Texas

Trial begins for ex-DA accused in cash-for-court-favors case; convicted ex-judge is first witness

A convicted former judge, Abel Limas, was the first witness Monday as a trial began for a former Texas district attorney accused in a nine-count federal indictment of running the prosecutor’s office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. Limas testified that he once considered himself a father figure, mentor and friend…

May 13, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

Arrested paramedic had nothing to do with Texas plant explosion, lawyer says

A volunteer paramedic who responded to the deadly April explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant has been arrested for possessing components of a pipe bomb. The arrest of Bryce Reed, 31, spurred his lawyer to release a statement denying his client’s involvement in the blast, report the New York Times…

May 13, 2013 12:08 PM CDT

State Dept. tells Texas law student to take down Web blueprints for 3-D printer to make plastic gun

A University of Texas law student says he has complied but is reviewing his legal options after being ordered by the U.S. State Department to take down blueprints posted online that show how a 3-D printer can be used to create a plastic gun. Cody Wilson is a founder of…

May 10, 2013 8:08 PM CDT

Cheerleaders’ Bible banners don’t violate establishment clause, judge rules

Bible-themed banners displayed by high-school cheerleaders do not violate the establishment clause, a Texas state judge has ruled. Judge Steven Thomas ruled on behalf of the Kountze High School cheerleaders on Wednesday, report the Associated Press, Reuters, the Houston Chronicle and a press release. The school district had banned the…

May 9, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Convicted courthouse shooter accurately predicts his death sentence

During the penalty phase of his trial for a fatal courthouse shooting, Bartholomew Granger scribbled a message on a legal pad and held it up for jurors to see. The message read, “Death,” report the Associated Press, the Beaumont Enterprise and the Houston Chronicle. On Tuesday, jurors acquiesced after less…

May 8, 2013 12:36 PM CDT

Convicted in courthouse slaying, defendant verbally attacks judge and prosecutor in sentencing phase

As the penalty phase of his capital murder case continued Monday, it appeared that a convicted courthouse shooter may have been given good advice by his defense counsel not to testify. But it also appeared that Bartholomew Granger might be intentionally seeking a capital sentence, which he indicated he would…

May 6, 2013 10:59 PM CDT

Fertilizer explosion caused some $100M in damage; plant had ‘pathetic’ $1M in insurance

As state and federal officials look into an apparent lack of regulatory scrutiny of a Texas fertilizer facility that exploded in a fiery blast last month, killing 15 people and injuring another 200, a further issue has come to the attention of outside lawyers representing victims of the disaster. The…

May 6, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

My clients can pay me in bitcoins, criminal defense lawyer says

A Houston criminal defense lawyer has announced that he will accept bitcoins from clients in payment of legal bills, saying that he is one of the first attorneys in the state of Texas to do so. However, being willing to accept cash alternatives in payment of legal fees is standard…

May 1, 2013 8:52 PM CDT

Man convicted in courthouse slaying shouts that his daughter, not the victim, should be dead

Convicted Tuesday of capital murder over the death of a 79-year-old woman who was a bystander during Texas courthouse shooting spree last year directed at one or more witnesses in a sexual assault case, defendant Bartholomew Granger erupted Wednesday in court at the outset of the sentencing phase. He angrily…

May 1, 2013 6:21 PM CDT

Sex-assault defendant is convicted of capital murder in mid-trial shooting spree

A Texas jury deliberated for less than two hours Tuesday before convicting Bartholomew Granger, 42, of capital murder in the slaying of a 79-year-old woman outside the Jefferson County courthouse last year. The defendant showed no emotion as the verdict was announced, but the victim’s daughter smiled, the Beaumont Enterprise…

Apr 30, 2013 8:45 PM CDT

Katten Muchin opens new Houston office with Pillsbury enviro leader, hires 7 more lawyers in Texas

The leader of the environmental practice group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is leaving the firm to open a new Houston office for Katten Muchin Rosenman. Mark Farley will be in charge of a five-lawyer Houston office, serve as a co-chair of his new firm’s environmental practice and lead its…

Apr 29, 2013 9:19 PM CDT

‘Friends of Rosemary’ file amicus brief seeking to keep DA in office after 45-day DWI sentence

Nearly 200 lawyers have signed a “Friends of Rosemary” petition seeking to keep a Texas district attorney in office after she completes a 45-day sentence for driving while intoxicated. A spokeswoman for the group said during a Thursday press conference that Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg does not plan to…

Apr 26, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Stamp on letter led cops to tattooed man who said he was judge’s son and took cash for case help

Although he has several tattoos on his face, Mark David Leal nonetheless convinced several individuals that he was the son of one of two prominent Texas women: Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed or District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner. Then, according to court documents, he convinced these individuals to give him…

Apr 24, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

U of Texas put ‘golden handcuffs’ on law faculty with help of $213M private foundation

As the state attorney general continues to look into the operations of a private nonprofit foundation that helped raise money for the University of Texas Law School, details are emerging about the “golden handcuffs” that discouraged faculty from going to other institutions. Although there is nothing to indicate that any…

Apr 23, 2013 9:02 PM CDT

Courthouse slaying trial has judge and defendant’s ex-lawyer as first witnesses

A judge was the first witness on Monday as the government began its presentation in the capital murder case of a man accused of shooting a woman to death at a Texas courthouse last year. Bartholomew Granger is accused of fatally shooting a bystander, Minnie Ray Sebolt, 79, in March…

Apr 22, 2013 10:27 PM CDT