Two state sanctions for misconduct on the bench and a federal lawsuit accusing her of false imprisonment have not stopped District Judge Amber Givens from trying to become the county’s top prosecutor. On Thursday, Givens completed paperwork to challenge District Attorney John Creuzot in the March 3 Democratic Primary.
Givens held a news conference outside of the Dallas County Democratic Party headquarters, where she alluded to her recent controversies, saying she is running for district attorney “not to escape the fire but because I have learned how to stand in it.”
“The system doesn’t need to be reformed when it’s operating exactly as it was designed – it needs to be rebuilt,” Givens said. “If the last five years have shown me anything about me, let it be this: I am committed to seeking justice, not because it is easy but because it’s necessary.”
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct handed down the two sanctions against Givens in June for issues dating back to 2021 and 2023, respectively. Givens is scheduled to attend a hearing to appeal the sanctions on Wednesday.
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She received a reprimand, the harshest sanction available, for allowing her court coordinator to conduct an online hearing in 2021 with Givens’ picture on the screen without informing the parties the judge wasn’t actually there, according to the sanction. The second, an admonishment, was for jailing one man and revoking another’s bond in 2023 while she was recused from both cases and “lacked the legal authority to act” on them, according to the sanction.
State District Judge Amber Givens asks Dallas Police detectives about evidence during a hearing inside the 282nd District Court at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
In October, one of the men at the center of her admonishment case, Ivan Paris, filed a federal lawsuit accusing Givens of false imprisonment for jailing him on an alleged probation violation more than a year after she had been removed from his case.
Givens’ attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case on Nov. 19, alleging she is protected by judicial immunity. Paris’ complaint alleges Givens is liable for violating his constitutional rights and is not protected by judicial immunity because she lacked authority over his case when she ordered him to jail after her recusal.
Creuzot, a retired judge first elected as district attorney in 2018, has already filed for reelection. He said his record of programs focused on criminal justice reforms speaks for itself and that he respects the electoral process.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot puts his hands on Tyrone Day’s shoulder after Day’s exoneration at the Frank Crowley Courthouse in Dallas on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. An extensive re-investigation by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) and DNA testing concluded that Mr. Day is innocent in his 1990 sexual assault conviction.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
“We live in America, and a person is free to run for office,” Creuzot said. “I’m glad I live in America. That’s what we have elections for is to debate the issues and see who the voters choose.”
Creuzot pointed to his office’s work in creating two deflection centers to divert people with mental illnesses to treatment instead of jail; decreasing the number of juveniles in the detention center; and recent policies to help the district clerk’s office get judgments to the state faster to expedite jail releases.
A drug court he established as a judge in 1998 that connects defendants with treatment became a model in the state. As district attorney, Creuzot said he has also prioritized exonerations through his office’s conviction integrity unit.
“I’ve kept all my promises from 2018 and continue to keep them,” Creuzot said.
In social media posts in recent months, Givens has described her state sanctions as politically motivated and driven by members of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Givens said the association’s complaints against her followed her creation of an anti-discrimination policy triggered by racist comments posted by an attorney on social media after the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
On Thursday, she thanked all of the people over the last few years “who tried to derail my calling.” If elected, Givens said she will build a “justice-conscious office that never fears the truth,” focused on creating community justice councils, diversion pathways and victim supports.
“We will protect survivors; we will hold the guilty accountable,” Givens said. “We will free the innocent, and we will rebuild trust case by case, truth by truth.”