Travis County District Attorney José Garza has fended off a monthslong lawsuit to kick him out of office.
State Judge Dib Waldrip on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit, which claimed he should be removed because his office ignored complaints about a sexual assault.
Mary Dupuis filed suit in April, alleging Garza was incompetent and had engaged in "official misconduct." Waldrip said earlier this year that Dupuis didn't provide proof Garza had failed to prosecute certain crimes.
Texas' so-called rogue prosecutor law allows residents to sue any county or district attorney to remove them from office. This was the second challenge Garza has faced since the law took effect in 2023.
Garza has characterized the lawsuits as politically motivated.
In a statement Thursday, he said his office has "never deviated" from his goals to uphold the rule of law in his tenure as Travis County DA.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished thus far. The removal petition was a politically motivated effort to prevent us from achieving our goals," he said. "It did not work – and it could not work because we respect the law and the community we serve."
Garza ran on a progressive platform to reduce jail time for low-level drug offenses. That made him a target for Texas GOP lawmakers, who passed the law allowing citizens to sue to get prosecutors removed.
