Judge won’t remove Dallas County DA from Randy Halprin’s ‘Texas 7’ retrial

DALLAS - The judge overseeing the retrial for one of the "Texas 7" inmates has decided not to remove the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office from the case.

Recusal Denied

What's new:

Judge Lela Mays denied District Attorney John Creuzot’s motion to be recused.

Last week, prosecutors from the DA’s office argued that they should be removed from Randy Halprin’s retrial because of a possible conflict of interest within their office.

Gynthia Garza, one of the DA’s chief prosecutors, worked for a private practice back in 2005 and was part of the defense team that filed appeals on Halprin's behalf. She also visited him in prison back in 2007.

While the DA's office said it was trying to avoid grounds for an appeal if there is a conviction, the defense accused them of trying to purposefully delay the case.

Judge Mays in her ruling wrote, "The court hearby orders the Dallas County District Attorney's Office to isolate Cynthia Garza, to ethically screen her from any involvement in this case and effectively prevent any conflict from affecting the prosection of this case."

What's next:

It’s unusual for a judge not to accept a DA’s request for a recusal. But doing so would have required Judge Mays to appoint a special prosecutor, and the trial would have been reset.

It can now move forward as planned unless DA Creuzot decides to appeal the judge's decision.

One of the next steps for Judge Mays will be to rule on a separate DA motion to have one of Halprin’s court-appointed defense attorneys thrown off the case for a similar conflict of interest. 

Prosecutors claim defense attorney Heath Harris previously worked for the DA's office and therefore should be removed.

Who are Randy Halprin and the ‘Texas 7’?

The backstory:

Halprin, who is now 47, was one of seven inmates who became known as the "Texas 7."

In December of 2000, they escaped from a South Texas prison and then committed several robberies, including one at an Irving sporting goods store where they shot and killed 29-year-old Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Halprin is one of only two members of the "Texas 7" still alive.

Larry Harper killed himself before the group was arrested. Four others – Joseph Garcia, Donald Newbury, Michael Rodriguez, and George Rivas – have been executed. Patrick Murphy is still awaiting execution.

Appeals court orders new trial 

What we know:

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted Halprin’s execution in 2019. 

This past November, the court overturned the conviction and ordered that Halprin be given a new trial.

New evidence supported the argument that Judge Vickers Cunningham, who presided over Halprin's original trial, held a strong bias against the defendant because he is Jewish.

"The uncontradicted evidence supports a finding that Cunningham formed an opinion about Halprin that derived from an extrajudicial factor — Cunningham’s poisonous antisemitism," the appeals court wrote in its ruling. 

Cunningham is now retired from the bench and works as an attorney in a private practice.

He has not commented on Halprin’s case.

Dallas CountyCrime and Public Safety