Texas in Brief
By The Associated Press

AUSTIN (AP) _ The executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Wednesday he anticipated no need to immediately close more areas of prisons or adjust inmate populations to address the continued shortage of corrections officers.

"We have no planned moves at this time," Brad Livingston said. "Obviously, we have an ongoing process."

A 300-inmate wing of the 1,300-bed Dalhart Unit was closed in October because of a shortage of guards.

Also in October, prison officials transferred 282 high-security inmates from the Beto Unit near Palestine to other prisons. They were replaced with inmates who require the supervision of fewer guards.

At a Texas Board of Criminal Justice meeting Wednesday, Livingston said the agency had 3,750 officer vacancies, or about 15 percent of the force, and that the vacancy rate had "worsened slightly."

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Immigration agency says Farmers Branch needs OK to access records

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) _ This Dallas suburb could face a major hurdle in its latest effort to keep illegal immigrants from renting in the city: no access to a database that would help determine whether applicants are in the country legally.

Farmers Branch wants U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Homeland Security Department, to check the immigration status of thousands of renters for a new ordinance passed Tuesday night that requires prospective tenants of homes or apartments to get licenses.

The ordinance says the city building inspector would verify the information of people who say they are not U.S. citizens with the federal government, who would then report back on their immigration status.

But officials with Citizenship and Immigration Services said Wednesday the city first must seek an agreement with the agency for Farmers Branch workers to access the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database.

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High court justice use campaign funds questioned

AUSTIN (AP) _ Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht said Wednesday he used campaign cash to pay for dozens of flights to his hometown last year because he was campaigning, even though he's not up for re-election until 2012.

Hecht, who is elected statewide, is the third of nine Supreme Court justices to face similar campaign finance questions recently, in addition to Justices Paul Green and David Medina.

According to campaign finance reports, Hecht reported 42 payments to airlines for instate trips last year and acknowledged that "a good bit" of them were for travel to his hometown of Carrollton, where he still owns a home and attends church. There were also six other payments to airlines for trips outside the state, primarily to Washington, D.C.

Using political contributions for personal use is against state law, and the Texas Ethics Commission has interpreted the law to ban appellate judges from using campaign donations to pay the costs of commuting between the judge's home city and the city where the court is located.

Hecht said his homestead has been in Travis County for 20 years, but he has a lot of friends in Carrollton.

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Harris County prosecutors grappling with invalidated indictments

HOUSTON (AP) _ Harris County prosecutors grappled Wednesday with fallout from invalidated indictments handed up by a grand jury against a Texas Supreme Court justice and more than 30 others in an unrelated mortgage fraud case.

State District Judge Jim Wallace on Tuesday wiped out the indictments against Supreme Court Justice David Medina and his wife, Francisca, and against three dozen defendants in a mortgage fraud case because he said the paperwork extending the grand jury's term was improperly drafted.

Even before Wallace's action, the Harris County District Attorney's Office had already dismissed the indictments last week, claiming it did not have enough evidence against the justice to go to trial, infuriating grand jurors.

"Why did they bring the case to the grand jury if they didn't want the grand jury to do its job?" the Houston Chronicle quoted Wallace as saying. "At that point in time, you ought to stand by, and abide by, what the grand jury wishes to do."

A second grand jury on Wednesday began hearing evidence in the mortgage fraud case involving $5.6 million and 20 properties.