Texas

Accused Ringleader in 1979 Murder of Federal Judge Dies of Cancer

A convicted drug dealer who was accused but acquitted of most charges in the 1979 assassination of a federal judge has died. Jamiel Alexander “Jimmy” Chagra, 63, died Friday of cancer in Mesa, Ariz., where he was reportedly living with his wife under an assumed name. Acquitted on murder charges,…

Jul 28, 2008 7:02 PM CDT

Jail Often the Only Option for Mental Health Treatment

It costs more to treat the mentally ill in jail than in a hospital setting. But jail offers the only treatment alternative for many, due to a lack of psychiatric hospitals. So some inmates actually welcome the opportunity to return to jail and get needed treatment, reports the Houston Chronicle.…

Jul 21, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Probe of Federal Judge Expands to Include House Sale to Lawyer

A Justice Department investigation of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent now includes allegations he failed to report benefits he received from the sale of his Galveston home in a deal arranged by a lawyer with dozens of cases in his court, the Houston Chronicle reports. Kent sold the home to…

Jul 21, 2008 10:52 AM CDT

Prosecuting Official for Funds Misuse Led to Texas DA’s Downfall

Elected six times as district attorney of Rockwell County, in Texas, Ray Sumrow didn’t expect his career move to be a prison cell. But that is where he is now spending his time after 22 years in office, serving a 15-year term for stealing public money. The architect of his…

Jul 17, 2008 8:03 PM CDT

Some Federal Courthouses Swamped With ‘Crimmigration’ Cases

Federal courthouses in Texas and other border states are swamped with prosecutions for illegal border crossings. Immigration cases accounted for 58 percent of new federal prosecutions in April, the Dallas Morning News reports. The new cases are the result of a zero-tolerance policy designed to reduce the flow of illegal…

Jul 17, 2008 4:58 PM CDT

World Court Orders U.S. to Halt Five Texas Executions

The International Court of Justice has ordered the United States to halt the executions of five Mexicans on death row in Texas. But will Texas comply? The tribunal also known as the World Court said the executions should be stopped until the defendants’ cases can be reviewed, the Washington Post…

Jul 17, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Plea Deal in Purloined Pooch Case: $300 Fine & 48 Hours Community Work

In the final salvo in a bizarre case of puppy love in a small Texas town, a former mayor pleaded no contest yesterday to a misdemeanor count of filing a false police report. Grace Saenz-Lopez was sentenced to a $300 fine and 48 hours of community service, reports the Corpus…

Jul 16, 2008 10:23 PM CDT

Well-Known Appellate Attorneys Form Dallas Boutique

A former Texas Supreme Court judge and a well-known appellate attorney have joined forces to create a new boutique in Dallas. Hankinson Levinger, which has six attorneys, is headed by former Justice Deborah Hankinson and Jeffrey Levinger, who previously was in charge of the appellate practice group at Carrington, Coleman,…

Jul 11, 2008 8:25 PM CDT

Clerk Charged with Stealing $6M from Texas Company; 30 Layoffs Followed

Updated: A trusted employee who had worked 16 years for a custom window builder in Houston was reportedly enjoying a luxe lifestyle for some time with the $6 million she allegedly embezzled. Meanwhile, the company laid off 30 employees this year because of a cash flow problem. Accounts receivable clerk…

Jul 9, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Plays Another Disbarred Lawyer in Oliver Stone Movie

An Oklahoma City lawyer who was recently disbarred has a role as I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby in an upcoming movie and is seeking other work as an actor. Mike Gassaway has a “great commercial look,” according to his agent, and is seeking work in commercials and other roles in Texas,…

Jul 7, 2008 2:12 PM CDT

Houston Congresswoman Calls for Hearings on Local Justice System

A congresswoman from Houston is calling for hearings into the local justice system after a grand jury’s decision not to indict a 62-year-old retiree who shot and killed two illegal immigrants who were apparently breaking into a neighbor’s home. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said at a news conference that…

Jul 7, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

Judge Nixes Execution Date for Longest-Serving Texas Inmate

A state court judge has withdrawn the scheduled July 22 execution date for Lester Bower, Texas’ longest-serving death row inmate, in order to address Bower’s long-standing request for DNA testing of cigarette butts and hair strands found at the scene of the multiple murder of which he was convicted in…

Jul 3, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

Texas Judge and Law Prof in Civil Rights Case is Arrested

A part-time Houston municipal judge and Texas Southern University law professor who is one of five plaintiffs in a federal civil rights suit against Harris County apparently spent at least several hours in jail yesterday after sheriff’s deputies arrested her. April Jill Walker was arrested yesterday evening in the driveway…

Jul 3, 2008 5:10 PM CDT

Lawyer Kept License After Civil Judgment in Child Sex Assault Case

Updated: A Houston lawyer recently arrested on child pornography charges had kept his law license despite a civil judgment against him for an alleged sexual assault of a child, the Houston Chronicle reports. Warren Reid Williamson entered a not guilty plea yesterday to charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.…

Jul 3, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

‘Real’ Joe Horn Didn’t Shoot & Kill 2 Men

Joe Horn, the Texas retiree that a grand jury declined to indict for killing two apparent burglars outside his home in Pasadena, says he didn’t mean to shoot them and that his “real” self wasn’t the man who acted that day in November 2007. But after hearing the two break…

Jul 2, 2008 3:54 PM CDT