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Bexar County District Attorney Receives Response from Attorney General on Prosecuting Federal Officials for Election Code Violations

Bexar County District Attorney Receives Response from Attorney General on Prosecuting Federal Officials for Election Code Violations

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The Honorable Joe Gonzales, Bexar County Criminal District Attorney requested an opinion which was assigned tracking number RQ-0376-KP. The opinion was titled “Jurisdiction of a criminal district attorney to prosecute federal officials who violate criminal provisions of the Election Code.”

On or about February 22, 2021, the Texas Attorney General responded with Opinion KP-0357. The opinion is attached, in its entirety.

The Opinion asked two questions.

The first question was unable to be answered based upon construction and other legal considerations within the request.

The second question was answered, and in summary, the following was provided:

Determining whether authority exists to prosecute in any specific situation requires multiple factual determinations, which are outside the scope of the opinion process of this office.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and article 33.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establish a right of the accused to be present in the courtroom through the conclusion of trial proceedings. Under article 33.03, an accused’s right to be present at his trial is unwaivable even by the accused until such a time as the jury has been selected.

This matter is material to The Hawk’s Eye for the following statement, drafted in response to the request for opinion, an obligation which fell short in other publishings we presented:

“As a trustee of the State’s interest in providing fair trials, the prosecutor is obliged to illuminate the court with the truth of the cause, so that the judge and jury may properly render justice. Thus, the prosecutor is more than a mere advocate, but a fiduciary to fundamental principles of fairness.”

The quote is to the Prosecutorial Duty in the State of Texas.

The PDF can be obtained by clicking HERE

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