2022 Is Off to a Bad Start, Courtesy of the Court of Criminal Appeals

Chris Salcedo | Posted: Jan 17, 2022

https://townhall.com/columnists/chrissalcedo/2022/01/17/2022-is-off-to-a-bad-start-courtesy-of-the-court-of-criminal-appeals-n2601866

Texas is one of only two states with a bifurcated court system: After going through intermediate appellate review, criminal matters are routed to the Court of Criminal Appeals while civil matters are routed to the Texas Supreme Court. It’s unique. But so is Texas!

This division of labor is supposed to get Texans better legal results. Civil lawyers take the bench on the Supreme Court and handle civil matters while criminal lawyers take the bench on the CCA and handle criminal matters. But a recent decision coming out of the CCA has exposed what many have been shy to say out loud—That’s where I, your Liberty Loving Latino, come in. The word “shy” and Salcedo are rarely used in the same sentence. The CCA judges are mostly B-team players whose sole audience is the overwhelmingly liberal criminal law bar. Alarmingly, as reflected in recent headlines, it seems these judges are not committed to delivering justice to, “we the people.” Instead, these agendized jurists consistently render judgments designed to shore up the power of their friends and colleagues in district and county attorney offices around Texas.

A few weeks ago, the CCA handed down an 8-to-1 decision in State v. Stephens declaring unconstitutional a statute giving the Texas Attorney General authority to “prosecute a criminal offense prescribed by the election laws of this state.” That statute—section 273.021 of the Texas Election Code—which has been around for several decades— has allowed Texas Attorneys General to doggedly pursue election integrity. It's why Texas elections have been more secure than any other state in the union. And it’s also why committed leftists find that statute to be such a pain in the rear. Enter the CCA’s rather obvious and boneheaded decision.

First, CCA’s decision is illogical. The Court says that because county and district attorneys are created under an article called “Judicial Department,” their role in prosecuting crimes is a judicial rather than an executive function. At the same time, because the Attorney General is created under the “Executive Department” article, he cannot prosecute crimes because that’d be “judicial” and thus an impermissible encroachment on a “judicial” function by an executive. You read that right! The court has laughingly proclaimed that a Texas Attorney General cannot prosecute crime. That would come as a shock to…well…just about anyone with a brain. I was going to reference Wikipedia; you know how left-wingers love Wikipedia? But I thought I’d give the eight judges on the CCA a remedial lesson in the Attorney General’s duties, courtesy of Ballotpedia.


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If the CCA’s decision isn’t overturned, the 2022 elections will be primed for fraud, mischief, and irregularities, the only hopes Democrats have at staving off a forecasted “red wave.” Thankfully, the Attorney General recently filed a motion for rehearing. Texans everywhere should contact their legislator and demand a constitutional amendment re-empowering the Attorney General with prosecutorial authority over election law violations. And Governor Abbott should call a special session making this one of his priorities.

Democrats stand to lose by wide margins in 2022. But the CCA just gave them their only chance at turning Texas blue: through fraud and illegal voting. Texans should demand a fix, now. As for the eight judges who put partisan politics above doing the duty they swore an oath to do, immediate consideration should be given to impeachment proceedings to clean up an obviously corrupt CCA.

The bad guys just don't let up! They come from us at every angle.