The Democratic primary for Dallas County district attorney isn’t just a contest of résumés or personalities. Casting a vote for former judge Amber Givens over incumbent John Creuzot would be reckless.
Creuzot, 68, previously a longtime district court judge, has shown himself to be a capable district attorney in the six years he’s been in office. He grew his office’s mental health team to 24 people and helped launch deflection centers to steer people facing low-level trespass charges out of jail and into social services.
In 2022, Creuzot created a vehicular crimes unit to handle drunken-driving murder cases and intoxication manslaughter. The unit had secured convictions for at least 75 defendants as of last year. He also highlighted human trafficking and cold case homicide units that launched in 2025.
We trust Creuzot to offer solutions to problems that plague our courts. Dallas County’s struggle with its courts software has contributed to delays in getting people released from jail. Creuzot’s office doesn’t oversee the software, but he told us he appointed a prosecutor to review judgment forms and check that correct information is forwarded to state officials.
Opinion
This editorial page has had disagreements with Creuzot, but he has shown himself to be flexible in his thinking, such as when he ended a policy to not prosecute certain low-level theft cases.
Givens’ tenure as district court judge has been marred by her poor reputation. The Dallas Bar Association gives her low ratings, and that’s to say nothing of two sanctions the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued against her last year. The commission found she had let a staffer take her place in a bond-reduction hearing. It also found she had jailed a man and revoked the bond of another despite having been recused from their cases. Givens is appealing. Meanwhile, she had longstanding docket management issues that suggest she can’t manage an office as complex as the DA’s.
Some voters might view Givens as the more progressive candidate. It’s unclear to us what she is pitching to voters. What is clear is that her level of incompetence, if elevated to the DA’s office, would make Dallas County a more dangerous place.
This editorial is part of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s slate of recommendations for the 2026 primary. Find the full project here.
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