The special prosecutor in the contempt case against Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins came under fire Monday for use of a term some people associate with lynching.
Bob Hinton won a round in the ongoing courtroom battle over a contempt charge that Watkins received in March for refusing to testify about misconduct accusations against him.
State District Judge Lena Levario had ordered Watkins to discuss claims that he brought a mortgage fraud case against Hunt family heir Al Hill III as a political favor for an election campaign supporter.
Watkins refused. Levario dismissed the case against Hill and accused Watkins of contempt.
Last week, Watkins asked that Levario be removed from the case because of accusations of bias against Watkins.
On Monday, Administrative Judge John Ovard ruled that Levario would not be removed.
Afterward, Hinton told reporters that Watkins' staff is using every means possible to avoid the contempt case.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"The DA has a core interest here to try to get Craig Watkins' head out of the noose, and they think that if they can disqualify Judge Levario, that's the end of the contempt," he said.
Assistant District Attorney Russell Wilson said the use of word "noose" is offensive.
"It's a grotesque use of words and language," he said. "It has absolutely no place in our judicial system by any party, under any circumstances at any time. But we do think this is an effort to undermine, an undercurrent of a political nature. Maybe that's the association."
After Wilson's response, Hinton denied any ill will toward Watkins or his office.
"It's a poor choice of words, and I apologize if that's the way they took it," Hinton said. "I mean nothing untoward or racial by that."
Wilson said the DA's office would continue to fight the contempt case.
"We can't be distracted by poor, negative, fundamentally ignorant comments by anybody," Wilson said.
Last week, a third judge in the case ruled that Levario made a mistake in her March contempt order by failing to include a punishment. She will now be allowed to correct it, and the case will continue at a later date with a hearing before that third judge to decide if Watkins did indeed commit contempt.
Levario has said she thinks a fine is in order.
The maximum is $500.
