Texas AG Ken Paxton sued over new rule to rein in 'rogue' DAs by allowing him access to their case records

Five Texas district attorneys are suing state Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging new rules that would give his office broad authority to access their office s episode records according to a new record In the two lawsuits filed on Friday the district attorneys announced the rule in effect since April is an unconstitutional overreach that violates the separation of powers and would impose unnecessary burdens on county prosecutors The Texas Tribune shared District attorneys in Dallas Bexar and Harris counties filed one lawsuit while district attorneys in Travis and El Paso counties filed another Both lawsuits seek to block Paxton from enforcing the rule arguing that it violates the state constitution and federal law The rule created by Paxton's office applies to counties with at least residents impacting only of Texas' counties The Texas Tribune published It requires district attorneys to provide all documents or communications produced or received by their offices including confidential information TEXAS GOV ABBOTT SIGNS BILLION VOUCHER PROJECT INTO LAW CAPPING OFF WIN FOR SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATESAll documents correspondence and handwritten notes relevant to a development can be subject to review according to the outlet Counties must also submit quarterly reports to the attorney general on twelve different subjects including specific information on indictments of police officers and the number of times indictments were issued for electoral contest code violations Information on internal policies and how funds obtained through civil forfeiture are spent would also need to be turned over under the new rule Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot described the rules as a violation of the separation of powers between the executive branch and the judicial branch To make matters worse the rule s extremely burdensome reporting requirements will cause district attorneys' offices to divert support and staff away from core prosecutorial roles and responsibilities which harms population safety and the administration of justice Creuzot commented in a comment And it will cost Dallas County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to pay for the innovation and information needed to identify and produce all the responsive information under these unnecessary reporting requirements 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 added Paxton s office has claimed the provision is a way to rein in rogue district attorneys allegedly refusing to uphold the law District attorneys that do not comply with the reporting rule could be charged with official misconduct and removed from office District and County Attorneys have a duty to protect the communities they serve by upholding the law and vigorously prosecuting dangerous criminals Paxton disclosed in March In a great number of 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 DAs accountable JASMINE CROCKETT ACCUSED OF 'ABUSING HER POWER' AT AIRPORT BOARDING GATEIn response to the lawsuits Paxton explained Friday that 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 leaders who are abdicating their responsibility to citizens safety This lawsuit is meritless and merely a sad desperate attempt to conceal information from the community they were sworn to protect he continued The two lawsuits claim Paxton s office does not have the sweeping jurisdiction the rule creates and that providing the information requested would be expensive and illegal according to The Texas Tribune The lawsuits claim the rule seeks to achieve a political objective by burdening agents and creating strict consequences for noncompliance