Report: Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt to run for Texas attorney general
Prominent civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt, who represents the families of Atatiana Jefferson and Botham Jean, plans to challenge Ken Paxton for Texas Attorney General, according to KERA.
Merritt also represents the family of Marvin Scott III, a Black man who died Sunday while in Collin County Jail custody. Scott was arrested Sunday for allegedly possessing marijuana. Merritt has said the arrest was not appropriate and that Scott was suffering from a mental health crisis when arrested, according to KXAS Channel 5.
“I’ve decided that, this case being the line, that I’m running against Ken Paxton for attorney general in 2022,” Merritt told KERA.
Paxton, who’s facing felony securities fraud and is under investigation by the FBI, is up for election in 2022. He was first elected in 2014 to serve as the state’s highest ranking prosecutor.
Merritt wants to run for the position to help ensure equal treatment for people with disabilities and Black people in the legal system, according to the KERA report.
“It will rip up this state if we don’t address this, because they’re going to keep killing us. Law enforcement will keep killing people suffering from mental health crises and it will cause additional trauma to the community,” Merritt said.
Jefferson was shot and killed in her home by former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean in October 2019. Jean was shot and killed in September 2018 by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger while at his apartment.
The filing period to run for Texas attorney general in 2022 has not yet opened. It’s unclear which political party Merritt would run in.
Galveston lawyer Joe Jaworski has said he’ll run for attorney general as a Democrat.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 5:40 PM.
