The Tarrant County District Attorney position is one of several county positions up on the ballot this November – and it’s seeing the same opponents as the 2022 midterm elections.
Incumbent Republican Phil Sorrells is seeking reelection while longtime attorney and prosecutor Tiffany Burks is challenging him a second time as the Democratic candidate.
Sorrells assumed office in January 2023 after garnering 309,730 votes against Burks’ 272,066.
The district attorney is elected countywide and serves as the county’s top legal representative and prosecutor, handling criminal cases from misdemeanors to felonies. The DA serves four years and makes approximately $229,000 annually in Tarrant County.
Burks, 55, is originally from Oak Cliff and has worked nearly three decades as a criminal attorney. At least 25 of those years have been a prosecutor in Tarrant and Fort Bend Counties. She currently leads the criminal division at Fort Worth law firm Varghese Summersett.
During her time as a prosecutor for Tarrant County, Burks worked with three different district attorneys, two sheriffs, and several magistrate judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys, she said during an interview.
Burks said she’s running again because she believes the district attorney’s office needs more transparency and accountability within its leadership, how the DA office does its work, and identifying any issues in how things are run.
“The things that are going on in the community, people just don’t feel as if government is working for them and they don’t that government is really being transparent in answering their questions,” Burks said.
She also pointed to in-custody deaths at the Tarrant County Jail as an example of a lack of transparency from county officials.
There’s been more than 80 jail deaths since 2017, including at least six this year. It’s led to protests and scrutiny from the public about the conditions at the jail and resources for mental and medical care.
Sorrells last year argued not all jail deaths require an outside investigation, asking the Texas Attorney General’s office to clarify whether all deaths in county jail custody require investigation, or just deaths that happen within the county jail building.
Burks also criticized the amount of money the county has paid out in settlements to end lawsuits over jail deaths – roughly $4.3 million since 2022.
Sorrells did not respond to requests for an interview.
According to his campaign website, Sorrells is a fifth generation Texan originally from Lubbock. Before being elected as DA, he served as judge of Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 10 for more than two decades and worked as Assistant Criminal District Attorney prior to that.
His campaign website states the DA’s office has “strengthened partnerships with law enforcement, improved efficiency, modernized discovery and evidence-sharing practices, and remained focused on prosecuting violent offenders, organized criminal activity, human trafficking, drug trafficking, child exploitation, and other serious crimes.”
During his time, Sorrells also created new tasks forces and units, including the Narcotics Unit, the Cold Case Task Force and the Election Integrity Task Force. While there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, county officials have previously said the election task force made elections more secure.
Running against Sorrells again means Burks has seen the changes the DA’s office has gone through – and says it has deteriorated under his leadership.
Among several priorities, Burks said if elected, she would want to restructure the office to help keep victims safe, as well as meet up with all the police chiefs in cities throughout the county to discuss her policy positions.
“What is missing right now from everything that I am seeing and hearing from being there in the courthouse is that there is a deficit in leadership,” Burks said. “People are in positions of status and power. And it feels like they have forgotten what they are there to do.”
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