Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench.

Texans voted in several races, including for the President, a U.S. Senator, U.S. House members and more.

Voters will decide three seats on the Texas Supreme Court, three seats on the Court of Criminal Appeals and three seats on the 4th Court of Appeals.

Three fairgoers are requesting up to $1 million in damages and to allow guns at the State Fair.

After the attorney general insisted on the death row inmate’s guilt in a graphic press release, four lawmakers issued a point-by-point rebuttal.

Three of the five judges who allowed Robert Roberson’s execution to proceed will be leaving the court after Paxton-backed primary challenges.

Robert Roberson, who had been set to be the first person in the U.S. to be put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, had his execution delayed after a dramatic few hours of legal wrangling among three different Texas courts.

The state’s highest civil court said it wants a lower court to resolve a separation-of-powers issue raised by a group of Texas lawmakers who subpoenaed the death row inmate the night before he was set to be put to death.

Three Republican incumbents are being targeted for their role in recent abortion rulings by a new Democratic political action committee.

Texas voters will elect officials in the presidential, congressional, statewide and legislative races.

Parents and medical providers of transgender adolescents sued Texas, challenging the constitutionality of a restriction on puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

The Texas Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the U.S. following a lawsuit by women who had serious pregnancy complications.

The court ruled against 20 women who said they were denied medically necessary abortions, saying the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging the program, saying it violates the Texas Constitution.

Justice John Devine’s comments at a conservative event are the latest to prompt concerns about his impartiality as a jurist.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is bound for a runoff with GOP challenger David Covey after being bruised by state Attorney General Ken Paxton's campaign against House incumbents who sought his impeachment.

Get The Texas Tribune’s coverage of election results for the 2024 primary races for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the Texas Legislature.

Voters across Texas headed to the polls on Tuesday to decide who they will nominate as in their respective political party.

The recent ruling in Alabama that frozen embryos are legally considered children has created a political firestorm after the decision halted treatment for many couples trying to have families through fertility treatments.

A national LGBTQ+ advocacy group is suing the Texas Attorney General, rather than handing over information about transgender children receiving gender-confirming medical care.

The ruling by the all-Republican court came after former President Donald Trump told justices to leave Paxton alone.

A fight over allowing transgender children to access puberty blockers and hormone therapies could hinge on justices’ interpretation of parental rights.

The Supreme Court of Texas ruled against Cox’s lawsuit to block the state’s abortion ban. She traveled out of state to have an abortion.

Kelcy Warren, a Dallas pipeline billionaire, sued O’Rourke in early 2022, saying the Democrat defamed him with critical comments about his company’s windfall profits after the Texas energy-grid collapse in February 2021.

A judge ruled that Kate Cox was allowed to terminate her non-viable pregnancy, but on Friday night, the Texas Supreme Court put that ruling on hold.

Courts in several states are hearing challenges to abortion bans this week.

After a Travis County district judge cleared the way for Kate Cox, 31, to terminate her pregnancy, Ken Paxton petitioned the state’s highest court to halt the ruling.

In August, a judge ruled that the state’s near-total abortion ban should not apply to medically complicated pregnancies. The state appealed that ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, putting it on hold.

The Texas Supreme Court is deciding whether the state's abortion ban is too restrictive for women with pregnancy complications.

Former top aides to the Texas attorney general are seeking damages for their firings after they reported Paxton to the FBI. The Legislature opted not to authorize a $3.3 million settlement in the lawsuit.

Texas Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday in the case of a Waco judge who refused to marry same-sex couples. It is unclear when the high court will issue a ruling.

The whistleblower lawsuit, which argues that four senior staffers were improperly fired in retaliation for reporting Paxton to the FBI, returns to a Travis County trial court for action.

Lawyers criticize a provision they say erodes the separation of powers between Texas’ executive branch and its courts. It’s been used repeatedly this year as Texans try to block new state laws from going into effect

After the latest wave of legal rulings on restrictions for transgender people, a Texas ban on gender-affirming care for minors is in effect.

The Texas Supreme Court will allow the new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors to take effect on Friday, setting up Texas to be the most populous state with such restrictions on transgender children.

The ruling means the November elections in the state’s largest county will be overseen by two other county officials. Legislators targeted Harris County’s elections department after taking issue with the way the 2022 elections were run.

The all-Republican court narrowly found that the nonprofit corporation operating the state’s electrical grid qualifies for sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from lawsuits.

In his biennial state of the judiciary, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht also warned against politics’ encroachment into the third branch of government.

Some local district and county attorneys have said they will not pursue abortion-related cases, or prioritize certain drug, property and election crimes.

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday knocked down a legal challenge to the proposed San Antonio charter amendment, paving the way for residents to vote on the wide-sweeping measure May 6.

Texas’ education agency first moved to take over the district in 2019 after years of low student performance at a single Houston ISD high school. Critics said the district has made improvements since then.

Lawyers for four former employees who accused the attorney general of firing them for reporting alleged crimes to authorities say Paxton won’t agree to finalizing the deadline by the end of this legislative session.

The decision from the state’s highest court would allow the TEA to move forward with its plan to replace Houston ISD’s school board members over low academic scores.

Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.

Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in.

The program, known as Chapter 313, provides companies with billions of dollars in property tax breaks. The court said it is up to the Legislature to make the call on what to do as the program is set to expire and the state is swamped with applications.

Three seats were up for election in the Texas Supreme Court, which handles civil cases, and three in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Democrats haven’t been elected to either court since the late 1990s.

Results include Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, 3rd Court of Appeals, District Judges and Bexar County Court-at-law judges.

Several abortion funds have sued anti-abortion activist Mark Lee Dickson, who called them “criminal organizations,” for defamation.

The nine-member Texas Supreme Court has the power to make sweeping decisions that interpret the meaning of the state’s constitution, impacting the lives of Texans across the state. Three seats are on the ballot this year.

Among other issues, the court will consider whether a law that updated the education code last year has any bearing on TEA Commissioner Mike Morath’s attempt to replace HISD’s board members over low academic scores.

Texas Attorney General Paxton has not given up his fight against San Antonio ISD.

On Aug. 8, a group of Republican candidates asked the Supreme Court to remove 23 Libertarian opponents from the ballot, saying they did not meet eligibility requirements. The Republicans included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others in congressional and state legislative races.

A Texas judge has continued blocking the state from investigating two families of transgender youth that have receiving gender affirming medical care.

Because the state is a party in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s cases against the companies, Volkswagen lawyers have argued that allowing the Texas governor to appoint justices to a case for which the state stands to win a substantial amount of money would give “the impression that the State has had undue influence.”

The Texas Supreme Court has blocked a lower court order that gave some abortion clinics confidence to resume performing abortions.

A Texas judge has temporarily blocked the state from investigating families of transgender children who have received gender confirming care.

The nation’s strictest abortion law went before the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday but an attorney representing abortion clinics said he no longer sees a way in this case to halt the law.

In the latest setback for abortion rights in Texas, the Supreme Court has refused to speed up the ongoing court case over the state’s ban on most abortions.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision means it could take months before abortion providers’ challenge to the restrictive law returns to a federal court.

From the Otis McKane death penalty trial to the retirement of Paul Venema, 2021 was a memorable one.

Young replaces former Justice Eva Guzman, who resigned in June ahead of a campaign for attorney general.

The San Antonio Independent School District board decided to ease off any push to require a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees for now.

The halt comes after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates — which previously applied to cities, counties and school districts — to private employers.

A panel of five judges indefinitely blocked the lawsuits last week upon the request of an anti-abortion group.

John Ramirez was scheduled to die Wednesday. His last request to the state had been to let his pastor hold on to him as he died, something the state denied. The high court wants to hear oral arguments on the matter later this year.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg says the COVID-19 positivity rate for the Bexar County area has decreased to 13.6%, down from 16.9% last week.

State officials are seeking an order from the Texas Supreme Court to lift an injunction that allows Bexar County to mandate masks in public schools.

COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are rebelling against Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. Here’s the latest.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott wanted the high court to disallow mask mandates in Texas school districts. Justices dismissed their request on a technicality, without issuing a ruling on their legal arguments.

In a bid to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats for weeks have denied the lower chamber the number of present members needed to pass legislation. House Speaker Dade Phelan has already signed dozens of civil arrest warrants.

Students and staff in the San Antonio Independent School District will be required to wear masks, effective immediately. In addition, staff will be required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15. Both mandates were issued Monday by Superintendent Pedro Martinez.

COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are rebelling against Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. Here’s the latest.

Bexar County’s mask mandate for public schools is allowed to remain in effect after the latest in a back-and-forth court battle between the county and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Some San Antonio-area school districts are making face masks optional for students and staff as the legal battle over mask mandates between state and local officials continues.

The ruling comes after several school districts and a handful of counties across the state defied the governor’s executive order that restricted local entities from instituting mask mandates.

The Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for absent House Democrats’ civil arrests after it temporarily blocked Harris County judges’ orders protecting them from such a move.

The Democrats had left the state to block the passage of a Republican elections bill they say would restrict voting rights in the state.

Funds amounting to at least $12.6 million will be transferred from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Senate, the House, and legislative agencies such as the LBB, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Reference Library.

In the first phase of funding from the federal government for emergency rental assistance, Texas received about $2 billion. Now the state has to get those funds in the hands of Texans.

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, San Antonio families are still struggling to pay rent and other bills.

The state’s highest civil court has been asked to decide if Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to cut off funding for legislative staff, a move Abbott hoped would keep Democratic lawmakers from leaving the state and shutting down a special legislative session.

The extension comes as the federal moratorium on evictions is set to expire on July 31.

A federal freeze on most evictions enacted last year is scheduled to expire July 31.

The gunman should not have been able to purchase an assault style rifle, but the store conducted the required federal background check, which didn't reveal his past assault conviction, the court said.

The Texas Supreme Court says families of the victims in the shooting at a Sutherland Springs church can not sue Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Guzman's candidacy adds a new dynamic to the primary that is already unfolding between incumbent Paxton and Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

”We don’t want jury service to be a death sentence for any jurors or any participants in the court process,” Rangel said. The latest Texas Supreme Court order issued Friday gives individual authority to local administrative judges. AdThe Texas Supreme Court emergency order expires June 1. “Maybe if it’s not extended, those minimum safety protocols would not be required to enter into the courthouse,” Rangel said. But he said that for now the protocols will remain in place in all Bexar County courtrooms.

Texas courthouses no longer need a state safety review before conducting in-person hearings, including jury trials. AdIn the year of the pandemic, much of the state court system has been put on pause, creating a backlog of cases that will likely take years to overcome. In 2019, there was an average of 186 civil and criminal jury trials per week, according to the Texas Office of Court Administration. From March 2020 through this January, there were 222 jury trials total. But Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association President Grant Scheiner asked judges to remain vigilant in hopes of preventing another surge of coronavirus infections.

SAN ANTONIO – As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches one year, the resulting backlog of cases in the Bexar County Criminal Justice System continues to grow since an emergency order from the Texas Supreme Court prohibits in-person jury trials. One option available to both the state and the defense to resolve cases is a bench trial in which a judge serves as both the judge and jury. “I think most judges would prefer to have bench trials during this pandemic.”J. Charles Bunk, a seasoned criminal defense attorney who has also served as a prosecutor for over a dozen years, has been involved in bench trials on both the defense and prosecution. An agreement from the state and the defense is necessary for a bench trial to be conducted. RELATED: In-person jury trials in Bexar County delayed until at least April 1

SAN ANTONIO – Citing an emergency order from the Texas Supreme Court, Local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel has ordered that there will be no in-person civil or criminal jury trials in Bexar County until April 1 at the earliest. Rangel ordered a moratorium on jury trials due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus in March when the COVID-19 pandemic started. With the moratorium in place, judges soon began to worry about case backlogs in their courts. Jury selection in his case was suspended in November due to Covid-19 health concerns. Rangel said, “Once we seat a jury I do not anticipate starting that jury trial until health conditions permit, and I don’t see that happening for awhile.”

The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTexas looks unlikely to change its controversial partisan election system for judges — even after a commission studying the issue recommended ending the practice. And in Republican primaries, judicial candidates with Hispanic-sounding surnames have often fared poorly, owing, experts say, to a largely white electorate. Those who favor partisan judicial elections have pointed out that they may work better in rural counties, where voters are electing fewer judges and it’s easier to learn their qualifications. Aside from the bias of partisanship, one of the chief concerns about the state’s partisan judicial selection system is the influence — perceived or actual — of donors who bankroll judges’ campaigns. Huffman, a powerful figure in the Texas Senate, said earlier this month she had already begun drafting a constitutional amendment that would increase judicial qualifications.

The Texas Supreme Court has extended its emergency eviction relief program for tenants behind on rent through at least March 15, lengthening the program’s expiration date by a month and a half. The move comes after Congress passed a stimulus bill Monday extending the federal moratorium on evictions through the end of January. The state created the Texas Eviction Diversion Program earlier this fall with the help of $171 million in CARES Act funding, the vast majority designated for rental assistance. But some housing advocates said the extension doesn’t go far enough to address the large number of struggling renters, even as the federal government extended its eviction moratorium. "There could be tens of thousands of evictions on the horizon in Texas later this winter,” said Michael Depland, spokesperson for the advocacy group, Texas Housers.

The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneSign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. More than five years after he was freed from Texas’ death row and nearly two years after prosecutors declared him innocent, the Texas Supreme Court ordered Friday that Alfred Dewayne Brown finally be compensated for his wrongful imprisonment. In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out Brown’s conviction and death sentence in the 2003 murder of a Houston police officer. But the Texas Comptroller, after receiving advice from the Texas Attorney General, denied Brown’s claim for the money. But Brown’s attorneys argued to the Texas Supreme Court, and the justices agreed, that the comptroller exceeded his authority by making such judicial determinations.

HOUSTON (AP) – A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County, where a record 1.4 million early votes have already been cast. Another 20,000 or more voters were expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, the county’s top elections official. Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. The Texas Supreme Court, which is controlled entirely by Republicans, rejected an identical lawsuit last month and on Sunday refused to invalidate the votes already cast.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON – A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. Another 20,000 or more voters had been expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, Hollins said earlier Monday. “I cannot in good faith encourage voters to cast their votes in tents if that puts their votes at risk,” he said. Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. More than 40% of Harris County residents are Latino, and about one in five residents are Black.