County attorney files motion to dismiss removal petition against Travis County DA
The Bell County prosecutor handling a petition against Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza filed a motion to dismiss it Friday.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Bell County prosecutor handling a petition aiming to remove Travis County District Attorney José Garza filed a motion to dismiss it Friday.
The 21-page petition was filed in April after a Texas law targeting “rogue” prosecutors passed. The law would have allowed for the removal of Garza if it was proven he refused to prosecute certain cases.
KXAN reached out to Bell County Attorney James "Jim" Nichols and the Travis County District Attorney's Office for comment. This story will be updated if a statement is provided.
When the petition to remove Garza was first accepted, he told KXAN his office works to "bring justice to Travis County and keep people safe," and said he believed this effort to remove him would "fail."
The original petition cited several allegations, including that Garza singled out law enforcement officials, maintained a "do not testify" list of law enforcement and refused to prosecute certain state drug offenses.
In the motion to dismiss the petition, the county prosecutor wrote Garza's actions were not considered to be misconduct.
The reasons cited in the motion to dismiss included:
- Referring cases of "excessive force" by law enforcement to the grand jury was not valid grounds for removal;
- The DA denied the existence of a "do not call" list, which would not be considered misconduct. The motion said the prosecutor took Garza "at his word" that the list didn't exist.
- The prosecuting attorney said in the motion the Travis County DA's Office was prosecuting state jail felony drug charges in accordance with a new Texas law
The original petition against Garza argued there was “incompetency and official misconduct” related to the policies enforced by Garza about the who and what criminal offenses his office prosecutes.
Dalton Huey contributed to this report.