Sanctioned Judge Upsets Incumbent in Dallas District Attorney Race

Last week, former Dallas County District Judge Amber Givens was fighting her sanctions for judicial misconduct before the Texas Supreme Court. Today, she’s the presumptive Democratic nominee—and with no Republican running—the likely next district attorney for one of Texas’ biggest counties. 

This marks a major upset against the incumbent Dallas DA, Democrat John Creuzot, a retired judge who first won the post in 2018 as part of a wave of reform-minded prosecutors in Texas and nationwide. 

Givens, who presided over the 282nd District Court from 2015 to December of last year, when she resigned to run for DA, was extremely controversial among defense attorneys, prosecutors, and people whose cases she oversaw during her time on the bench. Even so, she bested Creuzot on Tuesday with a 54-46 margin. Creuzot was running for his third term as Dallas’ top prosecutor. 

Election day was chaotic in Dallas on Tuesday, as many voters weren’t aware of a switch to precinct-based voting. Democratic voting hours were extended by a court order that was later stayed by the Texas Supreme Court, making it unclear whether ballots cast after the original closing time counted.

On Wednesday, Creuzot conceded to Givens and issued a statement: “While the outcome was not what we had hoped for, I am proud of the work my team accomplished and the important conversations we advanced about justice, accountability, and public safety in Dallas County,” he said.

Givens’ victory was an “absolute upset,” said Amanda Branan, a defense attorney involved in filing complaints against Givens to the state. “She was more interested in herself than serving justice,” Branan told the Texas Observer. “She knows how to talk the talk to the public, but the way she behaved when she was on the bench was just not appropriate.”

Creuzot secured major endorsements ahead of the primary, including several members of the Dallas County Commissioners Court and the Dallas City Council, as well as The Dallas Morning News and multiple local Democratic groups. He also raised over $400,000 while Givens only had about $20,000. Givens’ campaign site does not list any endorsements. Givens has previously worked as a defense attorney, assistant district attorney, and county judge. She was part of a historic wave of women of color who ran for and won judicial seats in Dallas in 2014. 

Givens has said she wanted to run to make the DA’s office more transparent and less political. “When politics tried to break me, purpose built me,” she wrote on Facebook announcing her candidacy in December.

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“Judge Creuzot has been a stalwart DA,” said Douglas Huff, president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Board. “I’m flummoxed. … I’ve spoken to plenty of other people in the defense bar and across the board. I personally think we’re looking at some very dangerous days ahead.”

In June of last year, Givens was publicly reprimanded by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct—the state board responsible for holding elected judges accountable—for allegedly having a staffer impersonate her during a bond hearing in 2021 and for mistreating lawyers in her courtroom. 

“Judge Givens’ failures … constituted willful and/or persistent conduct that is clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of her judicial duties and cast public discredit upon judiciary or the administration of justice,” commission Chair Gary Steel wrote in the reprimand. 

She was also publicly admonished for acting in cases where she had recused herself—leading to one man’s arrest and another’s jailing. Givens is appealing the sanctions, which led to last week’s hearing on the matter.

During her time on the bench, Givens got an unprecedented number of recusal requests from prosecutors and defense attorneys who didn’t want her handling their cases—the requests accused Givens of “lacking impartiality, making unfair rulings, treating lawyers with disrespect, and having a ‘retaliatory nature’,” according to judicial commission documents. Givens has called these sanctions and allegations “politically-motivated.” 

There’s been anxiety within the DA’s office since Givens announced her plans to run in December. Many suspect she’ll clean house when she takes over—which is not unheard of when new DAs come into power.

Givens was consistently deemed a “low-performing” judge, with Dallas County Commissioners singling her out to not receive bonus pay last year—until she sued the county, and commissioners changed their minds. 

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