for states locked in similar water battles with upstream neighbors. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/18/BestOf-2014-001.jpg)
The state's two U.S. senators are likely to play pivotal roles in what is expected to be a politically explosive confirmation process. Full Story
The San Antonio Democrat's sentence comes after he was convicted of 11 felonies in connection with FourWinds Logistics, a now-defunct oilfield services company found to have perpetrated a Ponzi scheme against investors. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8387d770a121e2d83e5021cf67c7efe0/Uresti_sentenced_RL_TT.jpg)
On June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning gay sodomy — a watershed moment for gay rights. But 15 years later, same-sex couples face another court case that aims to roll back their rights. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e8639ce4a3d4ad6b03b70da4a78eeedd/Lawrence_Katine_Garner_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
As an El Paso shelter prepared to take in undocumented immigrants separated from their children, President Donald Trump's tweets calling for deportations without due process drew rebukes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c28baa9ed212212c098ce91b98af08bc/_L3A0710.jpg)
In a detention center near Houston, an asylum seeker from Honduras said he agreed to sign a voluntary removal order from the U.S. after federal officials promised to reunite him with his 6-year-old daughter. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b1d26842a64cf87198b44ff22732b2a2/CBP_McAllen_4.jpg)
The decision comes years after the state found that Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, a subsidiary of Xerox, allowed workers with limited expertise to approve dental claims for the state's Medicaid program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Medicaid-3dCross.jpg)
The state's highest civil court has ruled that Laredo's ban on plastic bags violates state law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/11/bag-pollution-SK_TT.jpg)
A lack of space and a legal settlement stand in his administration's way. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e463a7cb923f09278c77fadaca583e36/Family_detention_center_Dilley_LS_TT.jpg)
Texas loses an estimated $1.1 billion each year in uncollected sales tax from online retailers that don't have a physical presence in the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/06/26/6F6A7717.jpg)
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order he says will "keep the families together" when they're apprehended illegally crossing the border. But that does little for families who have already been split apart. Full Story
Children held at the Shiloh Treatment Center, a government contractor south of Houston that houses immigrant minors, described being held down and injected, according to federal court filings. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6bfbdb4ef1873e7eced1f7cf6e5a2a47/Manvel_Treatment_Center_Shiloh_2_PYH_TT.jpg)
How exactly are families being separated at the border? Here's where parents and children go after they're apprehended. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7b8bf2d7e09ea8c931bab1aff5baef36/CBP_McAllen_6.jpg)
Government agencies are grappling to respond to the number of immigrants coming into the country. Many tax-funded shelters housing immigrants are overcrowded, and there are reports some have substandard living conditions. We’ve compiled a list of organizations that are mobilizing to help. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6ee66d9960462164123078161065458d/04-03-19%20Immigration%20Migrant%20Border%20Photos%20Tribune%20IPA%2006%20TT.jpg)
Four months after he was convicted of 11 felonies, Texas state Sen. Carlos Uresti announced Monday that he will resign from the Texas Legislature, where he's served for more than two decades. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/23/Uresti_Verdict_5_RJ_TT.jpg)
A varsity swimmer was found "responsible" for sexually assaulting a fellow student. But after a brief suspension and one semester of academic probation, he can rejoin the team. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/10/31/6F6A9296.jpg)