Dallas DA Dismisses Corruption Charges in Hutchins Mayor Case

Recent news reports revealed that the Dallas District Attorney’s Office dismissed criminal charges against 9 the Mayor of Hutchins and 8 other defendants who were city employees. The charges ranged from Engaging in Organized Crime to Theft. The charges all stemmed from a public corruption investigation. The Dallas District Attorney’s Office gave no explanation for the dismissals other than that it was done “in the interest of Justice”

Cases get dismissed for various reasons by the District Attorneys Office but these dismissals seem different for several reasons. First the criminal defense attorneys who were interviewed about the dismissals had no idea why the cases were dismissed and had no idea that the prosecutors were going to dismiss. This is highly unusual. The criminal lawyer involved in the case will have had extensive talks with the prosecutor and would know if a dismissal is a possibility. I this case it doesn’t appear the criminal lawyers had any idea it was coming. In fact some of the cases were set for pleas.

Secondly there was no explanation given by the Dallas County District Attorneys Office for the dismissal. If the prosecutors have a good reason to dismiss they will not hesitate to tell the media and the public that explanation. Especially in a public corruption case.

Thirdly the he prosecutor who signed the dismissal was not the prosecutor who was handling the cases. Russell Wilson who is a senior supervisor signed the dismissal. This indicates the supervisor’s in the DA’s Office made the decision to dismiss the case and also made a decision not to talk about their reasons for doing so.

It is also interesting that these dismissals occurred just as the current District Attorney is about to leave office. Based on the timing and lack of knowledge of the criminal attorney’s interviewed this would indicate the DA had some specific reason to want to get rid of theses cases before he left office. It should also be noted that the investigator who originally filed the cases had retired the day the cases were dismissed. He had not been told by the DA’s office that the cases would be dismissed.

I am sure the local media will follow up on this story. There is a lot more here than meets the eye