The Texas Capitol is seen in Austin on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Travis County District Attorney José Garza skipped a Texas House hearing Wednesday, where lawmakers criticized his office’s handling of criminal cases and discussed possible subpoenas and even impeachment.
The House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight heard hours of testimony from crime victims and advocacy organizations. Witnesses accused Garza of failing to hold defendants accused of violent crimes accountable.
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“How many people have to die in this city for DA Garza to do his job and prosecute criminals and give defendants and victims their day in court and their justice?” state Rep. Ellen Troxclair, a Lakeway Republican said.
Garza declined multiple interview requests to explain why he was absent from Wednesday’s hearing, and how he would address mounting scrutiny from lawmakers.
The hearing came amid a broader push by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to increase state scrutiny of local prosecutors in Democratic urban areas. Last month, the three Republican leaders jointly called for lawmakers to take action during the next legislative session, which starts in January. Abbott previously proposed appointing a statewide prosecutor who could take over cases when local prosecutors decline to pursue them.
The push marks the latest Republican assault on Garza, who has found himself in the GOP crosshairs since his 2020 election on a progressive platform of police accountability and less reliance on incarceration. Three years later, lawmakers passed a rogue prosecutor law that set the stage for Garza’s ouster, but efforts have been unsuccessful.
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A spokesperson for Garza’s office said he submitted written testimony ahead of Wednesday’s hearing and offered to meet with lawmakers individually.
That offer did little to assuage the frustrations aired by some of the committee members. State Rep. Mitch Little, a Lewisville Republican, raised the possibility of impeaching Garza and asked whether the committee could subpoena him to testify. Committee members discussed the options but did not vote to subpoena him.
Some Garza allies defended his decision to no-show.
Alycia Castillo, associate director of policy at the Texas Civil Rights Project, called the hearing a “sham.” She said lawmakers were not interested in discussing alternatives to incarceration, such as investing in housing, health care and education, and that their focus on Garza’s absence distracted from what she called inaccuracies and political attacks.
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“It was an absolute circus full of inaccuracies and political cheap shots,” Castillo said.
But Chuck Devore, chief national initiatives officer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, said it could make matters worse for Garza.
“It shows either a stunning level of arrogance or a stunning level of ignorance,” he said. “You are essentially poking — no, you are poking the bear by not showing up.”
Following the hearing, Burrows issued a warning statement to Garza.
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“When witnesses like District Attorney José Garza fail to attend and answer questions on public safety in their county, it is evident the work of the committee is just getting started,” Burrows said.
Travis County Attorney Delia Garza was also invited to the hearing but did not attend, though her work prosecuting misdemeanor offenses drew much less attention from lawmakers. The county attorney also did not answer questions about her absence, only saying in a statement that she did not attend or send a representative from her office to the hearing.
District Attorney Jose Garza at his office on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
Travis County Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Gharakhanian, who Garza sent in his place, faced intense heat from lawmakers during the hearing.
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Gharakhanian repeatedly told committee members who asked about specific cases that she could not discuss individual prosecutions without reviewing the details and ensuring she could provide accurate information. She offered to arrange private meetings with Garza, but committee members pressed for answers in the public hearing.
“The fact that he wouldn’t be here today to defend his own policies, and you can’t give us the facts that you reference, is just proof that there is a massive, organized cesspool that is detrimental to our state,” said state Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Stephenville Republican.
Gharakhanian defended the office’s approach, saying prosecutors base decisions on the facts and law in each case. She said the office regularly secures convictions for violent offenses, citing two murder convictions secured in August. She also said dismissing a case for insufficient evidence does not mean prosecutors are failing to enforce the law.
In his written statement, Garza said the office’s decisions are based on “the law, the facts, and a prosecutor’s legal and ethical obligations.” He said the office would not share information in a way that could jeopardize ongoing prosecutions or violate laws barring disclosure of certain criminal justice information.
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Shannon Edmonds, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, said lawmakers could seek information privately from prosecutors for policymaking. He cautioned that publicly discussing some cases could jeopardize them.
Garza also cited Texas Department of Public Safety data showing Austin’s overall crime rate fell nearly 10% between 2021 and 2025, while the volume of violent crime decreased about 18%. Those figures measure different things: the first is the overall crime rate, while the second is the number of reported violent offenses. A previous American-Statesman analysis found that from 2015 to 2025, Austin homicides increased 122%, rape offenses increased 53% and aggravated assaults increased 28%.
Committee members also cited Statesman reporting that Garza’s office missed the state’s 90-day indictment deadline 263 times in 2024. Later reporting found that the number of jailed defendants held beyond the deadline had fallen sharply; by June 2025, no defendant remained jailed past 90 days without an indictment.
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State Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, a Laredo Democrat, pressed Gharakhanian on why the office would not discuss high-profile cases publicly.
“Part of why we’re having this hearing is because on the big ones where people die, people have the right to know what the hell is going on,” he said.