TCJE in the News


Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJE.orgor (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.


 

The price of justice in Texas isn't cheap.

Time-tested observers of the Texas Legislature have learned to measure their expectations before each session, yet there was a secret hope that the twin engines of liberal and conservative supporters could push important criminal justice reforms over the finish line.

Read the rest of this editorial at the Houston Chronicle.

Texas Juvenile Justice Reformers: ‘Raise the Age’ Will Rise Again

Supporters of overhauling juvenile justice in Texas cheered the passage of two state bills even as some mourned the failure of a third that would have stopped the prosecution of 17-year-olds as adults.

Read the rest of this article at the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange.

Legislature Reverses Course, Will Keep 17-Year-Olds In Adult Justice System

A provision to keep 17-year-olds out of the adult criminal justice system was stripped from a bill this weekend as the Texas Legislature wrapped up the 84th Legislative Session.

Read the rest of this blog post at the San Antonio Current.

Legislators and Juvenile Justice Stakeholders Disappointed that Texas did not Raise the Age of Juvenile Jurisdiction

Representative Gene Wu (Houston) expressed disappointment this afternoon that a provision which would have raised the age at which youth are considered adults in Texas' criminal justice system from 17 to 18 was stripped from a juvenile justice reform bill.

Read the rest of this press release at the Texas House of Representatives' website.

Truancy Reform Heads Down to the Wire

With one Texas county facing a federal investigation into how it punishes chronic school-skippers — and Texas one of only two states that prosecute truants in adult courts — lawmakers are weighing two House measures that would decriminalize truancy.

Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.

Texas Tackles Old Convictions, New Science

In the spring of 2013, the Texas Legislature passed a law that was hailed as the first of its kind in the country. The law expressly allows the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals to grant a new trial in cases where the underlying forensic science is flawed.

Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.

Legislature OKs Juvenile Justice Reforms

A bill that juvenile justice groups praised as “a fundamental shift in how young people would be served by the justice system” passed through the state House of Representatives on Tuesday. SB 1630 will establish a more localized approach to juvenile justice, keeping young offenders out of large, regional detention facilities and closer to their home communities.

Read the rest of this blog post at the San Antonio Current.

Critical Senate Juvenile Justice Reform Bill Passes Texas House

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) congratulates the Texas House of Representatives for passing SB 1630 earlier today, continuing their effort to improve the state’s once dysfunctional juvenile justice system.  SB 1630 represents a fundamental shift in how young people would be served by the justice system by creating a regionalization plan for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).  The plan would allow youth to be kept closer to their home communities in lieu of commitment to distant state-secure facilities.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Senate Moves to Reform Driver Responsibility Program

The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a proposal that would weaken the state’s Driver Responsibility Program, which critics say has unfairly penalized poor Texans.

Read the rest of this article at The Texas Tribune.

Unfinished Business in TX Juvenile Justice Reform

Texas has unfinished business in juvenile justice reform, according to a new report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. The report was released as lawmakers consider bills that would expand independent oversight of juvenile facilities (HB 3277), increase support for local probation departments to keep young people closer to home (SB 1630), and raise the age of juvenile offenders to 17 (HB 1205).