El Paso leaders are sounding the alarm this week, arguing that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s push to make large counties hand over detailed prosecutorial records looks targeted and would drain local resources. The dispute, now tied up in multiple lawsuits, has put El Paso officials on a collision course with the state’s top law enforcement office as courts decide whether Paxton can force the disclosures.
Local officials raise privacy and workload alarms
El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez told ABC-7 she worries the rule is politically aimed at urban counties and could expose sensitive information about migrant and mixed-status families. El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said the mandate would pull staff away from core criminal work and bury his office in paperwork.
The counties’ lawsuit estimates El Paso alone would need about 12,000 man-hours to compile the requested data, while Travis County could face more than $3 million in fees to comply. As reported by KVIA, Montoya said his office would feel a similar hit.
What the rule would do
The rule, adopted as Chapter 56 in the administrative code, would require district and county attorneys in counties with populations above roughly 400,000 to file quarterly reports and turn over broad categories of case materials to the Attorney General’s Office. Plaintiffs say it would also create an oversight advisory committee with the power to demand entire case files and potentially label noncompliant prosecutors as committing “official misconduct,” which could expose them to removal from office.
The background of the regulation and the related legal challenges are detailed by The Texas Tribune.
Lawsuits and legal roadblocks
Multiple urban prosecutors, including officials from El Paso, Travis, Harris, Bexar, and Dallas counties, filed separate suits in May arguing that Chapter 56 goes beyond Paxton’s authority and would be administratively crippling for their offices. A Travis County judge issued a temporary injunction in June 2025 that paused enforcement, and the case has since bounced around the state courts as the plaintiffs push for a permanent block…