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Until Wednesday, Dallas Is Waiving Misdemeanor Warrant Fees for People Donating Socks

Until Wednesday, Dallas Is Waiving Misdemeanor Warrant Fees for People Donating Socks

Dallas County Commissioners Threaten State with Legal Action

Dallas County Commissioners Threaten State with Legal Action

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Dating App 'Romance Scammer' Sentenced to Three Years

By Kelly Dearmore
Jan 11, 2023

A North Texas man was sentenced on Monday to more than three years in federal prison for his role in a scam that victimized many people to the tune of thousands of dollars each, according to Leigha Simonton, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Nigerian-born Emanuel...
Civil Rights Group Asks Court to Halt Dallas' Ordinance Banning Panhandlers From Medians

By Jacob Vaughn
Jan 10, 2023

The Texas Civil Rights Project sued the city of Dallas in December over an ordinance that would ban pedestrians, including panhandlers, from standing or sitting on medians narrower than 6 feet wide. Now, the civil rights group is asking for the city to be blocked from enforcing the ordinance until the lawsuit is resolved.
Dallas Man Sold "Glock Switches" to Police Over Instagram, says U.S. Attorney

By Kelly Dearmore
Jan 5, 2023

A Dallas man was charged on Wednesday for selling Glock “switches,” devices that convert semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic ones, to undercover officers. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Jeremiah Dwyen Ashley, 22, allegedly conducted sales of illegal firearms both...
"No Reliable Record": Report Says Dallas Community Treatment Courts are Poorly Managed

By Jacob Vaughn
Jan 4, 2023

An audit found issues with how the city tracks the work of the South Dallas Drug Court and South Oak Cliff Veterans’ Treatment Court.
Keeping Dallas Weird: the Most Head-Scratching News Stories of 2022

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 23, 2022

When it comes to reporting on what happens in and around Dallas, every year is weird in its own way. Perhaps weird is normal for Dallas? Even so, it seems as though each year since 2020 has only gotten weirder in Big D. Not surprisingly, in 2022 elected officials contributed...
Regardless of Title 42's Status, Dallas Group Helps Busloads of Migrants with Compassion

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 22, 2022

Dozens of migrants arrived in Dallas on Tuesday and Wednesday after a three-hour bus ride from one of the several detention centers in Texas, where thousands of other migrants are still being processed for entry into the United States. For most, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church is but a brief...
North Texas Pair Ran a $7 Million COVID-19 Testing Scheme, U.S. Attorney Says

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 20, 2022

A pair of North Texas residents pleaded not guilty on Dec. 16 to charges they defrauded insurers of more than $7 million via fake COVID-19 tests. A statement released by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, claims that Terrance Barnard, 39, and Connie Jo Clampitt,...
Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Biden to Allow LGBTQ Discrimination in Foster Care, Adoption Services

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 16, 2022

Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting for faith-based adoption agencies to have the right to discriminate on the basis of gender-identity, sexual orientation, and same-sex marriage status.
Dallas Sued for Banning Panhandlers From Standing on Medians

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 15, 2022

Despite constitutional concerns, Dallas passed an ordinance banning people, including panhandlers, from standing on medians. Now, the city is getting sued over it, with the Texas Civil Rights Project claiming it violates the First Amendment.
North Texas Pastor Lobbies Congress for Compassion and Reform for Immigrants and Dreamers

By Christian McPhate
Dec 14, 2022

Rafael Munoz understands the importance of the issue facing “Dreamers” in the federal courts. He’s a first-generation child of an immigrant family from a border town near Del Rio, where he was born. It was a personal journey for him and his family, and one he’s been trying to help...
With a Legal Win Against "Bounty Hunters," Local Abortion Activists Prepare for More Battles

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 13, 2022

Last week a Texas court handed abortion-rights advocates a victory when it dismissed a lawsuit against a San Antonio doctor who provided an abortion in September to a woman who was more than six weeks pregnant. It’s a significant win for those who oppose Texas Senate Bill 8, also known...
'Rental Navigators' Have Provided Vital Help to Dallas Residents Facing Eviction During the Pandemic

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 12, 2022

While one recent report suggests that the City of Dallas is putting too much of its money into arresting, prosecuting and jailing its citizens, and not enough on providing what it calls Systems of Community Care, a different, new report says that Dallas is doing well in another area of...
House Bill Aims to Ban 'No-Knock Warrants' but North Texas Police Agencies Already Use Them Sparingly

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 8, 2022

'Tis the season for hot button issues as the Texas Legislature prepares for its upcoming session in 2023. Bills touching on topics ranging from abolishing the city of Austin, marijuana reform, legal sports gambling and school library books will be on the table during the 88th legislative session, which begins...
Report Says Dallas Spends Too Much on Mass Criminalization, Not Enough on Community Care

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 7, 2022

A new report shows that Dallas and Fort Worth are among several large U.S. cities dedicating a disproportionate amount of money to criminal justice and legal systems instead of programs designed to enrich its population and possibly prevent more arrests and incarceration. The Criminalization v. Care Report 2022, authored by...
(Not) Made in the USA: Grand Prairie Man Defrauds the U.S. with Chinese Electronics

By Kelly Dearmore
Dec 1, 2022

Suhaib Allababidi, 45, of Grand Prairie lied to the federal government about where the products his company sold to government entities were manufactured, says U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad E. Meacham. According to a statement released by Meacham’s office, Allababidi ’s company, 2M Solutions in Grand...
President Joe Biden's Student Loan Relief Plan Hits Roadblock in Texas

By Jacob Vaughn
Nov 14, 2022

Facing several legal challenges, President Joe Biden's student loan relief plan hit another roadblock, this time from a federal court in Texas.
'Lubbock’s Anna Delvey' Pleads Guilty Over Elaborate Scams to Get Flights, Limos and Yacht Ride

By Patrick Strickland
Nov 11, 2022

J. Nicholas Bryant was 23 at the time of his crimes. Now, he's pleaded guilty in a federal court.
Free Speech Lawsuit Ends With Settlement That Includes Collin College Reinstating Sacked Professor

By Patrick Strickland
Nov 4, 2022

On Thursday, Collin College reached a settlement with Suzanne Jones, a professor who filed a federal lawsuit against the school alleging she’d been terminated for exercising her free speech rights. Jones, an education professor, was let go in January 2021 in an incident that became part of what critics say...
Feds Pop Dallas Lawyer Over Alleged $1 Billion Tax Shelter Scheme

By Patrick Strickland
Oct 31, 2022

Federal authorities say they’ve charged Joseph Garza, a 79-year-old Dallas lawyer, with creating tax shelters to hide more than $1 billion of money from the Internal Revenue Service for his big-dollar clients. Arrested at his home on Oct. 25, he appeared in court the following day, facing 18 counts of...
Watch: Tenant Named 'Danny Deadbeat' in Mock Trial for Texas Eviction Training

By Jacob Vaughn
Oct 31, 2022

Local eviction attorney Mark Melton came across a video from the Texas Justice Court Training Center showing a mock eviction trial. The fake tenant, who didn't show up, was named Danny Deadbeat.