Rather than picking off the Texas Legislature’s anti-abortion measures one at a time, as reproductive rights groups in the state have seemingly been willing to do over the last decade, a six-pack of pro-choice organizations joined with an abortion provider Thursday to sue the state over a whole slate of…
On a late September day in 2015, Inmate No. 1455104 was supposed to be standing quietly in line for a midday prison count in the women’s unit at a Gatesville prison. But Marinda Griggs, a longtime epileptic, could feel a seizure coming on and asked to go to the medical…
Thursday was National Black Mama’s Bail Out Day, a time for community groups around the country to raise money to get black women in county jails out on bail just in time for Mother’s Day. This year, unlike in 2017, Dallas got in on the project; a team of women’s…
Dallas County Democrats avoided a crisis Monday afternoon when Dallas County District Judge Eric Moyé dismissed a lawsuit that would’ve kicked dozens of Democratic candidates off November’s general election ballot. Moyé dismissed the suit — brought by the Dallas County Republican Party and its chairwoman, Missy Shorey — for lack of standing…
An Oak Cliff native, Alexander has become one of the faces of the protest movement in Dallas.
Atmos Energy failed to respond to service calls and failed to fix a haphazard system of pipes surrounding the home of a 12-year-old girl killed in a gas explosion last month, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her family Thursday in Dallas County. Linda Michelle Rogers’ family is…
Most everyone in the case of John Doe Jr. and John Doe vs. the Episcopal School of Dallas agrees on this much: John Doe Jr., a student at the pricey private prep school in Northwest Dallas, broke school rules and drove off campus at lunch with a pal without permission…
Two Fort Worth women are suing the federal government and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops after being denied the opportunity to serve as foster parents to an unaccompanied refugee child. Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin say that Catholic Charities Fort Worth, the only organization in Texas that partners with…
Let’s take a look at the best of the worst of Dallas’ TV preachers, starting right back with the Copelands
Barring a last-minute reprieve, Texas will execute one of Dallas’ most notorious murderers at 6 p.m. Thursday. John Battaglia, 62, killed his daughters, 9-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Liberty, in 2001 in his Deep Ellum loft while on the phone with their mother. He’s been on death row in Livingston since his…
A controversial new state law that would’ve required Texas abortion clinics to bury or cremate any fetal tissue removed during procedures will not go into effect as scheduled on Feb. 1. San Antonio-based U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled Monday afternoon that the requirement would likely place “significant burdens on…
In a Jan. 9 article, the Dallas Observer spoke with Dallas County officials from pretrial services about the changes being made to help reduce the high number of poor people serving time in jail without being convicted of a crime.The changes were a response to the Texas Commission on Jail…
Of the excuses typically asserted by establishment conservatives for their continued support of President Donald Trump, perhaps the most common is that the president is doing a good job with judicial appointments. Whether it’s the nomination of archconservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court or his selection of former Texas…
Texas’ fight over its congressional and legislative boundaries isn’t over. Not by a long shot. On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Perez v. Abbott, the state’s years-long fight with voting rights organizations that claim that Texas’ black and Latino populations have been unconstitutionally packed into some…
Dallas County fired Health and Human Services Director Zach Thompson after sexual harassment allegations made by another Dallas County employee, according to a press release from a law firm representing the woman. “Our client has alleged a pattern and practice of sexual abuse, harassment, intimidation and retaliation by Mr. Thompson,”…
The 2017 session of the Texas Legislature, like most recent sessions of the Texas Legislature, wasn’t a good one for reproductive rights. While lawmakers rejected some of the most stringent anti-abortion legislation, including a blatantly unconstitutional bill from state Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington that would’ve banned abortion statewide, Texas…
At least U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold had someone who wanted him to seek re-election. Unfortunately for the retiring Texas GOP congressman, alleged sexual harasser and world’s worst boss, the people in his corner were the Texas Democratic Party. The Democrats sued the Texas GOP on Wednesday afternoon to keep Farenthold,…
James Ho, the Dallas attorney confirmed by the Senate on Thursday for a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is staunchly conservative but isn’t in lockstep with President Donald Trump ideologically, says Chad Ruback, a Dallas-based appellate lawyer who’s crossed paths many times with Ho. Ho, appellate attorney…
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision made earlier this year by the Texas Supreme Court, opening the door for the state of Texas and its municipalities to potentially limit benefits and privileges extended to couple in same-sex marriages in the state. In June, the Texas court ruled…
Ezekiel Elliott’s legal appeal of his six-game NFL suspension effectively ended last week when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to allow the Cowboys running back to continue playing as his case made its way through the federal judiciary. Even if Elliott eventually prevailed in his appeal against…
Ezekiel Elliott will not take the field with his Cowboys teammates Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday afternoon that Elliott must begin serving his NFL-imposed suspension immediately, denying the running back’s request that the suspension be put on hold as he continues to…
Finally, as the Cowboys prepare for their week 10 clash with the Falcons in Atlanta, the biggest question mark hanging over their still-promising season is set to resolve itself. One way or another, Ezekiel Elliott’s legal battle with the NFL over the six-game suspension Roger Goodell handed him in August…
