Texas

Texas Murder Case Possibly Linked to Judge’s Work Takes New Direction

As authorities investigate to try to determine what lies behind the killings of a real estate agent and her two young children at their North Dallas, Texas, home last week, they are taking a hard look at her claims that other crimes she reported earlier this month may have been…

Dec 22, 2008 5:48 PM CST

Former Texas Judge’s Daughter, Grandkids Murdered; In Retaliation for His Case?

Updated: The daughter and two young grandchildren of a deceased Texas judge have been found dead in their home. The apparent murders follow other crimes reported there during the past week that could have been committed in retaliation for the judge’s role in a high-profile case. Found shot to death…

Dec 19, 2008 11:57 PM CST

Judge’s Daughter, Convicted in Fatal DUI, Sues Driver She Hit

The 21-year-old daughter of a juvenile court judge in Houston has filed suit against a truck driver she rear-ended in a fatal DUI accident last year. Elizabeth Shelton’s suit—which also names 15 other defendants, including insurers and banks—seeks compensation for injuries and property damage resulting from the Oct. 23, 2007…

Dec 18, 2008 6:36 PM CST

LaHood Named Transportation Secretary

Updated: President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly chosen a Republican congressman to be his transportation secretary. The job will go to U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports. Vinson & Elkins partner Ronald Kirk had been mentioned as a leading contender for the job. Kirk has also been…

Dec 18, 2008 12:59 PM CST

BigLaw Partner Sets World Record By Running 105th Marathon in a Year

Not content to rest on his laurels as a BigLaw partner, Larry Macon has also been ambitious on another front. “When the San Antonio litigator crossed the finish line of the Dallas White Rock Marathon last Sunday, he marked his 105th marathon this year and qualified for the Guinness Book…

Dec 18, 2008 12:21 AM CST

Federal Law Bans Texas Prison Plan to Jam Cell Phones, State AG Says

Seeking to block inmates from using smuggled cell phones, Texas prison officials were planning a test later this week of a a technique to jam cell phone transmissions without affecting legitimate prison and emergency communications. “But the demonstration was summarily canceled Monday after Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told them…

Dec 16, 2008 6:49 PM CST

Extra 3 Feet on Freeway Ramp Costs Texas County $525,000

A new ramp linking a portion of Interstate 10 to a parking facility around Houston is 28 feet high. Unfortunately, a visibility easement purchased from Harris County in 2001 by a billboard owner sets a 25-foot height limit for any structures built on neighboring property. After losing a court case…

Dec 12, 2008 5:20 PM CST

Innocent Inmate Will Be Freed in Harris County, Texas

A Texas boy, who was 8 years old at the time, of the crime testified along with another witness that Ricardo Rachell was the man who had sexually assaulted him. But DNA evidence, when it was finally tested, proved otherwise, the Houston Chronicle reports. Rachell, 51, who has served five…

Dec 12, 2008 12:26 AM CST

Judge Axes YouTube Deposition Excerpt

Outraged by deposition testimony in a fraud suit against a Houston automobile dealership, a client of a Texas attorney arranged, with the lawyer’s help, to post a 6-minute excerpt on YouTube. But it can’t be found on the video-sharing website any more, after a state court judge ruled last week…

Dec 10, 2008 12:50 AM CST

Dog Law Can Pay in Kibble, But Offers Other Benefits

It isn’t likely to be the most lucrative of law practices. But representing animals and their owners is a growing field due in part to the satisfaction that the job can offer. Among those who have made it a big part of their professional lives is Texas attorney Zandra Anderson,…

Dec 8, 2008 11:25 PM CST

Texas S.C. Justice Broke Ethics Law, Fined $29K

Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht was fined $29,000 today after the Texas Ethics Commission determined he broke campaign finance laws by accepting, then failing to report what amounted to an excessive political contribution from a law firm. At issue were legal fees Hecht owed Jackson Walker, which successfully mounted…

Dec 4, 2008 11:04 PM CST

Texas S.C. Justice Faces Ethics Inquiry for 25% Discount from Firm

A public hearing is set for tomorrow to examine an allegation that Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht accepted an illegal contribution from a law firm. Texas Watch filed the complaint with the state ethics commission. The advocacy group alleges Hecht failed to report as an in-kind political contribution the…

Dec 3, 2008 9:53 PM CST

Parents Sue School for Use of Increasingly Popular ID Scan Technology

A Texas couple has filed suit against their local school district in what is believed to be the first legal challenge of an increasingly popular background check system that screens school visitors against a privately maintained sex offender registry. The parents aren’t on any sex offender registries, but they object…

Dec 2, 2008 10:37 PM CST

Judge Tosses Indictments of Vice President Cheney, Ex-AG Gonzales

A Texas judge has dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that had been brought by a controversial prosecutor nearing the end of his term. Judge Manuel Banales on Monday granted motions to quash because alternate grand jurors were improperly allowed to deliberate the…

Dec 2, 2008 12:31 PM CST

DA in Cheney-Gonzales Case Shouts at Judge, Who Seeks Higher-Court Backup

An unusual case in which a South Texas district attorney has obtained indictments of the vice president of the U.S., a former U.S. attorney general, two state court judges and a former federal prosecutor, among others, sparked new courtroom drama today. As Presiding Judge Manuel Banales sought to hold a…

Nov 22, 2008 12:01 AM CST