Five district attorneys sue Ken Paxton to block new rule requiring them to hand over case records

Five Texas territory attorneys are suing Attorney General Ken Paxton successful 2 abstracted lawsuits filed Friday implicit caller rules that would springiness the state’s apical instrumentality enforcer meticulous entree to their office’s records.

The 2 lawsuits, filed successful Travis County District Court, question to overturn a caller regularisation created by Paxton’s bureau giving the lawyer wide office’s employees discretion to petition astir each documents from cases region officials enactment on, careless of whether they are being pursued. The territory attorneys suing Paxton said the regularisation is an unconstitutional overreach that would needlessly load offices who would person to contiguous “terabytes” of information to the lawyer general.

The rule, which took effect successful April, lone applies to counties with 400,000 residents oregon much — a threshold lone 13 counties successful the authorities meets. Paxton’s bureau has marked the proviso arsenic a mode to “rein successful rogue territory attorneys” refusing to uphold the law. District attorneys from Travis and El Paso counties filed 1 suit, portion territory attorneys from Harris, Dallas and Bexar counties filed another. Both question to artifact Paxton from being capable to enforce the rule, alleging it violates the authorities constitution and national law.

The background: The regularisation was primitively projected successful the administrative codification successful September 2024 arsenic Chapter 56 and requires territory attorneys to supply each documents oregon communications produced oregon received by territory attorneys’ offices, including confidential information.

Included successful the rule’s explanation of “case file” materials eligible for reappraisal are each documents, correspondence and handwritten notes applicable to a case. It besides requires counties to taxable quarterly reports to the lawyer wide connected twelve different subjects, including circumstantial accusation connected indictments of constabulary officers oregon for violations of predetermination code.

The caller Chapter 56 rules mention a 1985 statute prompting territory and region attorneys to study accusation to the lawyer wide “in the signifier that the lawyer wide directs.” To enforce the postulation of documents and communication, the regularisation would make an “oversight advisory committee” composed of employees from the lawyer general’s office. The committee would beryllium capable to petition full lawsuit files from territory attorneys astatine their discretion. Failing to supply the requested documentation to the advisory committee would effect successful “official misconduct” nether the rule, allowing a territory justice to region a territory lawyer from office.

Why the territory attorneys sued: The 2 lawsuits some assertion the instrumentality cited by the caller Chapter 56 does not supply Paxton’s bureau with the sweeping jurisdiction the regularisation creates — and that providing the accusation requested would beryllium some costly and illegal. One suit from Dallas, Harris and Bexar region attorneys claims the regularisation seeks to execute a “political objective” by burdening officials and creating strict consequences for noncompliance.

“These reporting requirements bash not marque communities safer,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said. “They bash not place trends, amended transparency, oregon heighten nationalist trust. Instead, they make barriers that divert constricted resources distant from what matters most, which is prosecuting convulsive offenders and protecting our community.”

The trio’s suit besides maintains the regularisation violates the Texas Constitution’s protections connected separation of powers due to the fact that the lawyer wide has “no authority” to grow the explanation of authoritative misconduct.

The 2nd suit filed by the territory attorneys from El Paso and Travis counties marks akin issues with the caller rule, and besides claims it would necessitate illegally forfeiting the backstage accusation of victims moving with their offices. In a property merchandise from March, Paxton’s bureau states the caller regularisation volition assistance “assist citizens” successful judging prosecutors’ performance, which attorneys successful the 2nd suit interest indicates backstage accusation could beryllium shared with the public.

“The Challenged Rules purport to necessitate an unprecedented level of disclosure of privileged and confidential accusation from lone immoderate of the State’s prosecutors for the sole intent of

unconstitutional oversight,” the suit reads.

What Paxton says: The lawyer wide has lauded the caller regularisation arsenic a mode to assistance the nationalist amended recognize however their section prosecutors are operating, and make consequences for those who bash not act. In a connection to the Texas Tribune astir the lawsuit, Paxton called the regularisation a “straightforward, common-sense measure” that aims to shed airy connected attorneys who whitethorn beryllium refusing to prosecute unsafe crimes.

"It is nary astonishment that rogue DAs who would alternatively crook convulsive criminals escaped connected the streets than bash their jobs are acrophobic of transparency and accountability,” Paxton said successful a connection astir the suit from Dallas, Harris and Bexar region officials. “This suit is meritless and simply a sad, hopeless effort to conceal accusation from the nationalist they were sworn to protect."

Paxton’s bureau besides waived concerns astir perchance burdensome clip oregon fiscal costs, stating successful the Texas Register that their appraisal finds “minimal, if any, fiscal impact.”

Other factors: The caller regularisation is not the lone mode elected officials successful Texas person sought to rein successful “rogue” territory attorneys successful caller years done a akin enforcement mechanism. The authorities Legislature passed House Bill 17 successful 2023, which allows courts to remove territory attorneys who garbage to prosecute definite crimes, besides done “official misconduct” designation.

Republican lawmakers astatine the clip rallied down the measure aft criticizing Democratic territory attorneys for not pursuing alleged elector fraud oregon prosecuting abortion-related cases. José Garza, the Democratic territory lawyer for Travis County who joined El Paso and Bexar counties successful suing Paxton, was unsuccessfully sued done the law’s proviso successful 2024.

First circular of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the signifier Nov. 13–15 successful Austin. Get your tickets today!