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Public won when appeals court ruled juvenile murder hearings should have been open

FOIFT2014-08-20T15:29:12-05:00

By Jim Witt Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Aug. 19, 2014 The public won a significant “right-to-know” decision last week when Texas’ 2nd District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth unanimously ruled that State District Judge Jean Boyd abused her discretion by closing her juvenile courtroom twice early this year during a murder case. Because the media is part of “the public,” we don’t enjoy any special rights or privileges unavailable to ordinary citizens, so we were banished, too. As your de facto eyes and ears, we were severely hampered in our reporting on the proceedings, although our reporters did manage [...]

Public won when appeals court ruled juvenile murder hearings should have been openFOIFT2014-08-20T15:29:12-05:00

New Texas AG ruling keeps governor’s old travel security records secret

FOIFT2014-08-13T14:58:35-05:00

By Jay Root The Texas Tribune Originally published Aug. 13, 2014 After critics raised a stink about the tax dollars being spent to provide security for Gov. Rick Perry while he was gearing up to run for president, lawmakers passed a bill in 2011 designed to let Texans know — eventually — what they were getting for their money. Now, thanks to a new ruling from the office of Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety will not have to provide itemized travel records for the security detail after all. The DPS is still releasing the overall spending, with figures broken down into [...]

New Texas AG ruling keeps governor’s old travel security records secretFOIFT2014-08-13T14:58:35-05:00

Appeals court rules juvenile hearings should not have been closed

FOIFT2014-08-12T23:06:22-05:00

By Deanna Boyd Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Aug. 12, 2014 FORT WORTH — State District Judge Jean Boyd abused her discretion when she barred the media and public from two juvenile court hearings without showing evidence of good-cause, the Fort Worth’s 2nd Court of Appeals unanimously agreed in an opinion released Tuesday. Boyd was ordered to promptly vacate the two closure orders and take immediate steps to make the transcripts of the Jan. 10 and Jan. 22 hearings available to the media group. “I respect the decision of the Court of Appeals and I will comply with their ruling,” Boyd [...]

Appeals court rules juvenile hearings should not have been closedFOIFT2014-08-12T23:06:22-05:00

State Commission on Judicial Conduct must strike balance between confidentiality, openness at public hearing

FOIFT2014-08-12T19:58:03-05:00

By Angela Morris Texas Lawyer Originally published Aug. 11, 2014 Seana Willing, executive director of the state agency that disciplines judges, has mixed feelings about holding the commission's inaugural public hearing on Wednesday. "I think there's a little bit of excitement about it, but also anxiety in that: What if nobody shows up? Then what? But we're excited that people will show up and will provide some helpful information that we can use in the future," said Willing. "We just have never done this before, so we don't really know what to expect." Although this is the first hearing, the State Commission [...]

State Commission on Judicial Conduct must strike balance between confidentiality, openness at public hearingFOIFT2014-08-12T19:58:03-05:00

Alpine residents decry limiting speech at city meetings

FOIFT2014-08-11T15:07:35-05:00

By Alberto Tomas Halpern Big Bend Sentinel Originally published Aug. 7, 2014 ALPINE – Alpine residents exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech at Tuesday’s regular city meeting were unanimous in their dissent of a proposed ordinance that would have, among other things, strictly limited public comments at city meetings. The draft ordinance, as currently written, and whose first reading was approved by council on July 15, would have limited public comments at meetings to eight individuals; limited speech to two minutes, down from three; would have required residents wishing to speak to sign up the day of the meeting [...]

Alpine residents decry limiting speech at city meetingsFOIFT2014-08-11T15:07:35-05:00

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