On Thursday, March 12, 2026, The Dallas Morning News reported that Amber Givens, the Democratic nominee for Dallas County district attorney, is awaiting a ruling in a judicial misconduct case. The ruling could result in sanctions, though a local administrative judge believes they would not prevent her from serving as the county’s top prosecutor.
Givens recently defeated two-term incumbent John Creuzot in the Democratic primary. With no Republican, independent, or other party candidates in the race, she is set to run unopposed in the November general election.
However, before the election, a Special Court of Review is expected to decide whether Givens is guilty of multiple judicial misconduct allegations that have been ongoing for nearly five years. The Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association filed two complaints in 2021, alleging that Givens allowed a staff member to stand in for her during a virtual bond hearing and treated attorneys and defendants harshly on multiple occasions.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct initiated another investigation the following year. The allegations suggested that Givens presided over two criminal cases after she had been recused, jailing a man in one case and revoking bond from another.
Last summer, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued two sanctions against Givens. The first was a public reprimand, the harshest sanction available, for the bond hearing incident and her treatment of attorneys and defendants. The second was an admonition, a public warning to address violations of the judicial conduct code, for her actions in the recusal cases.
Givens appealed the findings, and a trial was held last month at the Texas Supreme Court in Austin. A three-judge panel is expected to issue a decision after prosecutors from the attorney general’s office and Givens’ attorneys file briefs in the case, with the final filing deadline on April 24.
According to Regional Administrative Judge Ray Wheless, the only impact a guilty finding could have on Givens is if the panel issues a public reprimand, which would mean Givens would not be allowed to serve as a visiting judge.
Givens’ attorney, Chip Babcock, stated that an unfavorable decision “would trail her political career, but that’s about it.” He noted that Givens won her race by more than 20,000 votes despite media coverage of the misconduct accusations, suggesting she would likely not suffer politically.
Dallas County GOP Chair Allen West said that “no one answered the call to serve” in the local party’s effort to field a candidate, with Givens poised to run unopposed in November.
The deadline to file a notice of intent has passed, making a write-in campaign the only remaining option for potential challengers, according to Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
