skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State of the Texas Judiciary: Not Enough Support for Veterans

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 18, 2015   

AUSTIN, Texas - The chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court delivers his State of the Judiciary before a joint session of the Texas House and Senate today, and the needs of veterans will figure prominently in the address.

Chief Justice Nathan Hecht said he'll speak about the efforts to improve access to justice for veterans who can face a myriad of civil legal issues as they return from deployment.

"Veterans coming back from service often have difficulty obtaining the benefits we promised them," Hecht said. "Sometimes, unfortunately, they come back to families that have atrophied, jobs that are hard to find, homes in jeopardy of foreclosure, debt collection and other things."

Hecht said those are all matters with which attorneys can help, and while many lawyers in Texas do agree to take cases pro bono (or without pay), some 80 percent of veterans still must be turned away because there isn't enough funding for legal assistance.

Because of that shortage of available help, Hecht said, in today's address he will ask state lawmakers to fill that gap with $4 million over the next two years.

"It's a very strong belief in the military that you must not leave any soldier behind," he said. "We just don't want them to come back and find that the freedoms and the people that they fought for have deserted them."

Texas has the second-highest veteran population of any state in the nation, with around 1.7 million former service members.

More on legal aid for Texas veterans is online at tlsc.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021