Gov. Abbott pushes for 'Chief State Prosecutor' position to override local DAs in Texas
Abbott said he believes the new statewide prosecutor is needed because some Texas district attorneys are not prosecuting criminals.
Author: Daniel Perreault
Published: 6:50 PM CST December 23, 2025
Updated: 5:03 PM CST December 25, 2025
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for a new top prosecutor position in Texas. The new prosecutorial office would have statewide jurisdiction and would be focused, he said, on taking cases that local district attorneys either do not or will not prosecute.
In a social media post on X on Monday evening, Abbott said he plans to ask state lawmakers to create a “Chief State Prosecutor” position.
“I am calling for legislation that creates a Chief State Prosecutor to actually prosecute criminals like this that DAs in places like Austin refuse to prosecute,” Abbott wrote.
It is something that retired Travis County district court judge and current Central Texas criminal defense lawyer Charlie Baird said has never happened before because there are already provisions in place for that.
“The Texas attorney general has great prosecutorial authority throughout the state, and so, it's pretty much already a fait accompli that there is a statewide prosecutor,” Baird said.
Generally speaking, it is up to the district and county attorneys in those counties to prosecute crimes that occur within their counties.
“The framework for the criminal justice system within the state of Texas is that you want local authority and control over the crimes that occur within that county and you leave that primarily to the discretion of the local district or county attorney who the populace of that county has elected, so they have a direct input and how they want the individuals to be prosecuted and those cases handled,” Baird said. “Typically, the local prosecuting authorities have a much better sense of how the populace of that county wishes to have cases prosecuted.”
The Texas Attorney General's Office has specified jurisdiction over some instances, for example, those involving voting rights. Baird said, in general, the Attorney General's office has to be asked to get involved in a prosecution, though he noted they are often brought in on significant cases.
Abbott’s post on social media was in response to a post by the @AustinJustice account on X,.....
wfaa.com |
