Change v. Tradition, lawyers v. journalists, and other perennial conflicts

Lots of tidbits this morning competing for Grits attention:

Travis DA race: Change v. Tradition
At the Austin Chronicle, Michael King has a pair of interviews with challenger Charlie Baird and incumbent Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg in what shapes up to be a dandy of a Democratic primary race between two political and legal veterans during which, judging from these interviews, many seldom-discussed aspects of the justice system will be vetted.

APD crime lab whistleblower interviewed
In Austin, KVUE-TV has an interview with the whistleblower alleging violations at the APD crime lab.

Dumped
Video: Littlefield, Texas: 'Meet town bankrupted by private prisons."

Dumped?
Liberty County is considering un-privatizing their jail and letting the Sheriff run it. The facility is currently run by Community Education Centers.

It's the checkpoints, stupid
No surprise to Grits readers, but the Texas Tribune reports that most contraband crossing into Texas from Mexico comes in at the checkpoints, not through the empty regions in between, which is one of many reasons this blog always opposed a border wall as misdirected enforcement.

Senate Criminal Justice interim charges
Interim charges (pdf) for the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee include studies of money laundering, the Crime Victims Compensation fund, the bail bond industry, solitary confinement (ad seg) at TDCJ, prescription drug abuse, and school discipline.

Senate Homeland Security charges
Interim charges (pdf) for the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee of interest to Grits' topic areas include the effect of drug trafficking and cartel violence on the economy, 911 staffing, limitations of using national guard for border security, the anticipated impact of the Panama Canal expansion,  oversized vehicle enforcement (as it relates to preventing road damage), and pursuing toll scofflaws.

Okie prosecutors seek probation profits
In Oklahoma, prosecutors have begun taking on probation supervision duties for low-risk offenders, the Wall Street Journal reports, with an eye toward a new revenue source from offender fees. But critics wonder exactly how much supervising is going on.

Lawyers v. Journalists, innocence edition
Unless you've been on the inside of such fights - and Grits has occasionally found himself on both sides, over the years, as well as in the middle of such feuds - it's difficult to grasp the good-faith conflicts that arise thanks to the differing roles of journalists and lawyers. This story from the ABA Journal about innocence project work at Northwestern University captures some of those conflicts better than most depictions.