Paxton Criminal Case Reporting Rule Halted in Texas County Suit

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) can’t make large county prosecutors turn over confidential case files, a judge ruled Monday, two weeks before the first report was due.

Judge Catherine Mauzy (D) of the 419th District Court in Travis County granted a temporary injunction favoring seven predominantly left-leaning counties that sued to block the forced disclosures.

The rule—created by Paxton to obtain files from those he perceives as soft on crime—is “troubling at best,” Mauzy said at a hearing, because it violates separation of powers; Paxton is a member of the executive branch, and prosecutors are members of the judicial ...