U.S. Office of the Attorney General

Appeals Court Says Texas' Redistricting Maps Are Discriminatory; Texas Vows to Appeal

When the Texas legislature passed new redistricting maps in 2011, it sure seemed that the lines had been drawn to dilute the power of Democratic-leaning Hispanic voters in favor of Republicans. State leaders swore that wasn't the case, but, rather than taking them to an unfriendly Justice Department ... More >>

At the Last Minute, Texas Spikes Federal Sex Education Funding ... Again

Condoms, birth control -- who needs 'em? Just don't have sex, Texas says to its horny teens. Just hobble that unbridled desire coupled with a limited understanding of consequences and say 'No, I'm saving myself for marriage.' That's pretty much the message, maybe paired with an infographic demonstr ... More >>

Top Chef Producers Sue to Suppress Details of Their Deal With Texas Taxpayers

Chris Christie, the seriously-non-president-running governor of New Jersey, recently pulled the plug on $420,000 in government subsidies for Jersey Shore, calling the tax incentives "wasteful spending" on a show that poorly represents his state. Texas Governor Rick Perry's office? It sees no such w ... More >>

Kunkle Steps Out on a Limb, Calling for Transparency on the Trinity

​As you saw here yesterday, Dallas mayoral candidate David Kunkle has made releasing financial data on the Trinity River Project a plank in his platform -- well, a stick, anyway -- in part in response to stories he has seen here about it. Kunkle is making ethics a theme in his run-off campaig ... More >>

There's No Memorial to Fallen Service Members. But There's a New Federal Lawsuit.

​Back in July, WFAA-Channel 8's Byron Harris spent quite some time digging into the doings of the Kennedale-based United States Fallen Heroes Foundation, which said it was a nonprofit raising funds to construct a memorial in Tarrant County to servicemen and women killed in action since September 1 ... More >>

Mayor Dwaine Caraway Sues the City of Dallas to Stop Release of Police Report

Sam Merten​Never mind what I wrote yesterday. Because yesterday, when I checked the Dallas County District Clerk's computers, there was no record of it. But early this morning I took another look, and sure enough, there it was -- a suit filed yesterday afternoon in the 68th District Court, Judge M ... More >>

Turns Out DPD Has Audio of Supposed Dispute Between (Ahem) Arthur and Archie -- and Attorney General Says They Must Release It

Photo by Sam MertenMayor Dwaine Caraway​Along with a handful of other media outlets that filed open records requests about the incident at Mayor Dwaine Caraway's home near Cedar Crest Golf Course known as the "Arthur and Archie" ordeal, we asked for notes, audio, video and any other possible d ... More >>

For the First Time, The Man Who Blew the Whistle in DISD E-Rate Scandal Talks

Yacht ForumsIt ws Ruben Bohuchot's passion for Post Yachts, like the one seen here, that ultimately let to his downfall at DISD.​Danny Cain does not and never has worked for the Dallas Independent School District. He does not and never has worked for Hewlett Packard. And yet yesterday, two federal ... More >>

Judge Who Had Chance to Free Stephen Brodie in '94 Gets Another Chance This Morning

Mark GrahamJudge Lena Levario​Jeff Carlton at the Associated Press was the one who, in July, first offered the story of Stephen Brodie -- the deaf man who, in 1991, was detained by Richardson police for stealing quarters out of a soda machine and ended up pleading guilty to the unsolved sexual ass ... More >>

Five Plead Guilty to Running "Elaborate," Expensive Pot-Growing Op in Northwest Dallas

​This just in from the U.S. Attorney General's Office: From the summer of '05 till December '08, five locals were running out of three Northwest Dallas houses an "elaborate marijuana growing operation" that was eventually busted up by the Drug Enforcement Agency. They had three houses -- one each ... More >>

Texas AG's Office Tells City Attorney and Park Board: Just Try to "Unlawfully" Sell Samuell Properties, And You Will "Face Legal Action"

Flickr user: Jay Gunn​When W.W. Samuell left the city of Dallas thousands of acres of park land upon his death in 1937, he left very explicit instructions: "Real estate to the City of Dallas Park Board for park purposes - not to be sold." Yesterday we broke the news that the Park and Rec board wil ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Reign of Terror Becomes State Policy, Thanks to State Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer

As Judges Heard Arguments For and Against Same-Sex Divorce, the World's Tiniest Protest Took Place Outside

Patrick MichelsMichael Robinson, left, and David Bowling were the sole protesters at today's same-sex divorce hearing downtown.​So much for the media circus outside today's highly anticipated (judging by the advance news coverage, anyway) hearing at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, where t ... More >>

AG Investigating Communication Between Watkins, Constables and Tow Company

OAGTexas Attorney General Greg Abbott​While District Attorney Craig Watkins has rejected two offers by the Office of the Attorney General to assist in a criminal investigation of the constables, the OAG is conducting an ongoing civil investigation of Dowdy Ferry Auto Services, according to an ... More >>

Embattled Constable Jaime Cortes: "A True Company Man" Who's "Sure" DA Watkins is Investigating the Constables

Cortes says Ken Mayfield's admission that he's helping his opponent reinforces his latest campaign e-mail.​When Republican Ken Mayfield admitted to us that he's been recruiting volunteers to help Democrat Beth Villarreal defeat Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes in Tuesday's upcoming Democratic ... More >>

Watkins to Texas Tribune: "If You Throw Punches at Us, We'll Drop a Bomb on You"

Mark Graham​While he's been dodging us and other local media outlets, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins apparently had no qualms about granting an interview to former DMN'er Emily Ramshaw, who profiled his November race against Republican candidate Danny Clancy for the Texas Tribun ... More >>

Belo Attempts to Break News One Week Late; Lawyer Cites "Cloud of Suspicion" Surrounding West-Watkins Relationship

If the story about DA Craig Watkins refusing a second attempt by the OAG to help investigate the constables was news, that's news to us.​For those who didn't read our cover story last week, the Office of the Attorney General made a second attempt on February 23 to lend a helping hand to Distri ... More >>

Governor Rick Perry 's Lame Statement About Child Support Tells Us All We Need To Know About Republican Ally Greg Abbott

Danny Fulgencio​In the current paper version of Unfair Park, we detail the lengthy battle between Robert O'Donnell and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who extinguished O'Donnell's child support collection business after several courtroom victories. Despite the efforts of Abbott and his off ... More >>

In the War of Attrition Waged by the Texas Attorney General Against Robert O'Donnell, There Were Unintended Consequences

Yet Again, AG Abbott Defends the Constitutionality of the Texas Pledge

​Remember when David and Shannon Croft sued the state because they didn't want their kids, then enrolled in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, to recite the Texas Pledge of Allegiance? Yup. Totally forgot about that one. That was two long years ago -- back when the Crofts also sued the ... More >>

Ain't Gonna Work on Samuell Farm No More? Per City Docs, Four Options for the 320 Acres.

The Pavillion at Samuell Farm, which the city is considering tearing down -- unless a gust of wind beats it to the punch​Last Friday, we broke the news that the Texas Attorney General's Office is threatening to take control of the W.W. Samuell Trust if the city of Dallas doesn't turn over by Septe ... More >>

City Misses Samuell Trust Reports Deadlines; Texas AG Threatens Dallas With Legal Action

Once a popular hangout at the Samuell Farm, the Pavillion is a rotting, open-door shell of its former self.​Long story short: Since March 2008, the Texas Attorney General's Office has been investigating precisely how well the city of Dallas is taking care of the park properties and money left to t ... More >>

Family Judge David Hanschen Celebrates A Victory in His Fight for Fathers' Rights, With Help From an Unlikely Place

​Family law judge David Hanschen may have received an "Excellent" job approval rating of just 14 percent on the Dallas Bar Association's 2009 Judicial Evaluation Poll, but he's celebrating a victory in what had been a bitter struggle for him just last year.  After facing off with the Office o ... More >>

Lawyer Talks About Why She Brought Whistleblower Suit Against AG's Office

Late yesterday, we finally caught up with Ginger Weatherspoon, the former assistant attorney general who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Office of the Attorney General alleging that she was fired for reporting that supervisors confined her in a room against her will and attempted to coer ... More >>

Fight Over Child Support and DNA Testing in Dallas County Court Leads to a Whistleblower Suit Against Attorney General's Office

Mark GrahamJudge David HanschenCourthouse News this morning highlights the story of Ginger Weatherspoon, a former assistant attorney general in Greg Abbott's office who claims she was fired after refusing to lie under oath about 254th District Judge David Hanschen. Weatherspoon, who worked from July ... More >>

Texas AG Tells Dallas It Can No Longer Use Samuell Land "As City Officials See Fit"

Courtesy Friends of the FarmAn aerial view of the Samuell Farm, donated to the city nearly 70 years agoAs we've mentioned a couple of times over the last week, the Texas Attorney General's Office has been taking a long, hard look at how the city of Dallas runs the W. W. Samuell Permanent Foundation ... More >>

Leppert Pokes Holes in Charter Amendment, Responds to Anti-Hotel Group's Ads and Much, Much More From the Campaign Trail

Sam MertenMayor Tom Leppert made two stops on his tireless convention center hotel campaign tour Tuesday as he dropped by for "coffee and conversation" with the Dallas County Council of Republican Women shortly before squaring off with anti-hotel group leader Anne Raymond at the Westin Galleria. Le ... More >>

City, Texas AG's Office Close to an Agreement Concerning W.W. Samuell Land, Trust Fund

View Larger MapOn Wednesday, the Dallas City Council is expected to get a look at the Texas Attorney General's Office's findings concerning its yearlong look into how the city manages the W. W. Samuell Permanent Foundation, the Samuell Trust Fund and the properties willed to the city by the physicia ... More >>

Does the Texas Attorney General Trust the City's Treatment of W.W. Samuell Trust Fund?

Courtesy Friends of the FarmAn aerial view of the Samuell Farm, donated to the city nearly 70 years agoOn Wednesday, the Dallas city council will meet behind closed doors to discuss a host of subjects -- among them, pending lawsuits involving the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' floodway r ... More >>

Clearing the Air

Former County Judge Margaret Keliher keeps trying to blow away the smoke over pollution plans

Potter County Sheriff Clearly Didn't Learn a Thing from Dallas County

Family Court Judge Sheds Light on Unfair Child Support Practices in Texas

Judge David Hanschen lets men challenge whether the kids they support are theirs. And the Texas Attorney General's Office is pissed.

Letters

Letters, Week of November 8

Trinity Water Torture, Sins of Omission

Letters

Muckraking Field Day, Calling 9-11, The Deadbeats Go On

Deadbeating the System

Eight years ago, Kim Sullivan turned to the state for help collecting overdue child support. She's still waiting.

Leveling the field

The state attorney general joins forces with a private citizen in his battle with DISD

Mr. Mayor, Meet Your Nightmare

Frustrated, fed up, and ready to fight, Laura Miller trades muckraking for a run at City Hall

Collective grief

Private child support agency means more headaches for single mother

The eyes of Texas

An Aggie wonders whether we all should get to see the Longhorn playbook

Letters

Daddy dearest

As Michael Irvin tries to scrub his image, it just gets weirder and weirder

Tarnished hero

When a heart-warming story gets ugly

Seeing yellow

Dallas massage therapist says SWBYP's gives folks the wrong idea about his business

Dead man waiting

After a decade on death row, Andre Lewis grasps at straws Andre Lewis is a dead man waiting.

Unruly student

TWU student fights to keep regents meetings open

Letters