Title:
Travis County (TX) District Attorney
Overview:
29 September 2005
Since 1976, Ronnie Earle (D) has been the district attorney (prosecutor) for Travis County, Texas, the home of state-capital Austin. Texas law does not allow the Attorney General to prosecute infractions dealing with state campaigns or crimes against the state; instead, that responsibility lies with the Travis County DA office via the state's Public Integrity Unit. He is serving his sixth term; for four terms, he was unopposed. He is married to Twila Hugley Earle.
Since 1976, Ronnie Earle (D) has been the district attorney (prosecutor) for Travis County, Texas, the home of state-capital Austin. Texas law does not allow the Attorney General to prosecute infractions dealing with state campaigns or crimes against the state; instead, that responsibility lies with the Travis County DA office via the state's Public Integrity Unit. He is serving his sixth term; for four terms, he was unopposed. He is married to Twila Hugley Earle.
Background and Education:
Earle was raised on a cattle ranch near in Birdville (northeast of Ft. Worth). He enrolled in University of Texas at Austin in 1960. He set aside journalism aspirations for law school (UT). He worked for Gov. John Connally and then became an Austin municipal court judge. In 1973, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. When the Travis District Attorney retired, he ran and won. He has been DA ever since.
Career as DA:
In his career as District Attorney, Earle has prosecuted 16 politicians : twelve democrats and four republicans. He successfully prosecuted a state treasurer, a House speaker, a state Supreme Court justice and several legislators – all Democrats. Republicans cite his case against Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as example of partisanship. When the Democratic judge ruled computer records inadmissable, Earle dropped that case. He has a 91 percent conviction rate in jury trials.
What Others Say : Democrats:
- Former Attorney General Jim Mattox (indicted but exonerated at trial) - "I think Earle has learned a lot from some previous false starts."
- Glenn Smith (consultant for State House Speaker Lewis - successfully prosecuted by Earle) - "He's not pressurable. He doesn't care who's for what he's doing and who's against what he's doing. He knows what's right and goes after it. They make a big mistake underestimating him."
What Others Say : Republicans:
- US Rep. Tom DeLay - "partisan fanatic" and "a runaway district attorney"
- Rep. Henry Bonilla (San Antonio) - "a partisan crackpot"
What Others Say : Non-Partisan:
- Civil Lawyer Jim Marston - "If I have any complaint about Ronnie, it's that he is overly cautious about who he prosecutes."
- UT law professor David Anderson - "He's suspicious of corporate power in all its forms... he's vigilant and zealous about maintaining the individual's power in the political system."
- UT government professor Bruce Buchanan - "Best I can tell, for the most part he's been an equal opportunity abuser of Republicans and Democrats."
In His Own Words:
- Our job is to prosecute abuses of power and to bring those abuses to the attention of the public.
- The reason corporations and labor unions are not allowed to give money to campaigns is because they are not individual people. They are things. And to allow things to control elections makes a mockery of government by the people.... If we allow corporations to control elections, we will destroy democracy.