DALLAS COUNTY, Texas – A Dallas County district court judge showed her frustration today in the long-running effort to bring a former death row inmate and “Texas 7” defendant back to trial.

The Legal Maze Continues

What we know:

Judge Lela Lawrence Mays is trying to set a new trial schedule for “Texas 7” defendant Randy Halprin, more than five years after his execution was halted.

Randy Halprin’s death row conviction for his part in killing an Irving police officer in 2000 was overturned in 2024. Getting to a new trial has been a legal journey. The district attorney was seeking to be removed from the case, that request was denied.

Then the district attorney tried to have one of the defense attorneys disqualified. That still remains an open question. As is when the new trial will get underway.

The backstory:

Randy Halprin was in court in a blue dress suit, not a jail jumpsuit, for what was supposed to be a hearing to set the calendar for jury selection and his new trial.

Halprin, part of the Texas Seven prison gang that shot and killed Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins in 2000, was sentenced to death for his part. Halprin’s execution was halted in 2019 because of prejudicial comments made by the original trial judge.

The conviction was later overturned and now there are more complications.

“I had no idea that the sharing of discovery had been delayed, paused, and I will say this again to the state: You can not delay this trial, you cannot delay,” said Judge Lela Lawrence Mays. 

Court comments from Judge Lela Lawrence Mays after learning the state had stopped providing discovery to the defense for some four months.

“This is not an intentional delay of the trial. We had filed a mandamus for the disqualification of Heath. We asked for a stay. We believed the stay was in place, so we did not continue giving over the discovery,” said Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, Lauren Black.

Heath is the defense’s co-counsel Heath Harris, who was not in court today.

Courtroom Showdown over Delays

Dig deeper:

The district attorney asked Judge Mays to remove Harris from the case, citing a potential conflict of interest. She denied their request.

So, the prosecution asked the appeals court to overrule Judge May’s decision and to stop all proceedings, including giving evidence to the defense, until there was a ruling on Heath Harris.

“And I believe it took at least 45 days for them to come back and say that the stay was not going to be there,” said Black.

Last month, the district attorney resumed providing evidence to Halprin’s defense team. A defense team asked the court for a trial starting in the spring of 2027. 

A New Trial Date, Still Unresolved

What they’re saying:

Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the judge they still have to go through all the transcripts and evidence once they get them.     

And that the few experts who can testify in death penalty cases are lined up in other cases in other places.

“This case has touched so many of the professionals and experts that we use since it’s had six trials,” said Hayes.

“I want to set this schedule to make sure that the defense has everything that they need. I don’t know what to tell you about the experts and their unavailability. I think that is something for you to figure out,” said Judge Lela Lawrence Mays.

What’s next:

While the defense and the prosecution agreed on starting the trial in April 2027.

Judge Mays said she may move that date up a bit. She hopes to post a trial schedule by the end of this week.

Both sides are back in court next month.

The Source: Information in this article was provided from the Randy Halperin Hearing on September 2nd, 2025.

Crime and Public SafetyDallas CountyDallasTexasIrving