Law

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.

Mashed Potatoes

AustinCan mere mashed potatoes be bodacious? If so, the ones at Tony’s Southern Comfort qualify. Whipped to a fare-thee-well, they are anointed with a thinnish, mild cream gravy. The menu calls them “au gratin potatoes,” but the great cheesy, creamy, well-peppered spuds at Arkie’s Grill are more mashed than sliced;

Working Girls

Associate editor Katy Vine on prostitution in Odessa and writing about sex.

“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

Groundbreaker

One groundbreaker, one Ranger. A story from Texas Ranger Christine Nix in her own words.

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.

Invasive!

The unmaking of medical privacy.

Greg Ott, Free

Greg Ott, the philosophy graduate student who was convicted of killing a Texas Ranger in 1978, has finally been released and is getting on with his life.

Ardor in the Court

Racehorse Haynes is every year's model for what a successful trial lawyer should be.

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.

Supreme Moment

Thirty years after Roe v. Wade, I'm still that lawyer.

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.

State Fairness

Senior Texas Monthly editor Michael Hall tells the story behind his article, "Death Isn't Fair."

“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.

Joaquin Jackson

What happened to former Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson.

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.

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

“Cheap! Cheap!”

To change the way recording contracts are created, the Dixie Chicks are taking their act to the courtroom.

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.

The Supremes

Judging the three Texan candidates for the nation's highest court.

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?

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.

Return to Padre

For years my relatives have claimed that they were robbed of oil and gas royalties on Padre Island. Last May a Brownsville jury agreed, vindicating—for now—the family’s proud heritage and proving that, sometimes, the little guy does win.

Free Greg Ott!

Twenty-two years ago a Texas Ranger was shot and killed during a drug raid on the home of Greg Ott, a philosophy graduate student. Even today, no one really knows what happened on that tragic night.

Law: James Byrd, Jr.

Crime and punishment.

Up in Smoke

Has Dan Morales gone up in smoke? by Skip Hollandsworth.

Unbearable

Baylor University gets sued by one of its own.

Crime Pays

Crime victims follow the money.

More Precious Than Oil

To the astonishment of water owners and users across Texas, the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the rule of capture, the basis of all Texas underground water law. This much-criticized doctrine allows landowners to pump as much underground water as they want, even if the

Moody Blues

“Aunt Jimmy” sues Galveston’s first family.

Sandra Day O’Connor

Why did Sandra Day O’Connor once say, “I come to you tonight wearing my bra”?

Contrition

Inmates apologize to the families of their victims.

Law • Lucius D. Bunton III

Here comes the judge.

Judge Roy Bean

WEST OF THE PECOS THERE IS NO LAW; west of El Paso there is no God.” So went the saying in unsettled West Texas—until the day in 1882 when Roy Bean became a justice of the peace in dusty little Langtry, where the sign over the Jersey Lilly, his combination

Jailhouse Crock

The Texas prison mess gets messier. Plus: Taking up arms in defense of the B-1 bomber.

The Tort Tax

No high diving boards at public pools. No cameras in operating rooms. All this and more, thanks to lawyers.

Cop Crisis

Are Texas cops as bad as Mark Huhrman? Ples: Why your cara rental rates are being driven up.

Hype or Hero?

He’s won the support o Mexican Americans in El Paso; now he wants to win a seat in Congress. Is Silvestre Reyes’ attack on illegal immigration heroism or hype?

In the Drink

Drunken boaters have turned a popular lake near Dallas into deadly waters.

Misjudged

Parting Shots

Tiger’s Beat

An Austin attorney tears into the government’s case against a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing.

TV on Trial

Biting the Bullet

If you plan to pack heat, you’ll have to go to school first. Here’s what you’re in for.

Spooking the CIA

Jennifer Harbury’s career as a lawyer in Texas was the prelude to her front-page fight with the U.S. intelligence community.

Are Texans Gun Crazy?

During the first week of April, as the Legislature considered the case for concealed weapons, Texas mourned the consequences of two gun-related tragedies in Corpus Christi: the murder of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla Perez and the shooting of five workers at a refinery inspection company by a disgruntled

Some Shots at Guns

Freedom Fighter

Crossing the Bar

There ought to be a law against the Texas bar exam. It’s irrelevant, illogical and just plain nutty.

Best-Case Scenario

To win a high-profile these days, you need to hire a jury consultant. Galveston's Robert Hirschhorn is one of the best.