Video: Gohmert on Guns
On this morning's edition of Fox News Sunday, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, rejected calls for stricter gun laws following Friday's tragic school shooting in Connecticut. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, is shown at the annual alumni Aggie Muster on April 21, 2012, at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.]()
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Bill Renews Debate on Merging Top Two Courts
State Rep. Richard Peña Raymond has filed a bill to abolish the Court of Criminal Appeals and bring all of its related cases under the Texas Supreme Court. He's triggering a debate that goes all the way back to Reconstruction. Full Story
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Death Row Population at Its Lowest Since 1989
Mirroring a national trend, death sentences in Texas have declined over the last decade. Death sentences have fallen 75 percent since 2002, according to a new report. And the Texas death row population is the lowest in more than 20 years. Full Story
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![This gurney is used to perform executions at Terre Haute by lethal injection.]()
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Abbott Backs Federal Measure Increasing Child Porn Penalties
Attorney General Greg Abbott expressed support Friday for a federal measure that increases penalties for viewing child pornography. Federal judges and advocates have said that the penalties are already steep enough. Full Story
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Perry Shuffles the Deck
As he enters the last regular session of this term as governor, Rick Perry opts for a trusted supporter in a top political job and a respected agency manager to run his own office. Full Story
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![The second annual Texas Tribune Festival kicked off with with a conversation between Texas governor Rick Perry and Tribune founder and CEO Evan Smith in the Grand Ballroom of the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas on September 21, 2012.]()
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New Divorce Forms Make Breakups Cheaper, Easier, but Stoke Controversy
A Texas Supreme Court decision approving standardized divorce forms will give poor people easier access to divorce than ever before. But opponents of the forms worry that without a lawyer's help, the process could go wrong. Full Story
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Bill Would Require Police to Record Interrogations
Advocates for a bill requiring police to record interrogations argue it could prevent innocent people from confessing to crimes they didn't commit. Some in law enforcement worry the requirement would make it harder to try cases. Full Story
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In Judicial Appointments, Perry Reaches Beyond Executive Branch
Gov. Rick Perry's control of the executive branch after 12 years in office is well established. But he's made hundreds of judicial appointments, too. Full Story
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Newsreel: Freshmen Invade, Perry Appoints
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: It's freshman orientation at the Texas Capitol, and Gov. Rick Perry has appointed a new Texas Supreme Court justice and a new secretary of state. Full Story
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Attorney General Seeks to Seize Polygamist Ranch
The Texas attorney general's office is pursuing legal action to seize the West Texas ranch owned by the polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting young girls. Full Story
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Bill Would Restrict Informant Testimony in Death Penalty Cases
Reform advocates argue that a bill banning "snitch" testimony would help prevent wrongful convictions. But critics of the measure say that current rules protect defendants and that eliminating such testimony could tie prosecutors’ hands. Full Story
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Senate Committee Hears Testimony on Open Records Law
The Senate Committee on Open Government heard testimony Monday surrounding the Texas Public Information Act. Among the discussions was one focused on reducing “frivolous and overly burdensome” requests. Full Story
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Perry Taps Chief of Staff for Texas Supreme Court
Gov. Rick Perry has named Jeff Boyd, his chief of staff, as his choice to replace Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright, who resigned from the state's highest civil court earlier this year. Full Story
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Sexual Assault Case Could Open Door for Reviews
Could wrongful convictions for sexual assault be the next frontier for Texas junk science cases? Advocates for four San Antonio women accused of sexually assaulting two young girls 15 years ago say their case could open the door. Full Story
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![Elizabeth Ramirez, 38, is 15 years into a nearly 40-year sentence for the sexual assault of her two nieces. On Aug. 4, one of those nieces recanted. Attorneys at the Innocence Project of Texas are hoping to prove that Ramirez and her three friends, who are also incarcerated, never committed the crime.]()
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Father Cleared of Murder Charges Asks Why His Daughter is Still in Prison
Megan Winfrey has watched as her father and brother were released from jail because the dog-scent evidence used in the murder case against them was deemed faulty. But she remains in prison, awaiting a ruling on her plea for acquittal. Full Story
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Preston Hughes Executed for 1988 Murder
Preston Hughes was executed Thursday night for the fatal 1988 stabbing of two youths in Houston. Hughes was the second Texas inmate executed in two days. Full Story
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![Preston Hughes interview two months before Hughes' first scheduled execution date, TDCJ Polunsky Unit, Livingston, Texas. September 19, 2012.]()
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Llano County Jail Death Prompts Lawsuit
A woman who has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against administrators with the Llano County Jail says they neglected her son, who died last year. An attorney for the administrators has said they have done nothing wrong. Full Story
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![At a Texas Civil Rights Project press conference, Shirley Appell, center, the mother of Shawn Appell, argues that jailers in Llano County are responsible for her son's death. She is seeking civil damages.]()
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Ruling: Employers Can't Use Penal Code to Restrict Handguns in Cars
A law passed last year allows licensed employees to keep concealed handguns in their vehicles while on employer property, and the employer cannot use the penal code to circumvent the law, according to an opinion from the attorney general's office Monday. Full Story
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![A M&P Shield handgun, small enough to be ideal for conceal carry, in Austin on April 23, 2021.]()
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Supreme Court To Hear Texas Death Row Inmate's Case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of Carlos Trevino, who contends that the high court's decision last year's to guarantee effective habeas representation should apply in Texas as it does elsewhere. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Rejects Crash Victim's Case
For a second time — and likely the last — the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Michelle Gaines, who suffered debilitating injuries in a 2006 car accident. Full Story
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![Michelle Gaines, 26, and her father Michael Gaines in their home in Palestine, TX, on Sunday, July 22, 2012.]()
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux
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