Civil Rights
How the Police Shooting of Botham Jean Disrupted Dallas’ Reputation for Reform
Lawyers Seek to Reform ‘Ethical Minefield’ of Public Defender’s Office Controlled by Texas Prison System
Former public defenders say prison officials who had a hand in prosecuting their clients influenced and sometimes outright interfered with their defense work.
Last week, David O’Neil stood before the Texas Board of Criminal Justice with an awkward request: He asked nine governor-appointed board members to relinquish...Read More
Women in Texas Prisons Denied Same Academic, Job Training Opportunities as Incarcerated Men
"Black holes of inattention" lead to stark gender disparities in the Texas prison system, according to a new report.
A gulf exists between educational opportunities and job certification programs offered to men and women in Texas prisons, according to a new report by the Texas...Read More
Redistricting Guru Michael Li on Texas’ Gerrymandered Maps
Li, who grew up in Texas, has followed Texas’ seven-year legal fight to dilute minority voting power from the beginning.
The Texas Legislature is racist. Specifically, Texas lawmakers knowingly and intentionally pass voting laws that disproportionately harm minorities. Nine federa...Read More
Payday Lenders Are Working Hard to Keep Texas the ‘Wild West’ in Trump Era
Payday lenders in Texas have sued to block federal rules that advocates say are desperately needed to protect borrowers in a state that has failed to regulate the industry.
Texas is often called the “Wild West” of predatory lending, an anything-goes wonderland where payday and auto title loan businesses can charge low-income pe...Read More
Galveston Lawsuit Is Writing on the Wall for Other Counties that Haven’t Ended ‘Wealth-Based Detention’
The lawsuit is now one of several across Texas seeking to end the practice of keeping people in jail just because they’re poor.
Last summer, the ACLU of Texas warned that Galveston County operates an unconstitutional bail system. In a letter to county officials, ACLU staff attorney Trish...Read More
Bail Lawsuit Accuses Dallas County of Violating Poor People’s Rights in Secret Hearings
“Dallas must open these hearings so that a bright light can be shed on the devastating, mass violations of civil and human rights that are happening in the jail every day.”
Bail Lawsuit Accuses Dallas County of Violating Poor People’s Rights in Secret Hearings “Dallas must open these hearings so that a bright light can be shed ...Read More
Courts: Police Can Shoot and Kill People As Long They Are Across the Border
Civil rights groups fear the courts are surrendering the judicial oversight necessary to rein in one of the nation’s largest police forces.
On June 7, 2010, while on patrol near the bridge connecting Juarez to El Paso, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa Jr. fired his gun into Mexico and struck Serg...Read More
AG Opinion: Texas Cops Under Investigation Can Watch ‘Any’ Body Cam Footage Before Answering Questions
Some fear the policy will let officers get their story straight about questionable police encounters before putting anything on record.
If a Texas cop outfitted with a body camera shoots someone, they get to review not only their own footage but that of every other body cam-wearing officer at th...Read More
Texas Prison System Sheds Men, Swallows Even More Women
Report says rise in incarcerated women hints at disparities in the male-dominated criminal justice system.
More than 10,000 of the 12,500 women in Texas prisons have children waiting for them back home. Not only are incarcerated women much more likely to be parents t...Read More