Ken Paxton loses bid to have criminal case against him tried in friendly Collin County

Compounding his legal and political setbacks, the state’s highest criminal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will be tried on 8-year-old securities fraud felony charges in Houston.

In a split decision, the Court of Criminal Appeals chose Harris County over Collin County, where Paxton once lived and represented in the Texas House and Senate. The decision allows the case against Paxton, who was indicted in 2015, to move forward after a nearly three-year delay over where the case should be heard.

All nine judges on the appeals court are Republicans, as is Paxton, who is suspended from office after the House on May 27 voted to impeach the three-term attorney general and pending a Senate trial expected to begin no later than Aug. 28. The Senate will lay out the trial rules next week.

At issue before the appeals court was whether a lower court judge had authority to grant jurisdiction to Harris County. Paxton said the judge did not. But a majority of the appeals court judges determined the judge did.

“Thus, even the noblest of goals, no matter how righteous, cannot justify improper means,” the opinion reads. “It leads away from the enlightened order provided under the rule of law. Today we fulfill our duty by upholding our Constitution’s rule of law and affirming the wisdom of its framers.”

Judge Bert Richardson authored the ruling on behalf of five other judges. Signing onto Judge Sharon Keller’s dissenting opinion were Judges Mary Lou Keel and Kevin Yeary.

Although Paxton's alleged criminal conduct occurred in Collin County, prosecutors have long maintained that they would be at a disadvantage if the trial were held in a place where the attorney general lived and is known to voters. Collin County, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, is likely to produce more conservative jurors than Harris County, which leans progressive.

"We're gratified but not surprised that the court recognized that this defendant must stand trial before a Harris County jury and a judge who will follow the law,” special prosecutor Brian Wice said.

Paxton’s legal team could accept the ruling or ask the court to reconsider. His attorney, Philip Hilder, did not respond to an American-Statesman request for comment.

The two securities fraud charges against Paxton arose from his efforts promoting Servergy Inc. as an investment opportunity without disclosing that the McKinney-based company was paying him for the work. The charges are first-degree felonies.

Paxton also is charged with failing to register as a securities adviser, a third-degree felony.

Paxton's criminal allegations are covered in the 20 articles of impeachment the House approved. Paxton's lawyers claim he did nothing wrong and say they expect the Senate will acquit him after hearing the evidence they plan to present.

The House approved an impeachment article that said Paxton obstructed justice in the securities fraud case by causing protracted delays that “deprived the electorate of its opportunity to make an informed decision when voting for attorney general.”

Wednesday’s decision unraveled an earlier victory for Paxton’s legal team, which argued that the judge who ordered the case to be heard in Harris County had lost jurisdiction over the case. A Houston judge agreed and ordered the case to Collin County in 2020. The following year an appeals court affirmed that ruling.

The securities case is unrelated to an ongoing federal investigation into Paxton and his connection to Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. Former aides in Paxton's office have accused the attorney general of abusing his office by intervening in legal matters involving Paul and that, in exchange, Paxton received a home renovation from Paul and got his mistress a job with Paul's company.

Federal authorities indicted Paul last week on unrelated charges of mortgage fraud.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas AG Ken Paxton loses bid to try criminal case in Collin County