INSIDER
The directive comes as some state agencies have downsized their office spaces after the pandemic forced many employees to work remotely.
Texas’ indigent defense commission wants lawmakers to spend $35 million on public defender offices in rural areas, but some say that isn’t nearly enough to ensure compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
Ruben Gutierrez wants to be able to sue prosecutors to compel them to test evidence that he says will prove he did not kill a Brownsville woman in 1998.
The Colony Ridge development has long been under scrutiny from conservative lawmakers, think tanks and influencers who cast it as a hotbed for undocumented immigrants and cartel crime.
The package was fast-tracked after Gov. Greg Abbott declared “bail reform” an emergency item. The bills now head to the House for consideration.
The appeal includes new testimony from experts who say Roberson’s daughter died of natural causes, and cites the court’s exoneration of a man in another shaken baby syndrome case out of Dallas County.
The package of bills would tighten the state's bail laws to keep more people in jail — including undocumented immigrants — while their criminal cases are pending.
The death of an 11-year-old at a Greenville residential treatment center is among 16 deaths reported in the Texas foster care system in the last 15 months.
Faced with more immediate funding needs, state officials haven’t asked for more money for rehabilitation programs, such as STRIVE, next budget cycle.
Steven Lawayne Nelson maintained that he unknowingly participated in the violent church robbery but didn’t harm anyone. His execution was the state’s first for 2025.
So far, nine HHSC employees have been fired for accessing without a “business” purpose the private information of Texans seeking public assistance that includes Medicaid and food stamps.
Recent enforcement operations across Texas have raised concerns among undocumented immigrants. Here’s what immigration attorneys want you to know about your rights and resources.
Trump’s new directive that aims to increase death sentences clashes with some Texas lawmakers’ efforts to add guardrails to capital punishment.
Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents.
Ending birthright citizenship, increasing oil drilling, and leaving WHO are just a few bills the state’s Republicans pushed in Congress this month.
Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low.
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history.
A report found up to 70% of guard positions were unfilled at some prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a 26% staff turnover rate.
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson.
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year.
The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday.
The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.
Groups are urging the state’s estimated 1.6 million undocumented migrants to prepare financially and make plans for their loved ones if they’re detained.
The Bartlett Unit in Williamson County will house 1,049 male inmates who will participate in educational programs aimed to help them secure a job after they’ve served their time.
Senior District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans recused herself after a challenge to her impartiality over longtime relationships with case prosecutors and judges.
More than 250 Texas prisoners are on the waitlist to join the Lee College reentry class. Programs like these prepare students to find jobs and help lower recidivism.
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.
The Cameron County judge also found the state relied on false testimony during her capital murder trial, according to court documents.
Texas prohibits people with assault convictions, among other felonies, from becoming social workers. A new lawsuit says the ban is unconstitutional.
The state’s highest civil court ruled that legislators can’t use subpoenas to block death row inmates’ executions, but suggested there’s still time for Roberson to testify before a Texas House panel.
Texans serving time for misdemeanor offenses or who are in jail awaiting trial are eligible to vote but only two counties offer voting in jail.
Even before the Texas man’s death sentence became a political lightning rod, law enforcement and medical experts had differing opinions on the evidence that convicted him.
The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.
Five people were charged in connection with the scheme. Investigators say aspiring teachers would pay for help cheating in the certification test.
Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court.
Proposed amendments to the city charter would require the city to hire more police, tie the city manager’s pay to community reviews and let citizens sue the city more easily.
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.
Texas’ junk science statute has remained hamstrung for the last decade. So too have other criminal justice reforms, despite efforts from the Texas House.
Hazel Eileen Diaz received nearly $40,000 in cash and money transfers for letting human smugglers use her rental properties.
The death row inmate was expected to testify before a Texas House committee, but those plans were scrapped amid a dispute over whether he should appear in person or virtually.
It’s rare for governors to step in to halt executions. In the case of Robert Roberson, it ended up being state lawmakers who took extraordinary steps.
Three of the five judges who allowed Robert Roberson’s execution to proceed will be leaving the court after Paxton-backed primary challenges.
The effort to spare Roberson sparked a conflict between the executive and legislative branches that must be resolved. When it is, the death row inmate will likely be back on the path to execution.
The American Academy of Pediatrics embraces the diagnosis, but courts have thrown out some cases, calling it “junk science.”
With Roberson’s options dwindling, a House panel used its bully pulpit to prove his case and excoriate the failures of the state’s junk science law.
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.
Todd Smith was indicted in 2022 on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s office.
The new videos largely affirm prior reporting and investigations that detailed law enforcement’s failures to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
Travis James Mullis was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing his 3-month-old son in Galveston. He was the fourth person executed in Texas this year.
Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.
Lawmakers cite new scientific evidence that they say proves Robert Roberson, who is set for execution on Oct. 17, did not kill his daughter.
About 25% of Texas’ correctional officer positions are unfilled. Inmates say the shortages make it harder for them to get respite during hot summer months.
A Texas Juvenile Justice Department report says Dallas County officers kept kids in their sleeping quarters for days at a time and faked school attendance logs.
Pete Arredondo’s lawyers tell the court that the shooter, not the police, was to blame for the school violence.
Chief Homer Delgado said the department has turned over the footage to the district attorney’s office and ordered an investigation into how the error occurred.
Jaleen Anderson’s mom is on a quest for details about her son’s death in a Louisiana prison that houses hundreds of Harris County inmates awaiting trial.
Limits on who can be released without paying bail and difficulties hiring guards worsen the situation.
The city’s release ends a legal battle with news outlets, but other government agencies are withholding materials.
Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said he made the decision after the Uvalde district attorney found no criminal wrongdoing and asked that Ranger Chris Kindell be allowed to return to his job.
The DOJ found that officers overused pepper spray, kept youths in prolonged isolation and failed to protect them from sexual abuse.
Health care contractor Turn Key serves nearly 70 counties across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Kansas and Montana.
Three other cities have passed similar measures but the Texas AG and others question whether they can be enforced because of conflicts with state law.
Local leaders began debating a household limit on the number of pets after two residents were arrested for having 93 dogs and a cat in their home.
Texas’ 2013 law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence was pioneering. But the state’s highest criminal court has rejected most of those challenges.
County officials issued a disaster declaration Tuesday, saying the state’s mass arrests at the border have cost the county millions of dollars and overwhelmed its criminal justice system.
Wednesday’s ruling is the second time a Texas judge has ruled against the attorney general for investigating shelters helping migrants.
Ruben Gutierrez was sentenced to death for the 1998 Brownsville murder of an elderly woman. His execution was stayed in July.
Lawyers for Robert Roberson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002.
Former schools police chief Pete Arredondo faces 10 criminal charges, while former school district officer Adrian Gonzales faces 29 counts.
Pete Arredondo, the former chief, and former officer Adrian Gonzales face felony charges of abandoning or endangering a child.
Records don’t name the attorney general’s office, but their details line up with the accusations former top deputies made against Paxton.
The arrests were the result of the second police crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations at UT-Austin. The first protest, on April 24, resulted in 57 arrests, which were also dismissed.
Justices ruled that the federal government did not violate a Texas man’s Second Amendment rights when barring him from possessing firearms.
Other cities have passed similar measures, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block them from going into effect.
The move is a shift in strategy for Republicans who previously focused on other South Texas races even after federal authorities filed criminal charges against the Democrat.
In a separate settlement, the city of Uvalde will pay $2 million to the families, create a permanent memorial to the victims and provide enhanced training for police officers.
