EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A Texas judge has granted a temporary injunction to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s new rules for prosecutors after a lawsuit by El Paso County and other counties, according to the news release by the El Paso County Attorney’s Office on Friday afternoon, June 20.
According to the news release, the blocked rule, which was set to take effect on June 30, would require district and county attorneys in Texas’ largest counties to “submit sweeping reports that included full criminal case files containing confidential records, privileged communications and sensitive data about victims, witnesses and defendants.”
Additionally, failure to comply with the new rules could result in charges of “official misconduct” and potential removal from office, the County Attorney’s Office said.
Attached below is the judge’s signed order, courtesy of the County Attorney’s Office.
The ruling came after a Travis County judge heard arguments from three combined lawsuits: El Paso and Travis counties; Fort Bend and Williamson counties; and Dallas, Bexar and Harris counties, according to the County Attorney’s Office.
The judge’s order states that Paxton and his office must immediately stop enforcing or carrying out any part of the rules while litigation continues, the news release read.
“This decision prevents a massive and unconstitutional overreach by the Attorney General,”
El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said. “It protects victims’ privacy, spares our communities from unfunded mandates and preserves our ability to focus on public safety.”
According to the County Attorney’s Office, the following are the key impacts resulting from the ruling:
- Upholds judicial independence: Affirms that the attorney general cannot supervise or penalize local prosecutors.
- Protects confidential records: Prevents the forced disclosure of grand jury materials,
mental health records, juvenile files and attorney work product. - Avoids massive costs: Saves counties millions in estimated compliance expenses — El
Paso County alone anticipated reviewing more than 50,000 cases. - Preserves prosecutorial focus: Allows prosecutors to concentrate on casework.
“We would have been forced to reassign attorneys and staff, upgrade technology and divert millions from essential services — all to meet a demand the Attorney General has no legal right to make,” Sanchez said.
According to the County Attorney’s Office, the court found the rules likely violated the Texas Constitution’s separation of powers by granting Paxton, an executive official, oversight over locally elected prosecutors who operate independently.
“That means they can’t take any steps to implement the rules, investigate or penalize anyone
for not following them, or encourage others to do so. They’re also barred from using internal
policies or procedures tied to the rules, including any new reporting requirements,” the County Attorney’s Office said.
El Paso District Attorney James Montoya called the judge’s ruling a “clear win for justice and local autonomy.”
“This ruling confirms that Ken Paxton’s unilateral attempt to impose unnecessary reporting
requirements on local prosecutors is not only poor public policy — wasting time and resources
better spent prosecuting cases — but also unconstitutional and unlawful under Texas law,” Montoya said.
In addition, the judge also ordered Paxton’s office to post a copy of the court order on its website by June 30, the news release read.
The County Attorney’s Office said a full trial for the case is set at 9 a.m. on Dec. 8, and the attorney general is expected to appeal.
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