Abbott Vows Crackdown on ‘Rogue’ DAs Who Refuse to Prosecute Certain Crimes

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to rein in “rogue” prosecutors after signing a bill that allows courts to remove district attorneys for misconduct if they opt to not pursue certain types of crimes.

“A new law I signed will help rein in rogue district attorneys,” Abbott said in a tweet Monday.

Abbott signed House Bill 17 (pdf) into law earlier this month, with the measure going into effect on Sept. 1.

“Those who want to work in Texas law enforcement must uphold the laws and protect Texans,” he said in the tweet. “If not, they will be held accountable.”

The measure seeks to hold elected prosecutors accountable by prohibiting the refusal to prosecute certain types of offenses. Specifically, it treats such refusal as an act of official misconduct that is grounds for removal from office.

Abbott signed the bill as part of a broader package of eight public safety bills, including one that enhances criminal penalties for certain types of crimes and provides law enforcement with additional tools.

‘Rogue’ DA Bill

House Bill 17 was introduced by Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman earlier this year and it passed the Senate in early June in a 20–11 vote after passing both legislative houses in April.

“Unfortunately, certain Texas prosecutors have joined a trend of adopting internal policies refusing to prosecute particular laws,” Huffman said at a committee hearing in April. “These actions set a dangerous precedent and severely undermine the authority of the Legislature.”

Democrats and some civil rights groups opposed the measure, arguing that it undermines the separation of powers and that prosecutors should be able to decide which cases to prosecute and which not.

Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat from Austin, called the bill “one piece to an unsettling pattern of top-down power-grabbing.”

“Tools like prosecutorial discretion are critical—especially in a state like Texas, where our local district attorneys are directly elected by the people,” Eckhardt said.

Under the bill, Texas residents who have lived in a county for at least six months may file a petition against a prosecuting attorney accusing them of misconduct if they fail to prosecute a class or type of criminal offense, or if they instruct law enforcement to refuse to arrest individuals suspected of committing a class or type of offense.

A public statement from the prosecuting attorney stating that they plan to adopt or enforce a policy in which they fail to enforce certain laws “creates a rebuttable presumption that the prosecuting attorney committed official misconduct,” and means they can face a removal trial for official misconduct, per the bill’s text.

The legislation also removes pretrial “diversion programs” which allow for conditional dismissals of cases when permissible under state law.

If a district attorney is found guilty under the bill’s provisions, a judge may order them to be removed from office. Once such a “rogue” prosecutor has been removed, the governor can appoint a replacement until the next election yields a successor.

“If a rogue district attorney wants to be in law enforcement, they have to start by enforcing the laws of the State of Texas,” Abbott said in a June 6 statement after signing the bill into law.

Disruption to Criminal Justice

The legislation to hold district attorneys more accountable came after a group of attorneys nationwide, including five from Texas, signed an open letter (pdf) stating that they would refuse to prosecute any cases that criminalize abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Abortion is a felony under Texas law, with an exception being cases where the mother is suffering from a “life-threatening physical condition” or there is “a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

Some prosecutors have also said they do not plan to pursue charges of low-level thefts or first-time marijuana offenses.

Experts told The Epoch Times in earlier interviews that a new breed of DAs—variously called “rogue prosecutors,” “de-prosecutors,” or “Soros-funded prosecutors”—has taken district attorney’s offices by storm in recent times.

“They believe that the criminal justice system is excessively punitive and racially biased and that it is irredeemable,” Sean Kennedy, a criminal justice expert at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, told The Epoch Times. “So they’re trying to undermine it from the inside.”

The most common tactics of “rogue” prosecutors include adopting policies not to prosecute entire segments of crimes, such as nonviolent offenses, or to undercharge crimes to avoid mandatory minimum sentences.

Kennedy also said that such prosecutors tend to avoid charges that would lead to “immigration consequences,” meaning serious charges that could trigger the deportation of a criminal alien.

“Victims are particularly ignored and disregarded by these offices,” he said.

‘Soros-Funded’ DAs

The “Soros-funded” label has been applied to “rogue” prosecutors as George Soros, the billionaire founder of the Open Society Foundations, has donated substantially to the election of left-wing district attorneys.

Soros has made clear his backing for certain prosecutors. In an earlier op-ed, he explained why he has donated to “reform-minded prosecutors” and has “no intention of stopping.”

“The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public,” he wrote.

“In recent years, reform-minded prosecutors and other law-enforcement officials around the country have been coalescing around an agenda that promises to be more effective and just.”

Soros noted that this includes less-punitive criminal justice policies.

“This agenda includes prioritizing the resources of the criminal-justice system to protect people against violent crime. It urges that we treat drug addiction as a disease, not a crime. And it seeks to end the criminalization of poverty and mental illness,” he wrote.

“This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping.”

George Soros recently handed the reins of his Open Society Foundations to his son, Alex Soros, who pledged to be at least as politically involved as his father.

Katabella Roberts and Petr Svab contributed to this report.