A Texas appeals court once again blocked Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing new rules that would require prosecutors in large, mostly Democratic counties to send his office detailed reports.
The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court’s order blocking the rules after a lawsuit from several district attorneys, including Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot.
The court ruled Paxton does not have the legal authority under the Texas Government Code to require the proposed ongoing reports.
"Based on the plain language of [the code], the Legislature did not expressly grant rulemaking authority to the Attorney General, nor can rulemaking power be implied where no such authority is expressly granted," Justice Scott K. Field wrote in the three-judge panel's opinion.
In his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Scott Brister said Paxton can request information under the Texas Government Code for specific cases, but it does not grant him authority to place blanket requirements.
The injunction is not statewide, and only applies to the cities and counties who sued. The appeals court’s ruling stays in place while the case continues in trial court.
KERA News reached out to the attorney general's office for comment and will update this story with any response.
The rules, adopted earlier this year, would have mandated prosecutors in counties with a population greater than 400,000 — most of which are Democratic counties — to turn over large amounts of information including internal emails and sensitive case files involving victims and witnesses.
Under those rules, attorneys who do not comply would be found to have committed "official misconduct" and could lose their seat.
Critics argue Paxton issued the rules in order to influence how and when elected prosecutors handle cases.
The judges agreed that enforcing the rules could pull prosecutors away from public safety work and risk exposing confidential information.
Creuzot called the ruling a step in the right direction, saying via press release the rules could cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
“While this ruling is only preliminary, it shows progress in the right direction,” Creuzot said. “Yet another court has ruled that Attorney General Paxton overstepped his authority by proposing to enforce these rules.”
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.
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