Jana Duty was the Williamson County, Texas District Attorney from January 2013 through January 2017, and her single term became one of the most troubled in the county’s recent history. She withheld evidence in a capital murder case, served jail time for contempt of court, was sanctioned by the State Bar of Texas, and oversaw the prosecution of Greg Kelley, who was later declared innocent. Republican voters denied her a second term in the March 2016 primary. She was found dead in April 2019 at age 54, and the manner of death was later ruled a suicide.1KXAN. Former Williamson County DA Jana Duty Found Dead
How She Won the Office
Duty had been the elected Williamson County Attorney since 2005 when she challenged incumbent District Attorney John Bradley in the 2012 Republican primary. Her campaign focused on Bradley’s handling of the Michael Morton case, in which Bradley had resisted DNA testing for six years before Morton was exonerated of a 1986 murder. Duty won the primary with 54.9 percent of the vote and went on to defeat Democrat Ken Crain in the general election.2Austin American-Statesman. Morton Case Was Focus of Jana Duty’s Campaign to Oust Williamson County DA
The Harmel Case and Jail for Contempt
The case that defined her tenure was the prosecution of Crispin Harmel for the 2009 capital murder of Jessika Kalaher in Cedar Park. Harmel’s first trial in May 2014 ended in a mistrial after it emerged that Duty’s office had withheld time-stamped surveillance video from the defense. Duty later admitted to withholding the evidence, attributing her decision to what she described as her perceived mistreatment by defense counsel.3Austin American-Statesman. Appeals Court Rules Crispin Harmel Can Be Retried for Capital Murder
District Judge Rick Kennon issued a gag order on April 9, 2015, barring attorneys from discussing the case publicly. On May 6, Duty spoke about the case to an Austin American-Statesman reporter. She testified on June 3 that she had not spoken to the media, then acknowledged twelve days later that she had in fact spoken to reporters from a television station and a newspaper.4Courthouse News Service. Texas DA Fights to Hold Onto Her Job Her defense was that she had responded to accusations defense lawyers had made in court filings rather than discussing the facts of the case itself.5Austin American-Statesman. Williamson County DA Jana Duty Released From Jail in Contempt Case
On August 6, 2015, visiting Judge Doug Shaver found Duty guilty of contempt for violating the gag order, failing to appear for a May 8 hearing, and displaying what the judge characterized as veiled threats toward the court. Shaver sentenced her to 10 days in jail and a $500 fine.6Spectrum News Austin. Williamson County District Attorney Arrested for Contempt of Court After missing the hearing, Duty had sent Judge Kennon and other attorneys an email that read: “If you feel I need to be reprimanded for communicating with the Statesman, I understand. But making a public spectacle out of punishing me just hurts everyone. No one will come out unscathed.”5Austin American-Statesman. Williamson County DA Jana Duty Released From Jail in Contempt Case She chose not to appeal and served five days with two-for-one credit, saying she wanted to focus on her work rather than spend six months in appeals.
State Bar Sanctions
In September 2016, a State Bar of Texas disciplinary panel placed Duty on 18 months of probation for professional misconduct connected to the Harmel case. The panel found she had been dishonest, made false statements about the integrity of a judge, made untruthful statements to others, and disobeyed the gag order.7Austin American-Statesman. State Bar Puts Jana Duty on 18-Month Probation The sanction took the form of a fully probated 18-month suspension of her law license, which let her keep practicing as long as she committed no further violations. She was also ordered to pay $3,250 in attorney fees to the State Bar.8KXAN. Williamson County DA Jana Duty Sanctioned by State Bar
The Greg Kelley Wrongful Conviction
Duty’s office prosecuted Greg Kelley in 2014 on two counts of super aggravated sexual assault of a four-year-old boy. He was sentenced to 25 years.9Oxygen. Jana Duty, DA Who Prosecuted Greg Kelley, Had History of Misconduct The Cedar Park Police Department investigation that supported the prosecution later fell apart. The lead detective, Christopher Dailey, swore a probable cause affidavit with false dates aligned to Kelley’s period of residence at the home where the alleged abuse occurred, and falsely stated that the victim had identified Kelley. Police did not interview another resident of the home, Johnathan McCarty, who resembled Kelley, compiled no list of alternative suspects, and ran no background checks on other household members. A later Texas Ranger investigation uncovered that McCarty had allegedly bragged about assaulting the victim.10Prison Legal News. $500,000 Settlement for Texas Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Child Sex Abuse
After Duty left office, her successor Shawn Dick reopened the case. In September 2017, Dick publicly called the Kelley prosecution a “catastrophic failure” and described the police investigation as “wholly deficient.”11The Appeal. Texas District Attorney Says System Failed in Case of Man Convicted of Sexual Assault In December 2017, a Williamson County court found the evidence established Kelley’s “actual innocence” and overturned his conviction. He had served three years. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling on November 6, 2019, and a Williamson County judge formally declared Kelley innocent on all charges later that month.10Prison Legal News. $500,000 Settlement for Texas Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Child Sex Abuse
Voted Out, and What the Next DA Found
Defense attorney Shawn Dick defeated Duty in the March 2016 Republican primary with 56 percent of the vote to her 44 percent, campaigning on a promise to restore integrity and professionalism to the office. With no Democratic opponent, he took office in January 2017.12Austin American-Statesman. Shawn Dick Ousts Jana Duty as Wilco DA Two late attempts to remove Duty before her term ended, a June 2016 citizen lawsuit and a September 2016 petition from Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs alleging incompetence and official misconduct, both failed to force her out early.13Austin American-Statesman. County Attorney Files Suit Against Embattled DA Jana Duty
When Dick’s staff moved in, they discovered 218 criminal cases in a vacant administrative office that had never been reviewed by prosecutors, some dating back to 2013, ranging from forgeries to sexual assaults. Roughly 1,500 defense discovery requests from the final four months of 2016 were still pending. Dick attributed the backlog to understaffing during Duty’s last year and hired additional prosecutors to work through it.14NBC DFW. Staff Discovers More Than 200 Unexamined Cases Dick also found that Brent Webster, Duty’s former first assistant district attorney, had failed to serve required citations to property owners in more than 60 asset forfeiture cases. Dick estimated the county would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in seized funds, and at least one case involving $1,545 had already been forfeited because of the missed deadlines. Webster said Duty had delegated day-to-day operations to him and that he had prioritized criminal prosecutions over property seizures while short-staffed.15Austin American-Statesman. DA: Williamson County to Lose Hundreds of Thousands in Seized Money
Death
Jana Duty was found dead in Rockport, Texas, on April 24, 2019, at the age of 54. An autopsy report released to KXAN that September ruled her manner of death a suicide.1KXAN. Former Williamson County DA Jana Duty Found Dead Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell said in a statement: “We are heartbroken at the loss and our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, children and grandchildren.”