Austin, TX
New Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for judicial raises, changes to bail laws
:focal(0x0:3000x2000)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/08f29d592627d2ee5b25950b3cce994b/0226%20State%20of%20the%20Judiciary%20BD%20TT%2001.jpg?ssl=1 "New Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for judicial raises, changes to bail laws")
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In his first address to the Texas Legislature, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock struck a more ideological tone than his predecessor, proudly embracing constitutional originalism, a judicial philosophy often associated with conservatives.
“Our Constitution means the same thing yesterday, today and tomorrow, until the people of Texas decide to change it,” he said. “This is called constitutional originalism, and under this Supreme Court, it is the law in Texas.”
He contrasted this with the idea, more typically associated with the left, that the Constitution is a living document that should evolve with changing times.
“In Texas, under this Supreme Court, the living Constitution is dead,” Blacklock said, to cheers and applause from the joint session of state representatives and senators who gathered for the biannual State of the Judiciary speech.
Before he was appointed to the bench in 2017, Blacklock worked under Gov. Greg Abbott, first at the attorney general’s office and then as his general counsel, helping lead some of Texas’ biggest legal fights on abortion, voting access, gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act.
Abbott appointed him chief justice in January to replace Nathan Hecht, who stepped down due to the mandatory judicial retirement age. Hecht was the longest serving Supreme Court justice in Texas history, spending 36 years on the high court, 10 of them as chief justice, and 43 years as a judge.
“He first became a judge just a few days after my first birthday in 1981,” Blacklock noted in his speech. “All of his fellow Texans, young and old, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat, owe Nathan Hecht a great debt of gratitude for his tireless and principled work to promote the rule of law and to make justice a greater reality for every Texan.”
The chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court addresses the Legislature biannually on behalf of the judicial branch. Blacklock reported that Texas’ judiciary was in good shape, but he nonetheless was “going to make a few suggestions, perhaps a few complaints” to legislators about how things could be improved.
He echoed years of calls, from Hecht and others, to increase judicial salaries, saying the base pay for district judges had not been raised since 2013, putting Texas 48th out of 50 states for judicial salaries. The Judicial Compensation Commission has recommended a 30% pay increase across the board for judges, which Blacklock said was necessary to attract and retain talented lawyers to the profession.
“If these were just any government employees, those of you who know me know that I would be more likely to recommend a Department of Government Efficiency than a pay raise,” he said, referring to the controversial federal cost-cutting effort run by tech billionaire Elon Musk. “But we’re not talking about any bureaucrats. We’re talking about the constitutional officers of a co-equal branch of government.”
Blacklock said these raises were necessary while also calling out a “few judges who may not be working as hard as the job demands.” He said he had “no patience” for these alleged slackers, and would use his authority as chief justice to identify “problem judges,” using clearance rates and other metrics to figure out where there were weak spots and pushing to have those judges removed from the bench if necessary.
The framers of the Constitution, he said, “gave us tools to fix these problems in the very rare cases where they arise, and if we forget about these tools, or we don’t use them because we think it would be too difficult, or it might make us look bad, then we’re not allowing our Constitution to operate the way it was designed.”
Blacklock threw his support behind the legislative effort to tighten restrictions on when a defendant can be let out on bail, which Abbott has designated an emergency item. He said this was necessary to support law enforcement, as there were people out there who would find ways to do evil, no matter how many laws the Legislature passed to stop them.
“They aren’t stopped by laws written on paper or by judges and voters,” he said. “The only thing that can stop a bad man with a gun who means to do evil is a good man with a gun who means to do justice.”
For many years, Hecht used this speech to call on more funding for legal aid programs that helped low-income Texans access the civil legal system. Blacklock said that remained a focus for the “court as a whole”, but his energy would go toward systemic reforms that make legal services more affordable for everyone. He said he would be open to proposals, which Hecht and others have backed, to allow non-lawyers to provide some basic legal services.
Blacklock concluded his speech by calling for changes to the child welfare system to allow families to stay together more easily, saying using the “coercive power of the state … to destroy a family should never be our first instinct.”
“It’s tempting when we see these children in these desperate circumstances to want them removed quickly from their failed parents for their protection,” he said. “But we have to remember this, just as surely as God made those precious children, God made that family.”
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) received a $10,000 donation and 30 pet beds on Thursday.
The donation was from Robert Thiele, an Amazon delivery driver and owner of Clark Courier Services, which was named in honor of his late bulldog, Clark, who passed away this spring after a battle with cancer.
“I named Clark Courier Services after Clark because just like our drivers, he delivered smiles every single day. In a world full of best friends, Clark was the bestest,” said Thiele.
According to Amazon, the donated pet beds were given a second life through Amazon Re:Turn, which repurposes textiles from customer returns that could not be resold or donated.
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Amazon delivers $10,000 donation and pet beds to APA! (KXAN photo/Tim Holcomb)
As a surprise for Thiele, APA! unveiled memorial plaques dedicated to Clark on shelter kennels, which were inscribed with his name and the words “forever delivering.”
“Our Delivery Service Partners are local, small business owners embedded in the communities they serve. Robert’s been delivering in Austin for nearly seven years, and he’s not just moving packages. He’s showing up for the people, the pets, and the neighborhoods around him. That’s what this program is about,” said Emma Crowley, Amazon spokesperson. “Today, we got to give a little back to someone who has and will continue to give so much to others.”
Almost one year ago today, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in the losers’ bracket of their own regional, falling to the No. 3 seed UTSA Roadrunners in the 2025 Austin Regional.
For just a brief moment, it looked as if history was going to repeat itself once again, as the No. 3-seeded Tarleton State Texans got another chance at an upset, beating the Longhorns back in the regular season, 6-1, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
But today, history was not going to repeat itself — the team that the Texans saw in the regular season was a different animal than the iteration in the winners’ bracket. Under another furious day at the plate for Texas, and an outstanding night on the mound for Dylan Volantis, Texas was not going to fall into the losers’ bracket for a second consecutive year.
“Obviously that guy on the mound, he’s one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in college baseball for a reason,” said Tarleton State head coach Fuller Smith about Volantis. “We didn’t do a very good job, and I don’t know if we would beat anybody tonight, to be honest.”
Longhorns Look Unstoppable
If the past two days proved anything, Texas is playing its best baseball at the most crucial time of the season — in all three fronts of the game.
After a poor showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament by the Longhorns’ top three hitters. Aiden Robbins, Carson Tinney, and Anthony Pack Jr. have carried the brunt of the Texas offense in the postseason.
In the second inning alone, the trio rocketed three straight home runs to put the Texans down an early 6-0 hole, a deficit they would not come out of.
“I remember when I stepped on home plate [Anthony] Pack Jr. greeted me at home,” Tinney said. I looked at him, I was like, ‘It’s your turn now.’ And then two pitches later, he sent one out.”
Defensively, the Longhorns’ outfield, which struggled trying to find the right combination, has finally found the right grouping in Robbins, Pack Jr., and Dariyan Pendergrass.
Robbins and Pendergrass both were able to come up with deep fly ball grabs in the past two games. In the infield, missing core member Ethan Mendoza at second base, nonetheless, has yet to skip a beat.
“Pendergrass is a pretty veteran player, he’s been around the block a few times in college baseball,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Aiden has been a great teammate — Pack [Jr.] has improved greatly over the course of time.”
However, the real star of the regional so far has been the dominance on the mound from starters Luke Harrison and Volantis.
In the regional defining game, Volantis had no issue tossing up the Tarleton State order, who found great success against UC-Santa Barbara in the opening game. The sophomore pitcher lasted 6.2 innings, tossing seven strikeouts and allowing just three hits on the night.
With the giant lead by the time Volantis was pulled in the sixth inning, the Longhorns still have not used any of their premier relief arms in this regional.
“Those two innings were definitely helpful [in the SEC Tournament],” Volnatis said. “I definitely could have done the same without those two innings today.”
Texas now awaits a third rematch with Tarleton State or UC Santa Barbara and will not have to face either of their premier arms — notably Guachos pitcher Jackson Flora, a surefire first-round selection in this year’s MLB Draft.
The Longhorns will roll with Ruger Riojas tomorrow night and likely unload its best arms who have not seen action since the final regular season series against Missouri to seal up their first regional victory in three seasons.
“It’s always good to stay in the winner’s bracket and avoid those moments, but we haven’t won anything yet. We won two games,” Schlossnagle said. “I’m certainly excited about how we played to this point and yes, I’m glad we don’t have to play two tomorrow, but the tournament’s not over.”
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AUSTIN, Texas — One person is dead but has not been identified after the Austin Police Department responded to the scene of a deceased person call in South Austin Saturday afternoon.
According to officials, a deceased person was located in a parking lot just at around 12:25 p.m. at the 4400 Block of Pack Saddle Pass after officers responded to a check welfare urgent call.
The victim was pronounced deceased at 12:36 p.m. The incident is being investigated as a suspicious death, it is not being investigated as a homicide.
ALSO: I-35 frontage road at Williams Drive reopens after rollover crash with serious injuries
The identity of the victim is still unknown, and the age and sex of the victim has not been released.
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Anyone with information that could help the investigation is encouraged to call the APD homicide unit at 512-477-3588 or APD Crimestoppers at 512-472-8477.
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