Tag Archives: Dallas County

Double-Dip Driver

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed this the other day. State Rep. Joe Driver of Garland, who rails against the evils of runaway government spending, admitted Monday that he has pocketed thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for travel expenses that his … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Double-Dip Driver

It’s still hard to free an innocent person

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, right? While some appellate attorneys are applauding Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ establishment of a Post Conviction Review Section, whose work led to the freedom of two wrongfully convicted men in the past week, Texas law continues … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Redistricting hearing in San Antonio

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s that time of the decade again. Monday’s joint hearing of the House Committees on Redistricting and Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence — on the University of Texas at San Antonio’s downtown campus — marked the unofficial kickoff for that process. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Claude Jones

Posted on June 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Claude Jones was a Texas inmate who was executed ten years ago. He protested his innocence of the crime for which he was put to death till the end. Now we may get to see if he was telling the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Trib talks with Craig Watkins

Posted on June 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. For the 11th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the district attorney of Dallas County about why and how he’s worked to exonerate the wrongfully imprisoned and whether he’s dragging his feet on a controversial corruption case … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Trib talks with Craig Watkins

An early look at redistricting

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is holding some hearings around the state in advance of the 2011 Census reports, and if there’s one thing we know already, it’s that West Texas will be losing influence next year. The state population increased … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on An early look at redistricting

Beyond DNA exonerations

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all familiar with the way the Dallas DA’s office has handled using DNA to review cases in which a defendant’s guilt may have been in question. Now that most of the cases in which DNA evidence still exists have … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gay divorce lawsuit update

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all a little surreal. A man seeking to end his same-sex marriage in Dallas County is arguing an ironic point in a state that doesn’t recognize his nuptials: Grant the divorce and there will be one less gay marriage … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Counting inmates where they’re from, not where they’re incarcerated

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve noted before that prisoners in Texas are considered for Census purposes to be residents of the county in which they are incarcerated, not the county where they were actually living at the time of their arrest. This tends to … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Counting inmates where they’re from, not where they’re incarcerated

The Trib talks to Craig Watkins

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a fascinating article about Dallas DA Craig Watkins, who is running for re-election for the first time this year, in which he defends himself against charges that he has not been sufficiently vigorous in prosecuting political malfeasance. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Trib talks to Craig Watkins

Population and voting trends: 2002 and 2006 judicial elections, Part I

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the next entry in this series, we’re going to look at how county returns changed from 2002 to 2006 in statewide judicial races in Texas. Again, I’m using judicial races here because they tend to reflect straight partisan preference … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Runoff roundup

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a look at some of the runoff elections that will be on the ballot next month. On the Democratic side…boy, there’s not much. No statewide runoffs, as Linda Chavez-Thompson got a majority in her three-candidate race for Lite Guv. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hodge pleads guilty, will resign

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Well, at least this got resolved before the primary. State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, pleaded guilty early this morning to lying on her tax returns in connection with the FBI’s Dallas City Hall public corruption investigation, an act that ends … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The top Texas races

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas on the Potomac lists their Top Ten Texas Races For 2010. I have no quarrel with nine of their choices, but I think this one is wrong: Dallas County elections Democrats seized power in the Dallas courthouse four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

(Don’t) Run Everywhere, Dallas-style

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when Dallas was a stronghold for the state GOP? Those days are long gone. After two straight losing cycles that forced them out of power, Dallas County Republicans will feature a scaled-down ticket for the 2010 elections. Party Chairman … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on (Don’t) Run Everywhere, Dallas-style

Texas Congressional races on the radar

Posted on July 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Hill lists its Top 10 dark-horse Congressional races to keep an eye on for 2010. Two of them are in Texas. 1. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) McCaul was technically a lower-tier Democratic target in 2008, but that was really … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vetoing smart growth

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow takes a look at one of the vetoed bills that I hadn’t examined before, SB2169, “relating to the establishment of a smart growth policy work group and the development of a smart growth policy for this state.” The … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vetoing smart growth

Bacarisse, too

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey jumps on the Ed Johnson bandwagon, and he starts off with the information that former District Clerk Charles Bacarisse was doing the same kind of moonlighting as Johnson was. Bacarisse hired out as a $4,500-a-month consultant to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I agree with State Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson that the way we elect judges in Texas needs reform. I just don’t think he’s proposing a real fix for the problem he’s identified. Texas remains one of only seven states … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments