Sunday, June 20, 2021

Abbott vetoes demonstrate continued antipathy toward #cjreform, bootlicking toward police unions

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My better half, Kathy Mitchell, posted this on Facebook about Gov. Abbott's criminal-justice vetoes, and since I hadn't written anyt...
Monday, June 14, 2021

Travis County jail expansion makes no sense, so of course they might do it anyway

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For many years, combating unnecessary jail expansion around the state was a central focus of this blog. But over time, the jail building boo...
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Expungements for old weapons charges under Texas' new unlicensed-carry law could be widespread, but likely initially limited

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Much have been made of the public-safety implications of Texas passing unlicensed-open-carry legislation (HB 1927) in the wake of mass shoot...
9 comments:
Thursday, June 03, 2021

New TX homeless ban creates unfunded mandates for cities: Costs downplayed during #txlege process but cities must foot bill to store homeless belongings and can't limit arrests to ↓ costs

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A Joint Memo From the Unintended Consequences and Unfunded Mandates Departments: Now that the Texas Legislature has passed HB 1925 criminal...
10 comments:
Thursday, May 27, 2021

Fascism Unsheathed: Let's be very clear about what just happened at the #txlege

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For many years, your correspondent has sought to work in a bipartisan fashion at the Texas Legislature on criminal-justice reform, and I'...
17 comments:
Friday, May 21, 2021

On the Myth of Prison Closures Generating Cost Savings: How TDCJ can ↓ prisoners by 20% and still see costs rise nine figures per biennium

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From the earliest days your correspondent first showed up at the Texas Legislature, I've been grumpy about how they score "fiscal ...
14 comments:
Monday, May 17, 2021

Might "anti-defund" legislation demilitarize and redefine 21st century policing? On the predictable if unintended consequences of micromanaging city budget decisions

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Grits has been thinking about "defund the police" legislation ( HB 1900 ) at the Texas Legislature, which seeks to punish Austin&#...
6 comments:
Monday, May 10, 2021

Austin PD failed to define 'resistance' that justifies use of force, made up 'unique' category of force vs. suspects who're 'fixing to' resist

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In 2008, Austin PD changed its "use of force" policy to  a "response to resistance" policy, enacting a "Dynamic Res...
4 comments:
Sunday, May 09, 2021

A #cjreform update for 'The Devil's Dictionary'

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" The Devil's Dictionary " by Ambrose Bierce remains one of my all-time favorite satirical works. But it's become increasi...
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Friday, May 07, 2021

Five Observations and a Prediction: Why police budget hikes could become a thing of the past in Texas if HB 1900 becomes law

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In no particular order, here are five observations and a prediction about a week filled with losses for the Texas criminal-justice reform mo...
Thursday, May 06, 2021

Academy relaunch premature until Austin PD eschews hazing culture

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The Austin City Council today will consider relaunching its police academy after it was shuttered amidst allegations of cadet hazing and a &...
Monday, May 03, 2021

The #TexasGeorgeFloydAct: What component bills are still moving in the #txlege homestretch?

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Over the weekend, your correspondent put together an update on the status of all the various bills that make up the Texas George Floyd Act ...
2 comments:
Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Unions fighting police reforms up at #txlege on Thursday

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Three bills scheduled for votes on Thursday on the floor of the Texas House are all stand-alone parts of the Texas George Floyd Act: HBs 829...
6 comments:
Friday, April 23, 2021

Assessing status of police-reform bills as #txlege reaches inflection point

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The Texas Tribune published a story in the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict interviewing families of police brutality victims pushing for ...
2 comments: