The new rules require district attorneys in counties with 400,000 or more people to submit reports and provide certain case files to state officials.
DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this week was barred from enforcing sweeping new rules and reporting requirements for prosecutors in large counties — at least for now.
A Travis County judge this week temporarily blocked Paxton from enforcing the new rules, which require DAs’ offices in counties with a population of 400,000 or more to submit specific performance reports to the AG’s office and provide certain case files to state officials on a regular basis, amid a lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed last month by Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot and the district attorneys in Bexar County and Harris County, among others. In the lawsuit, the prosecutors requested the court block enforcement of the new requirements and argued that Paxton overstepped his authority with the new rules, which they say overburden district and county attorneys.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot announced in a press release Wednesday that a Travis County judge had orally granted a temporary injunction Monday in that lawsuit, blocking enforcement of the new rules for now. The new requirements had been in effect since April 2.
“The temporary injunction stays the implementation of the unconstitutional and overreaching reporting rules adopted by the Texas Attorney General that impacted a mix of 13 republican and democrat district attorneys’ offices in counties with populations of 400,000 or more. Complying with the Attorney General’s new rules would have been a logistical and operational nightmare and would have cost the County and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office significant resources in time and money,” Creuzot said in a statement.
Paxton said when the new rules were announced that they’re meant to “rein in rogue district attorneys and ensure the prosecution of violent criminals.”
“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,” Paxton said in a press release announcing the new rules.