Texas prosecutors sue Ken Paxton over rules to rein in 'rogue' DAs

DALLAS - District attorneys in large Texas urban areas have filed lawsuits against the attorney general's office challenging the constitutionality of new rules that target those prosecutors.

Reporting rule changes

Last month, it became a requirement for district and county attorneys that represent an area with a population of more than 400,000 people to provide "performance reports" to Attorney General Ken Paxton's office and provide certain case files. The rule currently applies to just 13 of Texas' 254 counties.

District attorneys in Dallas, Bexar and Harris counties are calling the new rule "expansive, improper and unconstitutional."

On Friday, those district attorneys filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court and called for a temporary injunction to block the rule from being enforced.

A similar lawsuit was filed by district and county attorneys in Travis and El Paso counties.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot called the rules a violation of the separation of powers between the executive branch and the judicial branch in a statement and said the rules would impede justice in those counties with the enhanced reporting requirements.

What they're saying:

"To make matters worse, the rule’s extremely burdensome reporting requirements will cause district attorney’s offices to divert resources and staff away from core prosecutorial roles and responsibilities, which harms public safety and the administration of justice," Creuzot said. "And it will cost Dallas County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to pay for the technology and resources needed to identify and produce all of the responsive information under these unnecessary reporting requirements."

The other side:

Paxton said the rules help Texans determine if elected officials are failing to uphold their obligations by not prosecuting certain crimes and allowing "dangerous criminals" to be released.

"District and County Attorneys have a duty to protect the communities they serve by upholding the law and vigorously prosecuting dangerous criminals," Paxton said. "In many major counties, the people responsible for safeguarding millions of Texans have instead endangered lives by refusing to prosecute criminals and allowing violent offenders to terrorize law-abiding Texans. This rule will enable citizens to hold rogue DA's accountable." 

The new reporting requirements have prosecutors sending information on internal policies, how funds obtained through civil forfeiture are spent and internal communications about indictment decisions. Those decisions would include the number of times a police officer was indicted and how many times the office indicted someone for election code violations.

District attorneys that do not comply with the reporting rules could find themselves charged with official misconduct and removed from office.

"AG Paxton should be working with all district and county attorneys in pursuit of justice, not picking fights with the Democrats in large cities," Creuzot said.

Travis and El Paso Counties

In a separate lawsuit, prosecutors in Travis and El Paso counties filed to block the new rules from going into effect.

Delia Garza, Travis County Attorney, and Christina Sanchez, El Paso County Attorney, argue the new rules are unconstitutional and violate separation of powers.

What they're saying:

"This lawsuit is about protecting confidential information of our most vulnerable population and an unconstitutional overreach. It's about keeping our promise to the residents of our jurisdictions and respecting the rule of law," Garza said.

Garza said the move seemed political since the offices are already required to respond to open records requests.

The county attorneys say the first year's reports are estimated to cost $3 million to prepare.

"We are concerned also about the financial implications that those counties will have to bear," Sanchez said.

Plus, there could be confidential information about victims. 

"Making all information available to the AG office will bring into question the role of advocates and how we can ensure the safety of victims if their information is disseminated," Stephanie Richardson, victim services director with the Travis County Attorney's Office, said.

The other side:

In response to the lawsuit, Paxton says in a statement:

"It is no surprise that rogue DAs who would rather turn violent criminals loose on the streets than do their jobs are afraid of transparency and accountability. My DA reporting rule is a simple, straightforward, common-sense measure that will shed light on local officials who are abdicating their responsibility to public safety. This lawsuit is meritless and merely a sad, desperate attempt to conceal information from the public they were sworn to protect." 

Garza said of the "rogue DA" comments that voters can choose someone else if they aren't satisfied with the jobs of the current elected officials.

"Ken Paxton was not elected to be the prosecutor of Travis County. Delia Garza was elected to prosecute misdemeanor crimes and Jose Garza was elected prosecute felonies," Garza said.

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