The winning persona that marked the early Craig Watkins years is mostly gone now. He has devolved into a caricature of the telegenic young lawyer who earned national headlines by maintaining a focus on convictions while also clearing the way to overturn errors.
What’s left is a public loss of trust in Dallas County’s district attorney. Even supporters are left to wonder why his headlines are reduced to partisan fights, courthouse bullying and questionable use of public funds.
Dallas County voters — Democrat, Republican or independent — deserve better. This newspaper recommends Susan Hawk, a former prosecutor and district judge, as the person who can build on Watkins’ early success while also restoring fairness and integrity to the office.
Hawk, 44, would be the county’s first female top prosecutor. She was elected countywide three times as judge of the 291st Judicial District Court, a felony-level bench, as a Republican and Democrat. When she stepped down to run for DA as a Republican, Watkins accused her of insincere opportunism. Hawk’s position, which this newspaper shares, is that criminal justice should steer clear of partisanship whenever possible.
As a judge, Hawk pioneered a diversion program for mentally ill defendants. Before that, she was a decorated Dallas County prosecutor and deputy chief of the Child Abuse Division. She has seven capital murder convictions among more than 150 trials and was named 2002 Prosecutor of the Year by the Greater Dallas Crime Commission.
She’s also making her experience a centerpiece of her campaign, even with Watkins’ two terms in office. She says she’s better positioned to prepare and guide prosecutors toward better decisions, such as when to plead a case or go to trial.
Watkins, 46, relied even more on straight-ticket Democratic votes in his narrow 2010 re-election win. After that, ironically, he went after Democratic judges as part of his with-him-or-against-him courthouse mentality. More than one judge has accused him of abusing his authority by threatening to drag them to grand juries over decisions he did not like. Another judge found him in contempt for refusing to honor a subpoena to testify; Lena Levario would be among the judges targeted by Watkins-endorsed candidates.
Dubious ethics only worsened in his second term, evidenced by his fast-and-loose treatment of forfeiture funds supposedly reserved for law enforcement purposes. Instead, Watkins chose to spend $50,000 to settle his own car crash and another $1,250 to sweep his offices for listening devices.
The car crash settlement included a $40,500 penalty paid to Watkins himself if the other driver spoke publicly about the incident.
Watkins deserves credit for many of his “smart on crime” strategies. But that was then. Now, voters should hire his successor in Hawk, even if they have to split straight tickets to do so.
