Texas

Family sues over fatal shooting of Texas man, seeks release of videos of shooting

The family of a Texas man who was fatally shot by two Bexar County sheriff’s deputies last August has filed a wrongful death suit against the county, the sheriff’s office and the two deputies. The suit, filed Monday by the family of Gilbert Flores, alleges that officers used excessive force…

Sep 16, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Mechanically inclined teen who brought homemade clock to school is arrested on bomb suspicions

Ahmed Mohamed loves to build radios and repairs his own go-kart. In middle school, the robotics club was one of his favorite activities, and he hoped to find a similar niche as a high school freshman. So when he started at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, the 14-year-old brought…

Sep 16, 2015 7:10 AM CDT

Judge says DA intentionally withheld murder trial evidence, but denies defense bid for retrial ban

A Texas district attorney intentionally withheld evidence from defense counsel in a capital murder trial, a state court judge ruled Friday. However, the reason why Williamson County DA Jana Duty did so is unknown, Williamson County District Judge Rick Kennon writes in his 15-page opinion (PDF). Hence, because Kennon did…

Sep 11, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer is charged in alleged conspiracy to defraud law firms across the United States

A Texas lawyer has been indicted in alleged conspiracy targeting law firms, businesses and lonely singles. The lawyer, Perry Don Cortese of Little River, Texas, was charged along with a nonlawyer co-defendant, Priscilla Ann Ellis of Harker Heights, Texas, Texas Lawyer (sub. req.) reports. The Aug. 20 indictment (PDF) seeks…

Sep 8, 2015 9:01 AM CDT

Busted for DWI, college student loses license and car but still has wheels ... a Barbie Jeep

Those who want to stay on the right side of the law after being charged with driving while intoxicated typically walk, bike, take mass transit or arrange to ride with friends. Tara Monroe, a junior at Texas State University, found another way, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The petite 20-year-old…

Sep 3, 2015 4:55 PM CDT

Video appears to show deputies fatally shooting man who had his hands in air; DA has second video

A video released Monday by a San Antonio television station appears to show sheriff’s deputies fatally shooting a man who had his hands in the air while on the lawn outside a home. A student at the University of Incarnate Word shot the video on Friday and sold it to…

Sep 1, 2015 12:35 PM CDT

Judge denies asking bailiff to handcuff pregnant prosecutor to keep her in court for trial

During an ethics hearing last week, a Dallas judge denied ordering a bailiff to handcuff a pregnant prosecutor to her chair to keep her in the courtroom. The judge, Etta Mullin, denied the claim by Stephanie Ernst, who said she was eight months’ pregnant when Mullin pressed her to proceed…

Sep 1, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Texas attorney general’s lawyer is withdrawing from his defense, citing unspecified ‘issues’

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton renewed his not guilty plea to securities law violations on Thursday during a court hearing in which his lawyer objected to cameras in the courtroom and got permission to withdraw from the case. Paxton’s lawyer, Joe Kendall, said a new defense lawyer was joining Paxton’s…

Aug 27, 2015 1:17 PM CDT

Texas judge sued by former employee for alleged sexual harassment

A Texas woman has accused a justice of the peace of firing her for refusing to perform oral sex on him. The accusation is contained in a graphic federal sexual harassment suit against Tarrant County and Justice of the Peace Russ Casey, Law.com reports The accuser, a 22-year county employee…

Aug 24, 2015 3:40 PM CDT

Dallas lawyer sentenced to prison for defrauding vodka investors

A Dallas lawyer who collected nearly $1.6 million from investors for a vodka that didn’t exist has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Andrew Lee Siegel, 54, had pleaded guilty earlier to investor fraud and copyright infringement charges, the Dallas Morning News reports. Siegel has also…

Aug 24, 2015 3:10 PM CDT

Girlfriend charged with shooting retired judge

The girlfriend of a retired Texas judge has been charged with shooting him at his Corpus Christi home earlier this week. Jack Hunter, 70, who regularly heard cases as a visiting judge prior to the shooting, is hospitalized under guard after being shot in the face, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times…

Aug 21, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Judge should not have made marriage a condition of defendant’s probation, civil rights group says

A civil rights group has filed a legal ethics complaint against a Texas judge who reportedly made marriage a condition of a 21-year-old man’s probation in a misdemeanor case. The Freedom From Religion Foundation also is objecting to a requirement imposed by Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogers that defendant…

Aug 18, 2015 9:50 AM CDT

Cited by animal control in dog dispute, couple responds with ‘douchebag’ yard sign

After new neighbors asked a Texas family to keep their four dogs inside until later in the morning, James and Lisa Price say they tried to cooperate with the retired couple. But a $121 ticket from the municipal animal control department after the dogs “were going nuts” about something one…

Aug 14, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Law grads say Texas A&M wouldn’t recognize them as alumni after purchase of their school

Thirty-two law graduates from Texas Wesleyan University have filed a lawsuit that claims Texas A&M University failed to accept them as A&M alumni after purchasing their school in 2013. The would-be class action says Texas Wesleyan is no longer easily located on lists of accredited schools because of the takeover…

Aug 14, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Fired rookie cop wanted to protect others, while police chief wants to protect his job, lawyer says

A lawyer for a rookie police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man last Friday says his client’s firing is an insult to police officers who put their lives on the line every day. Lawyer John Snider commented in a statement issued on behalf of his client, Arlington, Texas,…

Aug 13, 2015 10:46 AM CDT