Attorney General Ken Paxton called Tuesday for state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, to resign, saying he was making a criminal referral over the North Texas lawmaker’s recent communication with a judge involved in death row inmate Robert Roberson’s appeals.
Paxton’s announcement came one day after his office called attention to text messages from Leach urging a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider rulings that rejected Roberson’s bid for a new trial.
“Jeff Leach sought to alter the outcome of capital punishment proceedings by criminally attempting to influence a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals,” Paxton said in a news release. “This is a violation of Texas Penal Code 36.04, which outlaws ‘improper influence.’”
Paxton called on Leach, a fellow Collin County Republican, to resign and said his office was “making a criminal referral” in the matter. He also called on House Speaker Dade Phelan to remove Leach as chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence.
Paxton’s office did not provide further details about the criminal referral and did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Leach declined to comment on Paxton’s statement, referring reporters to his Monday apology for contacting the judge.
“The only news worth commenting on today is that my son Brady, a golfer at Allen High School, shot a 74 and won 1st place in his tournament this morning,” Leach said in a text message.
In text messages sent Friday to Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Michelle Slaughter, Leach appeared to ask the judge to reverse a decision on Roberson’s impending execution.
Slaughter reported the messages, and the appeals court notified lawyers on both sides of Roberson’s case, saying it considered Leach’s contact to be a “clear violation” of professional conduct rules for lawyers. Leach is a lawyer.
“One judge. That’s all I need to simply say … there are too many questions and too many holes and too much uncertainty … and Robert Roberson deserves a new trial,” Leach said by text, according to court documents.
Leach called it “my hope and prayer” that the judge would voluntarily speak out to get Roberson a new trial. “As my friend and as a wonderful Judge who I have so much faith in,” Leach continued, “I hope you’ll consider doing so.”
The judge replied, “I cannot consider your message nor may I discuss any pending matters with you. Thank you in advance for your understanding.”
Leach later apologized for contacting the judge, who was one of five on the nine-judge criminal appeals court to rule against several of the latest legal attempts to halt Roberson’s execution.
Leach said Monday he texted Slaughter because he strongly believes “the system has failed” Roberson.
“As I said in my message to her, I’m not an attorney or a party to the case … nor was I aware of any pending dispute before the Court of Criminal Appeals,” Leach said on social media. “Thus, I thought I was in the clear. But, clearly, I was wrong.”
Once a close friend of Paxton, Leach voted to impeach the attorney general in 2023 and served on the House committee that prosecuted him before the state Senate. Paxton was acquitted after Leach made an impassioned closing argument, calling Paxton a mentor and “brother in Christ” who had lost his way.
Paxton later campaigned against Leach and endorsed his opponent in this year’s Republican primary, but Leach prevailed.
Leach has been central to efforts to stop Roberson’s execution, which was set for Oct. 17 but halted after the House committee voted 7-0 to subpoena the death row inmate accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter in what has been described as a shaken-baby murder case.
Roberson supporters say injuries attributed to shaken-baby syndrome are now known to have other potential causes.
Leach has criticized state’s courts for declining to grant Roberson a new trial under a 2013 law that lets inmates challenge convictions based on outdated “junk science.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals has not granted any relief to challenges made under the 2013 law, according to a report from the Texas Defender Service.
