Criminal Case Against Ken Paxton Will Return To Collin County

Plano TX

25 June, 2020

6:34 PM

Description

By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune June 25, 2020 Years after it was sent to Harris County, the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will move back to his native Collin County, a Harris County judge ruled Thursday. Paxton, a Republican, was indicted in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges, but the case has yet to go to trial as side battles persist over the venue where he will be tried and the amount the special prosecutors will be paid. [See a full timeline of Paxton' legal drama.] A judge moved Paxton's case to Harris County years ago, after prosecutors said they could not get a fair trial in Collin County, Paxton's home and former district from his time in the state Legislature. His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, now represents the region. "Criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will return to his native Collin County, judge rules" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. But Ken Paxton's defense team argued last year that the judge who initially ordered the move to Harris County did not have the authority to do so, as his time overseeing the case had elapsed. The two attorneys prosecuting Paxton, Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, disputed that at a December hearing and said the case belongs in Harris County. But Judge Robert Johnson, a Democrat, agreed with Paxton's defense team in an order this week. Paxton has been fighting charges that he misled investors in a financial services company from before his time as attorney general. Paxton has pleaded not guilty to all the allegations and was cleared in a similar civil case at the federal level. But when the Texas State Securities Board reprimanded him for soliciting clients without being properly registered, he signed a disciplinary order without disputing its findings. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/25/ken-paxton-criminal-case-moved/. The Texas Tribune is proud to celebrate 10 years of exceptional journalism for an exceptional state. Explore the next 10 years with us.