The Democratic nominee for Dallas County district attorney is awaiting a ruling in a judicial misconduct case that could result in sanctions but would not prevent her from serving as the county’s top prosecutor, according to a local administrative judge.
Amber Givens handily defeated two-term incumbent John Creuzot in one of the biggest upsets of last week’s Democratic primary. Because no Republican, independent or other party candidates entered the race, the former felony court judge will head into the November general election unopposed.
But before that happens, a Special Court of Review is expected to decide whether Givens is guilty of multiple judicial misconduct allegations that have been looming over her for nearly five years.
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Leaders of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association filed two complaints in 2021. The complaints alleged Givens had allowed a staff member to stand in for her during a virtual bond hearing and had harshly treated attorneys and defendants appearing before her on multiple occasions.
Another investigation was initiated the following year by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The allegations suggested she had presided over two criminal cases after she’d been recused, jailing a man in one case and revoking bond from another.
Last summer, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued two sanctions against Givens. The first included a public reprimand, the harshest sanction available, for the bond hearing incident and her treatment of attorneys and defendants in her court. The second was an admonition – a public warning to address violations of the judicial conduct code – for her actions in the recusal cases.
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Givens appealed the findings and a trial was held last month at the Texas Supreme Court in Austin. The three-judge panel is expected to issue a decision after prosecutors from the attorney general’s office and Givens’ attorneys file briefs in the case, with the final filing deadline on April 24.
The only impact a guilty finding could have on Givens is if the panel issues a public reprimand, which would mean Givens wouldn’t be allowed to serve as a visiting judge, said Regional Administrative Judge Ray Wheless, who presides over a seven-county region that includes Dallas County.
Givens’ attorney Chip Babcock said if they decided against her “it would trail her political career, but that’s about it.” He said considering Givens won her race by more than 20,000 votes despite years of media coverage about the misconduct accusations, she likely wouldn’t suffer politically.
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Two lawyers from the attorney general’s office who prosecuted the case didn’t respond to messages sent by The Dallas Morning News, nor did Givens.
With Givens poised to run unopposed in November’s general election, Dallas County GOP Chair Allen West said “no one answered the call to serve” in the local party’s effort to field a candidate for the race.
It’s too late for anyone else, including independent candidates, to run because the deadline to file a notice of intent was in December. A write-in campaign is the only path another candidate could take to oppose Givens, according to Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office.