Texas prison staff falsified temperatures records, investigation finds Two-thirds of the state’s roughly 100 jails and prisons in Texas are not fully air conditioned in inmate housing areas. The Texas Tribune · Mar 21, 2025
Texas’ social media law takes another hit with temporary blocks on three more provisions The new injunction prohibits advertising and age verification restrictions in the SCOPE Act, which aims to make social media safer for teenagers. The Texas Tribune · Feb 8, 2025
Ken Paxton sues TikTok for violating new Texas social media law The attorney general argues that the popular short form video app has not complied with a new state law that seeks to protect children who are active online. The Texas Tribune · Oct 3, 2024
Staffing shortages makes it harder for Texas inmates to deal with extreme indoor heat conditions, critics say Currently, about 24% of the 24,112 correctional officer positions in Texas prisons are vacant Latin Times · Sep 12, 2024
Texas parents gain new tools to control their teen’s social media use A new law gives parents more power over a child’s actions on social media, but only if the parent knows about the account. The Texas Tribune · Sep 9, 2024
After four years, Wendy Davis’ lawsuit against “Trump Train” goes to trial A jury will decide if a group of Trump supporters violated state and federal law when they allegedly harassed a Biden campaign bus on a Texas highway in 2020, frightening those on board. The Texas Tribune · Sep 6, 2024
Judge throws out rightwing affirmative action lawsuit against Texas university Ruling in favor of University of Texas at Austin is setback for movement that ended race-conscious admissions The Guardian - US · Jul 19, 2024
Federal Appeals Court Reconsiders Texas County Library Book Removal Federal appeals court reconsiders removal of controversial books from Texas library, impacting local government authority and diverse viewpoints. Top News · Jul 8, 2024
A US appeals court will review its prior order that returned banned books to shelves in Texas A federal appeals court in New Orleans is taking another look at its own recent order requiring a Texas county to keep eight books on public library shelves that deal with subjects including sex, gender identity and racism The Independent UK · Jul 7, 2024
Austin Judges Shop For Cases With "Mutual Consent" Cases in the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas are not "randomly" assigned. Reason · May 16, 2024
Court Denies Plaintiff Pseudonymity in #TheyLied Libel Suit Stemming from Alleged Stealthing by 17-Year-Old From a decision last week by Judge Robert Pitman in DL v. JS (W.D. Tex.): Plaintiff dated ES from September 2021 to January 2022 when they were both in high school. On December 18, 2021, Plaintiff and ES were having intercourse when Plaintiff removed his condom without ES's knowledge. ES,… Reason · Nov 28, 2023
Federal judge seems wary of Texas ban on TikTok at public universities Last year, Texas joined more than 30 other states in banning TikTok on government-issued cell phones and computers. A nationwide coalition of professors are suing the state over the ban, arguing it has limited their ability to teach and research the social media app. The Texas Tribune · Nov 16, 2023
A Possible Reprieve for the Mentally Ill on Death Row Scott Panetti was deemed incompetent for execution. Texas Observer · Oct 12, 2023
Texas death row inmate with 40-year mental illness history ruled not competent to be executed A federal judge has ruled a Texas death row inmate with a long history of mental illness is not competent to be executed The Independent UK · Sep 28, 2023
The Texas Tribune · Sep 28, 2023 Convicted murderer Scott Panetti isn’t sane enough to be executed, federal judge rules Panetti murdered his in-laws in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 set new court precedent with his case, raising the bar on the constitutional restriction against executing the insane.
The Texas Tribune · Jun 30, 2023 Third-party candidates may have an easier time getting on the ballot in Texas A federal judge blocks an 118-year-old state law that required minor political party candidates to collect more than 83,000 signatures on paper in order to appear on the ballot.
LiveScience · Jun 20, 2023 Mystery orcas with bulbous heads wash up dead in unexplained mass stranding The nine Type D orcas were found on a beach in Chile, with a necropsy of one female showing it was a healthy adult, with no signs of human involvement in its death.
The Texas Tribune · Apr 14, 2023 Llano County library supporters declare victory as officials decide not to close all branches Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves.
The Independent UK · Apr 14, 2023 Texas county roiled by book ban considered closing libraries Leaders in a rural Texas county held a special meeting Thursday to consider the drastic option of shutting their public library system down rather than heed a federal judge’s order to return books to the shelves ranging from teen sexuality and gender to bigotry and race
The Guardian - US · Apr 6, 2023 Texas abortion funds cautiously resume services following legal reprieve Groups had stopped work funding out-of-state travel for abortions due to threats from Republican attorney general Ken Paxton
Tribune News Service · Apr 1, 2023 Texas judge orders LGBTQ books removed from public libraries to be returned within 24 hours A federal judge in Texas ruled that at least 12 books, which were previously removed from public libraries, must be returned to their shelves.
Reason · Mar 31, 2023 Viewpoint-Based Removal of Books from Public Library Violated First Amendments, Holds District Court From Little v. Llano County, decided yesterday by Judge Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.): In early July 2021, prior to their appointment to the New Library Board, Defendants Rochelle Wells, Rhonda Schneider, Gay Baskin, and Bonnie Wallace were part of a community group pushing for the removal of children's books that…
The Texas Tribune · Mar 31, 2023 Llano County officials must offer library books they’d removed, judge orders Local officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights.
Reason · Mar 3, 2023 Libel Lawsuit Over Daily Dot's Allegations That Someone Was "Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Organizer" Can Go Forward From Bostic v. Daily Dot, LLC, decided Wednesday by Judge Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.): This case revolves around an article … published on February 23, 2021, by the Daily Dot—a wholly owned subsidiary of Clarion Media—which stated that Plaintiff Daniel Bostic … was a "Jan. 6 Capitol riot organizer." Bostic…
Reason · Feb 27, 2023 Showdown Over Student Loan Forgiveness Hits Supreme Court Tomorrow Plus: Texas prosecutors can't criminally charge people who help others access out-of-state abortions, food trucks fight rules banning them in 96 percent of North Carolina city, and more...