Lana Shadwick

Sixty-five-year-old Glenn Ford served 30 years on death row for murder but was released in March 2014 upon the State’s motion. The Caddo District Attorney asked that the man’s conviction and sentence be set-aside. The lead prosecutor who helped secure his conviction told the media “This case is another example of the arbitrariness of the death penalty. I now realize, all too painfully, that as a young 33-year-old prosecutor, I was not capable of making a decision that could have led to the killing of another human being.” He called the process “state-assisted revenge.”

The Texas Senate takes up the issue of repealing in-state tuition benefits for the children of illegal immigrants living in the Lone Star State. DREAMers and their supporters were on the Texas Capitol steps early this morning in preparation for lobbying legislators on S.B. 1819. They are in Austin to speak to the Texas Senate’s Sub-Committee on Border Security. The sub-committee is part of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations. The bill would remove in-state tuition eligibility for certain children who came to America illegally.

A parent appointed as a conservator of a child by court order has a duty to disclose to the other conservator of the child if they are living with a registered sex offender. H.B. 1470, filed by Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) would require similar disclosure for a parent who is living with someone who has committed family violence, or becomes charged with family violence.

The bill filed by Texas State Representative Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) relating to the expansion of notification requirements relating to the deaths of children who are under the supervision of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) moved one step closer to a vote on the House floor this week. The bill, (HB 1309), was sent to the Local and Consent Calendar on April 1.

HOUSTON, Texas – A man dumps four puppies in the middle of a busy two lane road in northeast Harris County like they were bags of trash. His intention becomes obvious when he places dog food in the middle of the road to attempt to make certain the dogs are killed by oncoming vehicles on a wet road.

An illegal alien was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for attempting to transport a fourteen-year-old girl across the country with the intent to have sexual relations. He was arrested at the Jacksonville, Florida, airport while waiting to pick up the child he believed was arriving on a flight from Las Vegas, Nevada. When questioned by police during the investigation, he admitted to law enforcement that he had entered the country by paying a smuggler to help him cross the border in Laredo, Texas.

In a 6-3 opinion this week, the United States Supreme Court evaluated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and devised a new test for determining discrimination claims for employees who become pregnant. America’s highest court reversed a decision by a lower court holding that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not give pregnant women “a ‘most favored nation’ status.” A United Parcel Service (UPS) worker sued UPS because they did not put her in a lighter-duty position after she became pregnant.

Texas Lawyer magazine has reported that Walmart sent an email to the magazine saying that its decision to ask an injured toddler to be present during jury selection was a mistake. The legal publication had shed light on the issue after Walmart filed a motion seeking to compel the child’s attendance. The email was sent two days after the motion was filed.

Agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have admitted to attending “sex parties” with prostitutes that were hired by drug cartels while on assignment in Columbia. The admission came during an investigation by the Department of Justice that began after a 2012 prostitution scandal in Columbia was uncovered that involved agents of the United States Secret Service.

Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Connor granted the State of Texas’ request for a stay against the Obama Administration in a lawsuit regarding regulations pertaining to the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Court’s action blocks the Administration from implementing a new rule requiring businesses to give same-sex couples access to the Act’s benefits even if they live in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriages.

One person is dead and at least three others are being treated for injuries after a semi-truck allegedly struck an overpass beam on Interstate 35 near Salado in Central Texas. The truck struck a beam on an overpass that is currently being constructed on FM 2484 where it crosses I-35. The accident caused concrete beams to fall onto vehicles on the highway below.

HOUSTON, Texas – A Houston couple will, once again, face federal trial for making and distributing “animal crush videos” depicting the torture and killing of animals after the Supreme Court of the United States declined to accept appellate review. Federal District Court Judge Sim Lake previously dismissed the charges against Ashley Nichole Richards and Brent Justice — calling the videos protected free speech.

Texas House Representative James White (R-Woodville) has filed H.B. 547 relating to the creation and dissolution of a covenant marriage. The law would allow couples to select to enter into an agreement for a covenant marriage. The law applies to populations between 54,000 and 56,000 in which more than 250 divorces are granted each year, or to counties where the commissioners court in the county have adopted an order authorizing persons to enter into covenant marriages. Bills providing for covenant marriages in Texas have not been successful in the past.

Democratic Ex-Judge Carlos Cortez, the Dallas judge who received national media attention when his girlfriend accused him of assaulting her, and leaning her precariously over a balcony, and threatening to kill her, has received a public warning by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. It was not this action, but his statements taped by his ex-girlfriend about his campaign reports that got him admonished. In its Public Warning, the Commission stated it started its investigation because of “widespread,” local, state, and national stories about his conduct, which included allegations of criminal conduct. The Commission also issued the order because his outrageous conduct cast the judiciary as a whole in a bad light.

A bill has been filed in the Texas State Legislature that would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Board of Law Examiners to study online law schools, and the licensing of lawyers who obtain degrees online or through correspondence schools. It would also mandate a study of the licensing of attorneys in this state who become licensed in other states through apprenticeship programs.

A Democrat Texas legislator has filed a bill that would allow the removal of life support from a pregnant woman. The bill would repeal section 166.049 of the Texas Health and Safety Code providing that a person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from a pregnant patient. The law is entitled “Marlise’s Law.” Marlise Munoz was removed from life support when she was 23-weeks pregnant. She was kept on life support for eight weeks before life support was terminated.

The United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday, March 23rd, in a case deciding whether the State of Texas acted unconstitutionally in disallowing the sale of a license plate displaying the Confederate Flag. The Texas Chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) argue that the free speech rights of their members have been violated by the rejection of their 2009 application for the license plate. The license plate bears the Confederate flag and the words “Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896.”

A bill has been filed in Texas which would simplify where one may lawfully use the W.C. It is designed to address controversial city ordinances, as in Houston, which would open bathrooms, showers, and dressing facilities to all, regardless of

The prospect of having non-Texans manage the Alamo has many Texans seeing red. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush released a statement late last week saying the Alamo belongs to Texans. He also told Texans there would be “a nationwide search for a new management company.”

Texas State House Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) is going forward with a Religious Freedoms measure apparently abandoned by Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas). Krause’s bill proposes a constitutional amendment which would bar counties, cities, and homeowners associations from interfering “in any way a person’s free exercise of religion.” The amendment is intended to address ordinances passed in Houston, San Antonio, and Plano that target business owners who exercise their religious beliefs about sexual orientation.

A left-of-center media outlet is speculating whether the death of Ahmed Al-Jumaili, a Muslim Iraqi immigrant who had moved to Dallas, Texas, was a hate crime. The Chicago Tribune published a story on Sunday with the title “Killing of Iraqi man in Dallas sparks concern over possible hate crime.”