Some TEXAS MONTHLY Stories on Law
The Exonerated »
Thirty-seven men, 525 years behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. Thanks to DNA testing, their claims of innocence have finally been proved—but what happens to them now?
by Michael Hall [November 2008]
A True Crime: Video »
Video interviews with wrongfully imprisoned men who have been exonerated through DNA testing.
[November 2008]
The Reluctant Prosecutor »
After Randy Reynolds sat on his hands as the Texas Youth Commission scandal exploded, everyone wanted the district attorney of Ward, Reeves, and Loving counties bounced from his job. Everyone, that is, except the people of Ward, Reeves, and Loving counties.
by Nate Blakeslee [October 2008]
Compound Fracture »
Why I have no sympathy for the Eldorado polygamists.
by Skip Hollandsworth [June 2008]
Will Harrell »
41, criminal justice reformer, Austin
[February 2008]
Splitsville! »
True-life tales from the files of one of Houston’s top
divorce lawyers.
by Mimi Swartz [August 2007]
Eva vs. Goliath »
After James and Linda Rowe were killed in a grisly refinery explosion in Texas City in 2005, their wild-child daughter could have taken a modest settlement and started to rebuild her life in a small Louisiana border town. Instead, she chose to fight—and brought a multibillion-dollar oil company to its knees.
by Mimi Swartz [July 2007]
Sins of Commission »
There are plenty of people to blame for the latest shock-inducing juvenile corrections scandal, beginning with the so-called reformers who didn’t heed the lessons of the last one.
by Nate Blakeslee [May 2007]
Law of The Land »
Nearly two centuries after their forebears protected colonists from Indian raids, the Texas Rangers are alive and well and wrestling with the realities of the twenty-first century. In their own words, the iconic crime fighters explain how their world has changed—and what it takes to battle the latest generation of bad guys.
by Pamela Colloff [April 2007]
Family Values »
It may surprise you to learn that gay couples in Texas are more likely to have children than those in most other states, or that San Antonio is a gay parenting mecca, with a higher percentage of gay households with children than any other U.S. city. So why are gay parents in such a state of legal limbo here? And why won’t the Legislature get government off their backs?
by Nate Blakeslee [March 2007]
Free Richard Lafuente! »
They say he ran over Eddie Peltier with his El Camino on a North Dakota Indian reservation in 1983. He says he didn’t do it, and the evidence is overwhelmingly on his side—yet the Plainview native has languished in federal prison for twenty years. It’s long past time for justice to be done.
by Michael Hall [October 2006]
The Bad Guy With the Badge »
How Conrado Cantu, the sheriff of Cameron County, lived down to people’s expectations of South Texas law enforcement.
by Cecilia Ballí [August 2006]
Guilty Pleasure »
Kenny, we hardly knew ye. Okay, maybe we knew you too well. The jury, at least, seems to have pegged you just right. You too, Skilling.
by Mimi Swartz [July 2006]
North Toward Home »
As surprising as our immigrant-friendliness may be to many, it speaks to who we are. To be a Texan is to inhabit a vast bicultural frontera, one that extends far beyond the Rio Grande.
by Michael Ennis [April 2006]
Why Can’t Steven Phillips Get a DNA Test? »
For that matter, why can’t any incarcerated man or woman with a good reason get one?
by Michael Hall [January 2006]
Whose Life Is It Anyway? »
Katie Wernecke is many things: a precocious, freckle-faced Bible-drill champ; the valedictorian of her seventh-grade class in Banquete; and—since she was diagnosed with cancer last year—a pawn in the custody battle that pits her parents against the State of Texas.
by Katy Vine [January 2006]
TLR vs. TM »
Texans for Lawsuit Reform responds to our November 2005 article; we respond to the organization’s response.
[January 2006]
It’s as Easy as DNA »
Senior editor Michael Hall talks about researching DNA testing, visiting a DNA lab in North Texas, and pursuing justice.
Interview by Dacus Thompson [January 2006]
Mashed Potatoes »
by Stacy Hollister and Patricia Sharpe [November 2005]
Hurt? Injured? Need a Lawyer? Too Bad! »
What tort reform has done to Texans in need would be grounds for a lawsuit—if there still were any lawsuits.
by Mimi Swartz [November 2005]
The Reformers »
Executive editor Mimi Swartz on Proposition 12, partisan politics, and consumer rights.
Interview by Dacus Thompson [November 2005]
“She Had Brains, a Body, and the Ability To Make Men Love Her” »
Meet the 22-year-old hooker who, with her fellow “massage therapists,” scandalized Odessa
by Katy Vine [January 2005]
Working Girls »
Associate editor Katy Vine on prostitution in Odessa and writing about sex.
Interview by Kimberly Jeffries [January 2005]
And Justice for Some »
How the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals mistakes toughness for fairness—and gives the state a black eye.
by Michael Hall [November 2004]
Invasive! »
The unmaking of medical privacy.
by Christopher Keyes [November 2004]
Court Reporter »
Senior editor Michael Hall talks about Ernest Willis, who was recently freed from death row, and the super-conservative Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Interview by Susan Shepard [November 2004]
Ardor in the Court »
Racehorse Haynes is every year's model for what a successful trial lawyer should be.
by Kinky Friedman [June 2004]
The Verdict »
Getting Robert Durst acquitted might be too tall an order for most lawyers, but for Dick DeGuerin, it was just another day at the office.
by Gary Cartwright [February 2004]
The Skinny on Slim »
Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.—a.k.a. Amarillo Slim—has cut cards with LBJ and hustled all manner of sharpies at pool and Ping-Pong. But at 74, his greatest success continues to be at the poker table, as my $100 and I found out.
by Michael Hall [May 2003]
Supreme Moment »
Thirty years after Roe v. Wade, I'm still that lawyer.
As told to Pamela Colloff [February 2003]
The Idealist »
If you're wondering why trial lawyers were once regarded as heroes rather than pariahs, let me tell you about my friend Warren Burnett, the late, great champion of little guys and lost causes.
by Gary Cartwright [January 2003]
Death Isn’t Fair »
Most Texans support capital punishment; no one disputes that. But what would they say if they knew about the law-skirting cops, the overzealous prosecutors, the sleeping defense lawyers, and the rubber-stamping appellate court? They’d say they want to fix the system.
by Michael Hall [December 2002]
State Fairness »
Senior Texas Monthly editor Michael Hall tells the story behind his article, "Death Isn't Fair."
Interview by Nora Varty [December 2002]
“The Trick Is Not to Act Like a Lawyer.” »
So says Rusty Hardin, Houston’s defense attorney of the moment—the latest in a long line of courtroom heroes guilty of premeditated flamboyance and charisma in the first degree.
by Pamela Colloff [September 2002]
I, the Juror »
As a "recovering" attorney with a mixed record at picking juries, I always wondered what made them tick. After receiving a summons this year, I'm still deliberating.
by John Spong [April 2002]
Which Side of the Fence Are You On? »
All over Texas, ranchers are putting up eight-foot fences to keep their deer from roaming so they can charge more for hunting leases. Purists say shooting such deer doesn't amount to "fair chase." Biologists say penning them in causes disease. I say it's the best thing that could happen to the land.
by Joe Nick Patoski [February 2002]
"Cheap! Cheap!" »
To change the way recording contracts are created, the Dixie Chicks are taking their act to the courtroom.
by John Spong [January 2002]
Dreade Locke »
Russell Erxleben and Brian Russell Stearns were first-rate frauds who cheated scores of unsuspecting investors. So how did the prominent law firm of Locke, Liddell, and Sapp get stuck footing a $30 million bill?
by John Spong [November 2001]
The Judge, Judged »
Corpus Christi's Manuel Bañales believes that some sex offenders should post warning signs in their yards. He says it's about good law; his critics say it's about good publicity.
by John Spong [August 2001]
The Case of the Persecuted Prosecutor »
More than anyone, former assistant to the U.S. attorney Bill Johnston was responsible for exposing the FBI’s lies about the final assault on the Branch Davidian compound. Why, then, did his own government go after him?
by Gary Cartwright [August 2001]
The Supremes »
Judging the three Texan candidates for the nation's highest court.
by John Spong [June 2001]
The Battle for the Border »
In Maverick County illegal immigrants are crossing in record numbers, creating a war zone. Mexicans have been shot and killed, houses robbed, cattle stolen. Some ranchers are fleeing. But others, like Dob Cunningham, have decided to stay and fight.
by Pamela Colloff [April 2001]
The Hate Debate »
The question about the James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Act isn't whether it will pass. The question is, Is it good law?
by John Spong [April 2001]
John O’Quinn Objects »
“When a corporation does something that results in the death of people, what prison do you put them in?” asks the plantiffs lawyer Texas business loves to hate, and he’s just getting warmed up.
by Evan Smith [June 2000]
Law • James Byrd, Jr. »
Crime and punishment.
by Paul Burka [September 1999]
Ardor in the Court »
Working out of his two-man firm in Dallas, plaintiff’s attorney Kip Petroff is doing something his peers around the country can’t: He’s bringing a major drug company to its knees.
Alicia Mundy [May 1999]
Unbearable »
Baylor University gets sued by one of its own.
by Jordan Mackay [May 1999]
“No One Knows What Could Be Happening to Those Kids” »
When you’re underpaid, inexperienced, and overloaded with files detailing allegations of child abuse, there is a limit to how well you can do your job. Eight months in the life of an investigative team in the Travis County office of Child Protective Services.
by Skip Hollandsworth [April 1999]
Crime Pays »
Crime victims follow the money.
by Janet Heimlich [January 1999]
LAW • Karla Faye Tucker »
A matter of life and death.
by Gregory Curtis [September 1998]
45 Years (Sat Nov 22 at 5:28 PM)
Can You Spare Some Change I Can Believe In? (Sat Nov 22 at 4:10 PM)
Even Worse, They're Cutting Back on Monocles (Fri Nov 21 at 8:39 AM)
