Tarrant Co. DA seeks recusal after being appointed prosecutor in Dallas Co. DA's contempt case

A judge has appointed Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson to special prosecutor in the contempt of court case against Dallas County DA John Creuzot.

But she has requested to be recused.

Creuzot was held in contempt by Judge Tammy Kemp for comments about the Amber Guyger trial before the trial began, while her gag order was in place.

The Tarrant County DA learned from Creuzot's defense attorney that she had been named special prosecutor.

She then filed her own recusal motion.

One legal observer said her reason for not trying the case is valid, but there’s another reason that any DA may not want to serve as special prosecutor: John Creuzot.

Now that Judge Kemp has been removed from presiding over the contempt of court case she brought against Dallas County DA Creuzot, the case is moving forward, but with more complications along the way.

Senior Justice John McCraw Jr., sitting by assignment on the Fifth Court of Appeals, has been appointed to preside over the contempt proceedings.

Tarrant County DA Sharen Wilson was named by Judge McCraw to serve as special prosecutor and try the case against Creuzot.

Wilson quickly filed to be recused from the case, saying, “...her appointment...will interfere with her duties as the elected criminal district attorney...and would interfere with other pressing responsibilities."

Mike Howard is adjunct professor at UNT Dallas School of Law.

“District attorneys, like Sharen Wilson, have their own jobs and their own duties to perform, and that this could interfere with that,” Howard explained.

The contempt charge stems from questions Creuzot was asked and answered about the Amber Guyger murder trial while being interviewed by FOX4. Judge Kemp considered it a violation of her gag order.

To prosecute the case against Creuzot would take an investigation, hearings, and it could go all the way to trial.

Howard thinks it will be difficult for any area district attorney to say yes to prosecuting the Dallas County DA.

“I think any prosecutor within the Metroplex, within the area, is going to have some sort of tie or connection to John Creuzot, simply because he's been in the legal community for so long as a district judge, and before that, as an assistant district attorney,” Howard explained.

If Wilson's recusal request is granted, the process of finding a prosecutor to try the case will begin again.

“What’s going to happen is the judge who is presiding is going to have to appoint someone else, and either they take it, or they also remove themselves, and if that continues to happen, this may go on for a while,” Howard added.

If no district attorney in contiguous counties to Dallas accepts special prosecutor status, the judge could then expand his search for a DA to try the case, or ask the attorney general to serve as prosecutor.

A DA could also take the charge from the judge, look at the case, and then dismiss.