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Junk science law changes pass Texas House
“Proposal to enhance Texas’ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas House” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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Over a decade ago, the Texas Legislature passed a groundbreaking law to provide justice when the scientific evidence for a criminal conviction has changed or been discredited.
But in a report examining appeals ruled upon in the decade since, the Texas Defender Service found last year that the so-called junk science law “is not operating as the Texas Legislature intended,” and that the courts were applying a burden of proof that made it nearly impossible for appellants to meet. For some lawmakers, Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson became the face of that failure.
On Thursday, the Texas House sought to rectify those shortcomings. Lawmakers approved, 124 to 14, House Bill 115 — legislation that would codify a number of recommendations advocates made to ensure the junk science law is working as intended.
“I do want to stress that this is a critical bill, and would appreciate your favorable consideration,” Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield and author of the bill, said during a late-night committee hearing last month.
The measure, which must pass another vote in the House as a formality, does not have a companion in the Senate, making its path to law unclear.
The proposal emerged out of a contentious interim period of the Legislature last year, during which the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee confronted Roberson’s case. The argument for Roberson’s innocence became a political lightning rod, as committee members took extraordinary steps to delay his October execution while Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton pushed back and stood behind the conviction.
Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He was one of the first death row inmates to have his conviction set for further review under the junk science law in 2016, when the Court of Criminal Appeals directed a lower court to take a second look at his case.
But in 2023, after the state argued that the science had not changed that much and a trial court agreed, the Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Roberson’s conviction and set an Oct. 17, 2024 execution date.
Lawmakers, concerned that the courts had not meaningfully engaged with the evidence and properly applied the junk science law, managed to force a stay of execution in October. Roberson’s execution date has not yet been reset, and he has a pending appeal.
Still, proponents of HB 115 said the bill was meant to address broader deficiencies in the law — regardless of its application to Roberson’s case. If passed, its provisions would not go into effect until December 1.
The junk science law — Article 11.073 in Texas’ criminal code — meant to provide a way for convicted people to obtain new trials if they can show that the underlying scientific evidence in their conviction was flawed. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the bill in 2013 after two failed attempts to do so.
“It stood as a commitment to Texans that science in our criminal trials was not just a sword of the state, but also a shield for the wrongfully convicted and the unfairly prosecuted,” Chase Baumgartner, an attorney at the Innocence Project of Texas, testified to the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee last month. “House Bill 115 reaffirms that commitment and shores up where our current law has fallen short.”
The measure would address many of the interim committee’s concerns with the law. It would entitle low-income defendants to an attorney in junk science appeals and require the state’s highest criminal court to issue a written opinion when denying a junk science appeal.
It would also allow the court to consider junk science appeals even if they do not meet certain procedural requirements, a provision meant to address a finding that the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected almost 40% of petitions on procedural grounds, without considering the merits of the claims.
It would also clarify that the junk science law requires appellants simply to show that their conviction was based on discredited science — not to prove their innocence. The bill changes the standard of proof to a “reasonable likelihood” that the evidence “could have affected” a person’s conviction or sentence.
That is a lower bar for convicted people to clear than the law’s current standard, which says that “on the preponderance of evidence,” the defendant “would not have been convicted” based on the debunked science. Critics said that that was virtually the same standard required to prove “actual innocence” — a difficult case to make, especially for people behind bars.
“The current standard has been interpreted by the Court of Criminal Appeals to essentially require the elimination of any rational basis for the conviction, which is the legal actual innocence standard,” Burke Butler, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, told the committee last month. “This is not at all what legislators intended when they originally passed the law, and for various reasons, that standard is actually impossible for most innocent people to meet.”
And the bill would extend the junk science law to accept relevant evidence that was “not reasonably available” to the defendant at trial, and that “tends to negate” scientific evidence “relied on by the state” at trial.
In its report, the Texas Defender Services found that no one on death row has successfully used the junk science law to obtain a new trial. The report also found that the Court of Criminal Appeals had applied a higher standard of proof than required by the law, rejected a significant portion of appeals on procedural grounds and produced a “pervasive lack” of written opinions explaining its rationale, Butler said.
“No innocent person should ever serve out a prison sentence without having their case considered on the merits,” she said. “The fixes in HB 115 would ensure that innocent people convicted based on junk science have a genuine pathway for relief.”
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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/14/texas-junk-science-bill-house-david-cook/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
The post Junk science law changes pass Texas House appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This content presents a balanced yet slightly progressive perspective focused on criminal justice reform, specifically addressing the shortcomings of Texas’ junk science law. It highlights concerns raised by advocacy groups and lawmakers about protecting the wrongfully convicted and ensuring fair judicial processes, which are issues more commonly emphasized by center-left viewpoints. The tone is factual and respectful of different political actors, including Republicans and Democrats, indicating an attempt to present the topic without strong partisan bashing, but the focus on reform and protections for defendants leans the coverage just left of center.
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The post One-on-one with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry appeared first on www.kxan.com
SUMMARY: A manhunt is underway for Vance Luther Boelter, accused of attacking Minnesota lawmakers early Saturday. Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their suburban Brooklyn Park home. Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times in nearby Champlin. The gunman posed as a police officer in a fake cruiser and carried a manifesto targeting lawmakers and officials. Police believe the shootings were politically motivated. Authorities are increasing security for those named and seek public help. President Trump affirmed a full investigation, urging zero tolerance for such political violence.
Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address
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“As Trump celebrates military, Texans protest president’s aggressive immigration enforcement” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
McALLEN — Hundreds of people lined up near this border city’s federal courthouse Saturday, waving American flags and holding signs criticizing President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was a loud scene as anti-Trump chants were often drowned out by drivers honking to show support for the protesters’ cause. Protests, marches and rallies are happening across Texas and the country Saturday in condemnation of the Trump administration’s policies, including its aggressive immigration enforcement, and what many participants consider to be authoritarian actions.
Angeline Garza, a 36-year-old elementary school teacher from Mission, said the protest was a way for her to advocate for the undocumented children and the kids of undocumented parents.
“Now more than ever, [deportations] are affecting a lot of people and they are seeing what the Trump administration wanted to do from the beginning, that it was not just about deporting criminals,” she said.
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The protests, expected to last throughout the night Saturday, coincide with the Trump administration’s planned military parade in Washington, D.C., which falls on the president’s birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.
But the demonstrations also began hours after two Democratic Minnesota legislators and their spouses were shot at their respective homes Saturday. The Texas Department of Public Safety later Saturday warned Texas lawmakers and legislative staffers of “credible threats” to legislators planning to attend the anti-Trump rally at the state Capitol in Austin.
[Texas makes arrest after warning state lawmakers of “credible threats” tied to Capitol protest]
The Capitol was evacuated shortly after. DPS’ notice did not specify the nature of the threats to lawmakers. Texas organizers of some of Saturday’s “No Kings” and “Kick Out The Clowns” demonstrations have stressed their protests will be nonviolent. By 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, protests across the state were underway.
In McAllen, very few people in support of the president appeared, though one man waving two large black Trump flags paraded through the crowd. As he walked, about half a dozen people began following him and protesters chanted anti-Trump expletives at him. The man, who declined to give his name, eventually left the protest area without incident.
In Odessa, more than 150 people gathered on the northeast side of the booming oil field city. Families, veterans and oil field workers lined up in front of a main roadway on Saturday, facing a heavily trafficked part of town.
The protesters waved flags from the U.S., Mexico and El Salvador and recited the pledge of allegiance. They decried what they said was Trump’s authoritarian and monarchical approach to the presidency. Protesters told The Texas Tribune that Trump and his Cabinet had abused legal proceedings and due process for immigrants and women.
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Suzanne Pack, a 62-year-old retired dietitian, said the Saturday protest was the first time she had ever been part of such a demonstration. She said she decided to attend after seeing the event advertised on social media.
“I believe that the government is not taking seriously the importance of due process, and I also believe that women’s rights are being tread upon, especially in Texas,” Pack said. “I have a daughter of childbearing age. She’s seven months pregnant today, and she’s scared to death because of the challenges against fetal maternal health.”
Texas’ “No Kings” protests were planned primarily by progressive groups 50501, Women’s March and Indivisible. The national groups are supported by dozens of smaller grassroots organizations and volunteers.
This blitz of demonstrations throughout Texas and country are intentional, said 50501 San Antonio representative Alex Svehla, and highlight the movement’s core message of “executive overreach.”
“It’s a whole wraparound regarding what Trump is doing,” Svehla said.
As planned demonstrations across the U.S. grew in number this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were told to “largely pause” enforcement in the agriculture and hospitality industries, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Earlier this month, Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration enforcement sweeps there. That deployment came without permission from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and frequent political foe of the Republican president.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Thursday he would be deploying over 5,000 Texas National Guard members across the state in anticipation of Saturday’s protests. Roughly 2,500 of those are being diverted from Operation Lone Star border assignments, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
“It does not do any good to have the National Guard not deployed and have a city catch on fire, have crime and chaos break out, and take a day or two to get them there,” Abbott said in a Fox News interview on Thursday.
Abbott has acknowledged in several statements that peaceful protesting is a constitutional right, but that officials “will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles.” Abbott’s comments have drawn criticism from protest organizers, who have said a crucial element of their events is their nonviolent nature.
“I think that we have seen some very irresponsible comments from Greg Abbott, unfortunately, that are in line with his authoritarian tendencies and certainly Trump’s, which is of course the very thing that people are protesting about,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director for Women’s March.
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In Odessa on Saturday, the demonstrations were largely amicable, with many of the event’s organizers communicating with law enforcement officials as the day progressed. The protest’s organizers told the Tribune they had been in touch with local law enforcement officials for weeks before the event. Drivers honked their horns in support, but some of the marchers faced hecklers who shouted vulgarities at them.
Leon Fowler, an 82-year-old Navy reserve and Air Force veteran and retired teacher of history and government, said Trump undermined democracy with his actions in the oval office.
“I believe in following the law,” Fowler said. “And what I’ve seen shows no respect for law and no respect for the Constitution.”
Disclosure: New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O’Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer.
TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/14/texas-protests-anti-trump-immigration-no-kings/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
The post Texas ”No Kings” protests oppose Trump’s immigration tactics appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning
The article presents the perspectives of protestors critical of President Trump’s immigration policies and perceived authoritarianism. While it largely reports facts and includes quotes from demonstrators, the framing and language lean sympathetic to the protestors’ cause. The repeated emphasis on the terms like “authoritarian,” “abuse,” and “executive overreach,” as well as quotes that cast Trump and Gov. Abbott in a negative light without significant counterbalance, reflect a left-leaning editorial stance. Though there are mentions of pro-Trump counter-protesters and statements from officials, these are brief and do not provide an equal ideological counterweight. The overall tone supports progressive concerns.
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