Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot could potentially be removed from office now that a new law passed by the Texas Legislature has gone into effect.
HB 17 expanded the definition of official misconduct to include the adoption of non-prosecution orders.
If a district attorney or other prosecuting attorney in Texas decides “to refuse to prosecute a class or type of criminal offense under state law,” a citizen who has lived in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction for at least six months can petition for the official’s removal. If a petition is filed, the matter would go before a judge.
District attorneys found guilty of having adopted non-prosecution policies in violation of state law will be removed from office.
Gov. Greg Abbott previously touted the measure, saying, “District attorneys are elected to uphold Texas law and help keep our communities safe. When they fail to do so, Texans should be able to hold them accountable.”
In a statement released in April 2022, Creuzot and district attorneys from Travis, Bexar, Nueces, and Fort Bend Counties promised not to prosecute women who had abortions in violation of Texas law.
Criticizing Texas for passing laws that allegedly “outlaw personal healthcare and reproductive decisions,” Creuzot and the other district attorneys said the “enactments have the potential to fuel attempts by some to criminalize patients, medical professionals, healthcare providers, and others who assist in these medical procedures.”
“Elected prosecutors can and should resist these efforts to entangle the criminal justice system in this arena,” the statement continued. “The decision to terminate a pregnancy is not one that any woman takes lightly, and these choices are deeply personal. Whether or not one agrees with these decisions, they are not, nor should they be, criminal under any reasonable interpretation of the law. … We cannot condone such cruelty or this distorted use of our criminal legal system,” the five DAs concluded. “And we promise to continue fighting for the rights of women in this state and elsewhere and using our discretion as prosecutors to avoid these tragic results.”
HB 17 notes that a public statement like the one issued by Creuzot and the other district attorneys can create “a rebuttable presumption that the prosecuting attorney committed official misconduct.”
Several City of Dallas officials voiced their support of Creuzot’s decision to essentially decriminalize abortion following the Dobbs ruling by the Supreme Court.
In emails obtained by The Dallas Express, Council Member Paul Ridley (District 14) told a constituent that he had “been in touch with the city attorney to ask that he work on such a resolution and he informed me that his office is already working on the issue.”
Similarly, Council Member Chad West (District 1) wrote, “I’m 100% dismayed and shocked at the result from the Supreme Court. The criminalization will come from the county level, and the district attorney has already said publicly that he will not prosecute. I am still working on a statement, but will publicly support his decision.”
While the new law only applies to “an action taken or public statement made by a prosecuting attorney on or after the effective date of [the] Act,” some criminal justice advocates claim Creuzot’s abortion non-prosecution policy would violate the law if it is still in effect.
Nikki Pressley, the Texas state director for Right on Crime, explained to The Dallas Express, “While the statement was prior, the action would be continued.”
“It seems like if they were continuing that policy and taking that action continuously after September 1, then they would still be subject to the possibility of being petitioned for removal,” she said. “The way that the law is written, they would still open themselves up to that kind of liability.”
“That memorandum or announcement or whatever that they have put out previously, I think that could be used as evidence towards someone’s petition,” Pressley continued. “I believe that they would be able to use that statement as some evidence to the petition, but they’d probably need a little bit more, maybe even a statement from the DA on whether or not that policy is still in place.”
The Dallas Express asked the Dallas County Attorney’s Office if Creuzot’s public statement announcing that he would refuse to prosecute violations of Texas’ abortion law was still in place, but the office has failed to respond by press time.
In addition, The Dallas Express filed a public information request more than a month ago to obtain emails and documents pertaining to abortion from Creuzot’s office. However, no documents have been provided before publication.
Creuzot previously adopted a theft amnesty policy, which stopped prosecutions for most thefts of property valued between $100 and $750. However, after substantial public pushback, he publicly announced the end of the policy.
No similar public statement has been made by Creuzot rescinding the publicly announced abortion non-prosecution policy.
