The Republican proposals target the recent wave of Democratic prosecutors and judges who have won control in Texas’ biggest counties.
Thursday that would allow for judges to be removed or suspended if they show “persistent or wilful violation” of Texas’ rules for setting bail.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has not weighed in on either bill, though he has said he wants to crack down on “rogue district attorneys.” He’s placed two related House bills on his priority list. The other Phelan priority bill, HB 200, would bring back the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council, made up of judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers and members of the public, that would review complaints against prosecutors and issue punishments.
Others argued at Thursday’s hearing that key parts of the measure are too ambiguous. Andrew Hendrickson, government relations coordinator at the ACLU of Texas, said the bill’s definition of “policy” — “an instruction or directive expressed in any manner” — would leave too much up for interpretation for prosecutors to know whether they’re violating the measure.
"The spike in crime and mass officer resignations are a direct result of willful neglect to prosecute certain offenses, such as theft, narcotics, firearms violations, etc,” said Szimanski, whose group is the state’s largest police union. “I’m not sure how officers are expected to operate under these conditions.”
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