Texas

Utah AG Mulled Texas-Style Raid on Polygamous Group

In the wake of a controversial raid by Texas authorities on a ranch at which multiple teens allegedly may have been sexually abused by a fringe Mormon group promoting underage “spiritual” marriages and polygamy, the Utah attorney general says he, too, considered such an action concerning a polygamous group there.…

Apr 10, 2008 4:22 PM CDT

State Takes Custody of 416 Children in Raid on Polygamist Ranch

Updated: In what is apparently the largest child abuse case in state history, officials in Texas have taken custody of 416 children from a Texas ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. “Officials have completed removing all 416 children…

Apr 8, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Ranch Run by Warren Jeffs Followers Raided in Texas Child Abuse Probe

In what may be the largest child abuse investigation in Texas history, state workers have removed nearly 200 children and a number of women from a ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, a leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. The ongoing operation, which began Thursday evening,…

Apr 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Dallas Courts Consider Sealing Records to Protect Witnesses, Agents

Dallas may become the next jurisdiction to seal some or all of its plea deal data to protect identities of cooperating witnesses and undercover agents. Federal officials in Dallas will review their public records and decide by June what steps to take. The move comes after the U.S. Judicial Conference…

Apr 2, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

Texas Court Nibbles on State’s ‘First Free Bite’ Rule

In Texas, dogs get a “first free bite,” a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card for owners to escape legal liability if their previously gentle pooch gets rough. But on Friday the state’s supreme court ruled that dog owners still have a responsibility to stop an attack once it begins, the Austin…

Mar 31, 2008 8:18 PM CDT

Ex-Jenkens Lawyers Land on their Feet at Hunton

One year ago, Jenkens & Gilchrist disbanded after a probe into the law firm’s work on aggressive tax shelters. But many lawyers and staffers go to the same office and even sit at the same desks at Fountain Place in Dallas. They’re working at Hunton & Williams, thanks to a…

Mar 31, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Ex-Houston DA Fined $19K for ‘Venomous’ Deletion of E-Mails

A federal judge has ordered Houston’s former district attorney Charles Rosenthal to pay almost $19,000 for his “venomous” deletion of thousands of e-mails. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt imposed the sanction after finding Rosenthal in contempt of court for violating a subpoena for the e-mail in a civil rights lawsuit,…

Mar 31, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Texas Defense Lawyer Jailed Over Lewd Courtroom Gesture

A Texas defense lawyer representing a client in a DUI case was jailed briefly last week after he allegedly made a lewd gesture to let the judge know what he thought of a prosecution complaint in the case. Adam Reposa, 33, was held in criminal contempt of court and jailed…

Mar 21, 2008 6:03 PM CDT

Entrepreneur Pays $200K for Bail Money for 40 Immigrants

A former high-school history teacher who made a fortune trading Latin American bonds during the 1980s anted up a highly unusual $200,000 to bail 40 strangers out of jail last year. Bob Hildreth’s generosity, which has just become known, was sparked by a well-publicized immigration raid in the Boston area…

Mar 19, 2008 6:59 PM CDT

$4.4M Legal Fees Sought in Texas Case that Brought Down DA

A lawyer who won a $1.7 million settlement for two brothers in a high-profile Texas civil rights case that brought down the local DA is now seeking $4.4 million in attorney fees. Lloyd Kelley says in his fee application that the county tried to defend an “indefensible” case concerning two…

Mar 19, 2008 12:41 AM CDT

Skilling Appeal Argues Secret FBI ‘Sledgehammer’ Notes Require Reversal

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling contend recently released FBI notes show that star prosecution witness Andrew Fastow gave testimony sometimes at odds with prior interviews he gave to federal agents. In a 71-page filing made public Friday, lawyers for Skilling say his 2006 securities fraud conviction should be…

Mar 18, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Texas Judge Steps Aside from 60 Cases at One Law Firm

A disabled client of a Texas law firm is reportedly feeling more secure after his counsel won a recusal motion that required the judge in his case to step aside. Meanwhile, the judge has now recused herself from all 60 of the cases that had been on her docket involving…

Mar 14, 2008 8:51 PM CDT

$11.2M Deal Covers Error in Enron Settlement Payout

Enron employees who lost their retirement cash when the company collapsed were disappointed a second time when it was revealed that a company distributing a $218 million settlement payout got the first distribution wrong. Additional payouts were left in limbo as lawyers argued who should be held responsible. Now the…

Mar 14, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

DLA Piper Opens Houston Office

DLA Piper had 47 lawyers in Austin and Dallas, but none in Houston—until yesterday. The law firm opened an office there with two lawyers from Howrey and one from Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, Texas Lawyer reports. Jack O’Neill, had headed Howrey’s global litigation group in Houston and will…

Mar 11, 2008 2:58 PM CDT

Texas Judge Charged With DUI Can Hear Limited Docket

A Texas judge who is facing a drunken-driving charge can stay on the bench, but can’t hear DUI cases or other criminal cases involving the officers who arrested him, an administrative law judge says. Ruling on a request by Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed that District Judge Raymond Angelini…

Mar 5, 2008 6:19 PM CST