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December 15, 2021      5:40 PM

In a solid 8 to 1 rebuke of Texas AG Paxton, all-GOP Court of Criminal Appeals ends his ability to unilaterally prosecute election law cases

A ground-breaking decision out of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today has ended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ability to unilaterally prosecute election law cases.

This opinion of a court dominated by Republicans confirms the long-held belief of several key Democratic district attorneys in the state who considered Paxton’s independent pursuit of election- law cases – like Hervis Rogers being arrested in Houston after voting in the Super Tuesday election in 2020 – to be beyond his authority.

The district attorneys, led by Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton, filed a friend of the court brief in the case Stephens v The State of Texas, insisting the Texas Constitution prohibits the Legislature from conferring authority for the attorney general to pursue prosecutions of criminal matters.

District or county attorneys must invite the AG to intercede, they argued.

By Kimberly Reeves

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