Five Texas district attorneys are suing state Attorney General Ken Paxton over a new rule that would require them to give Paxton meticulous access to their office’s case records. ((AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
All documents, correspondence and handwritten notes relevant to a case 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 election 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 resources and staff away from core prosecutorial roles and responsibilities, which harms public safety and the administration of justice," Creuzot said in a statement. "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 the responsive information under these unnecessary reporting requirements."
Paxton’s office has claimed the provision is a way to "rein in rogue district attorneys" refusing to uphold the law. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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In response to the lawsuits, Paxton said 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 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," 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 officials and creating strict consequences for noncompliance.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-ag-ken-paxton-sued-over-new-rule-rein-rogue-das-allowing-him-access-case-records