In Texas, felony cases are prosecuted by the elected district attorney for the judicial district, or by a criminal district attorney in the roughly 50 counties that use that combined office. County attorneys, the Texas Attorney General, a court-appointed attorney pro tem, and federal U.S. Attorneys can also prosecute felonies, but only in defined circumstances. Knowing who can prosecute felony cases in Texas comes down to the type of office in your county and whether anything has knocked the regular prosecutor off the case.
District Attorneys: The Default Felony Prosecutor
Texas law gives each district attorney the duty of representing the state in every criminal case within that district’s courts, including appeals.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.01 – Duties of District Attorneys For most Texans, that makes the DA the person responsible for prosecuting felonies like murder, aggravated assault, robbery, sexual offenses, and large-scale drug crimes.
The office’s work starts long before trial. Prosecutors review police reports, advise investigators on evidence, and decide whether the facts support formal charges. If charges move forward, the DA presents the case to a grand jury, handles plea negotiations and pretrial motions, tries the case, and argues the state’s position at sentencing.
Criminal District Attorneys
About 50 Texas counties elect a criminal district attorney in place of a separate district attorney and county attorney. The list includes some of the largest jurisdictions in the state, such as Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Collin counties.2State of Texas. Texas Government Code 44.001 – Election A criminal district attorney prosecutes the full range of criminal cases in the county, from misdemeanors in county courts up through the most serious felonies in district courts.
The specifics vary because Government Code Chapter 44 spells out jurisdiction county by county. In Bexar County, for instance, the criminal district attorney prosecutes in district, county, and justice courts. Some counties carve out municipal court cases. The core setup is the same across all of them: one elected office handles everything criminal.
When a County Attorney Handles Felonies
County attorneys mostly prosecute misdemeanors in county-level courts. Felony work is the exception, not the rule. The clearest case is a county with no district attorney at all; there, the county attorney handles felonies by default.
A county attorney can also pitch in on a felony when deputized by a district attorney or brought in through an interagency agreement for a specific case. This sometimes happens when a DA’s office is short-staffed or a particular case needs extra trial resources. The DA keeps the lead; the county attorney assists.
When the Texas Attorney General Prosecutes
The attorney general is Texas’s chief civil lawyer and holds a narrow lane for criminal prosecution. Under Government Code Section 402.028, the AG may assist in prosecuting criminal cases when a local prosecutor requests help.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code 402.028 – Assistance to Prosecuting Attorneys As a general matter, the office cannot walk into a county and take over a case uninvited.
The AG’s criminal work tends to involve public integrity offenses, organized crime, and multi-county or environmental cases that implicate statewide interests. Election fraud is the main exception to the request-based framework: under the Texas Election Code, the attorney general has independent authority to investigate and prosecute election-related criminal conduct. For everything else, think of the AG as a backstop. The overwhelming majority of felony prosecutions in Texas are handled locally, and the AG steps in when a case is too large, too politically entangled, or too specialized for a county office to manage alone.
Attorney Pro Tem Appointments
When the regular prosecutor is disqualified, absent, or otherwise unable to handle a case, a judge can appoint a substitute called an attorney pro tem. The Code of Criminal Procedure authorizes these appointments whenever an attorney for the state cannot act, whether because of a conflict of interest, a personal connection to the defendant, or a vacancy in the office.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.07 – Attorney Pro Tem
The pool of eligible appointees is limited. The statute defines “attorney for the state” as a county attorney with criminal jurisdiction, a district attorney, or a criminal district attorney, and a judge may also appoint an assistant attorney general.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.07 – Attorney Pro Tem Private attorneys who are not serving as prosecutors generally cannot be tapped for the role. That restriction tightened after the legislature passed Senate Bill 341 in 2019, which repealed several subsections that had previously allowed broader appointment authority.
An attorney pro tem steps into the regular prosecutor’s shoes for the assigned case and carries the same authority and obligations. The appointment is temporary and case-specific. One distinction matters: an attorney pro tem replaces the prosecutor, while a “special prosecutor” merely assists at the DA’s request and does not need a court appointment.5Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Texas Attorney General Opinion KP-0273 – Payment of District Attorney Pro Tem A prosecutor who is not technically disqualified but recognizes a conflict can also ask the court to approve a voluntary recusal, which triggers the same appointment process.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.07 – Attorney Pro Tem
Federal Prosecutors for Overlapping Crimes
Some conduct violates both Texas law and federal law. Drug trafficking, firearms offenses, bank fraud, and immigration crimes are common examples. In those situations, both the local DA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the relevant federal district can bring charges, and under the dual sovereignty doctrine, prosecution by one does not bar the other.6Constitution Annotated. Amdt5.3.3 Dual Sovereignty Doctrine
Texas contains four federal judicial districts: Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. Each has a U.S. Attorney appointed by the president, and assistant U.S. attorneys do the actual trial work. Federal prosecutors tend to focus on cases with a significant federal interest, including large-scale drug conspiracies, public corruption, civil rights violations, and financial fraud that crosses state lines.
State and federal prosecutors often coordinate informally. A major drug ring might be prosecuted federally because federal sentencing guidelines are harsher for certain quantities, while a related street-level dealer is charged under Texas law. Defendants sometimes assume that a state acquittal or plea deal protects them from federal charges. It does not. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this in 2019, holding that separate sovereigns can each prosecute because each enforces its own distinct law.6Constitution Annotated. Amdt5.3.3 Dual Sovereignty Doctrine
The Grand Jury’s Role Before Any Felony Trial
Whoever the prosecutor is, no felony in Texas goes to trial without first passing through a grand jury. The Texas Constitution requires a grand jury indictment before anyone can be held to answer for a felony, with narrow exceptions for military cases and impeachment. A defendant can waive this right, but the default is that the prosecutor must convince a grand jury that probable cause exists.
A Texas grand jury has 12 members. The prosecutor presents evidence, usually by summarizing the facts and answering jurors’ questions, though witnesses and documents can also be brought in. At least nine of the 12 jurors must vote to indict. If fewer than nine agree, the result is a “no-bill,” and the charges do not move forward at that time.
Grand jury proceedings are secret. The defendant and defense counsel are not present while evidence is being considered, and grand jurors are prohibited from disclosing what happens in the room. For the prosecutor’s office, the grand jury serves as both a check on prosecutorial power and a practical test of whether a case is strong enough for trial.