Texas Judge Rules State Parole Officials Can Be Held Liable

A federal judge in Texas has ordered that state parole officials can be held personally liable by inmates suing over restrictive sex-offender conditions required of them, even though they were never convicted of a sex crime.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel issued the order in Austin late on May 18. The Austin American-Statesman reports Yeakel blasted the state’s persistent refusal to provide due process hearings before imposing the sex-offender restrictions.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice have argued that the state can unilaterally impose the restrictions without a hearing to ensure public safety.