The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Rosendo Rodriguez was executed Tuesday for killing a Lubbock prostitute and tossing her body in a dumpster in a suitcase. His final appeals questioned the medical examiner's testimony that she was sexually assaulted before her death. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0ca92081049b382086afd59543796e3a/Rosendo_Rodriguez.jpg)
In addition to taking covert videos of Texas lawmakers in 2015, the American Phoenix Foundation allegedly planted an intern in state Rep. James White's office in 2013 in an attempt to catch the Hillister Republican engaging in fraud. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/13/IMG_0006.jpg)
Carlos Ayestas, 48, said he wants to explore evidence of his mental illness, brain injuries or drug use that wasn't brought up during his trial for the murder of a 67-year-old woman. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/03/Carlos_Ayestas_SCOTUS_TT.jpg)
The plaintiffs in the case include a Haitian ethics teacher fleeing political persecution, a Honduran national who alleges persecution for being gay and asylum seekers from Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela and Cuba. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-cell.jpg)
Attorneys and immigrants' rights groups who fought against Senate Bill 4 say their next move isn’t exactly clear, but they insist they have a handful of options remaining. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/29/SBProtest-JA-001.jpg)
As the case over Senate Bill 4 plays out, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that most of the immigration enforcement legislation can remain in effect. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/29/_95I2131_CMS_protest.jpg)
Seven of 13 sitting Texas district attorneys who faced 2018 primary challengers lost their races. Whether that's normal turnover or part of a larger focus on criminal justice reform, several experts say it's no longer safe to be an incumbent prosecutor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/03/09/LaHood_and_Reyna_TT.jpg)
Gutierrez is running for Texas Senate District 19, a Democratic-leaning San Antonio district that overlaps with his own and is held by a senator who was recently convicted of 11 felonies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/08/__95I7866_GutierrezCMS.JPG)
The device was used as punishment for refusing to answer a judge’s questions properly during his 2016 trial on charges of soliciting sexual performance from a 15-year-old girl. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/14/CourtRoom-Scales.jpg)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller narrowly won the Republican primary Tuesday night, overcoming a challenger who knocked her for her multiple ethical controversies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/10/26/Keller_Bridges_TT.jpg)
Though the DACA program is still in effect, thousands demonstrated in El Paso and elsewhere across the country to demand Congress come up with a legislative fix to protect the young undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/03/05/DACA_signs_1_JA_TT.jpg)
The ruling is an apparent victory for Texas in a legal battle that has dragged on for more than five years. The states are bickering over the distribution of water from the Rio Grande. Those allocations are laid out in the 1938 Rio Grande Compact. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/12/12/TxTrib-RioGrande06.jpg)
Judicial races in Texas are typically low-key affairs, but in the GOP race for the 3rd Court of Appeals, Michael Toth is hitting the same themes you'd see in a race for Congress. Experts say it could be a sign of things to come. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/28/Mike_Toth_TT.jpg)
Hispanics rarely win seats on Texas' two highest courts. Some experts blame the "surname challenge." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/18/BDS_4567.jpg)
According to the lawsuit, male employees urinated on the walls, floors and sinks of the women’s bathroom and deactivated speakers in the women’s dormitory so female firefighters would be unable to respond to emergency calls. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/11/Houston-Skyline.jpg)
The decision came the same day the U.S. Supreme Court declined to fast-track a decision President Donald Trump wanted on the fate of the nation's "Dreamers." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/09/07/DACA_protest.jpg)
Texas is suing the federal government over President Barack Obama's landmark health care law — again. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/12/01/6F6A2733.jpg)
State Sen. Carlos Uresti was convicted of 11 felonies, but that doesn't mean he immediately has to leave the state Legislature. And he'll still be eligible for his sizable government pension. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/23/Uresti_Verdict_5_RJ_TT.jpg)
State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, could face years in prison and lose his seat after he was found guilty of multiple felonies Thursday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/22/Uresti_presser_after_verdict.jpg)
A lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday calls on Texas to treat voters “in an equal manner” during presidential elections. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/06/27/EARLYVOTING3444.jpg)