Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney candidates in the Democratic primary March 1
Albert Roberts
Occupation: Criminal Defense Attorney
Age: 40
What’s the best way for voters to reach you? https://www.albertjohnroberts.com/contact
Website: www.albertjohnroberts.com
Public offices you’ve held or run for, with years: Tarrant County District Attorney - 2018
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Why are you seeking this office? I am running for this office for my children and the children of Tarrant County to have an opportunity to have a brighter future. I am running to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal legal system into a system that prioritizes public safety. My previous experience as both an Assistant District Attorney in two major counties and as a current criminal defense attorney gives me depth of purpose and a scope to make sure the job is done most effectively from both sides of the courtroom.
What would your top 3 priorities be if elected?
- End mass incarceration and stop the prosecution of low level non-violent offenses.
- Conviction Integrity Unit - I want to create a conviction integrity unit that actually works. I would support the continued investigation of the medical examiner’s office, Fort Worth crime laboratory, prioritize death row, life in prison cases, inmates that are incarcerated, political prosecutions and make sure the convictions are legitimate.
- Create more diversion programs that stop the cycle of school to prison and over incarceration of our community. I would also support diversion programs that help to find immigration neutral consequences by working to help ensure convictions avoid collateral immigration consequences consistent with public safety. I would support reforming bail by assessing individual risk and by recommending alternatives to jail.
How do you think the Texas Bail Reform bill will impact the jail population? I believe the jail population will continue to rise and the disparity that already exist will become further enhanced and disenfranchise marginalized communities, communities of color and poor people who make up the majority of the already existing jail population due to a lack of resources and not due to the risk of public safety. Most people sitting in county jails are pre-trial and awaiting their court date. It is wrong for individuals who don’t pose a risk to public safety to remain incarcerated and risk at times their own lives in our county jail. We as a society must do a better job of making sure the rights of individuals aren’t violated while protecting the public safety our community.
Do you believe non-violent offenders should be jailed? If so, what types of non-violent offenses do you think people should be jailed for? No
Anything else you’d like voters to know? I grew up in Fort Worth, a proud graduate of Dunbar High School, Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University. I was raised in a single parent household with my siblings and I am the first in my family to go to college. I will bring fairness, transparency and accountability to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. I am a criminal defense attorney and have seen the justice system from both sides and I know firsthand best practices that will work. I am currently a member of the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association (formerly known as the Tarrant County Black Bar Association), Tarrant County Bar Association, Mexican American Bar Association (MABA), Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the National Bar Association. I help coach my son’s basketball team, I am a member of Community Frontline, NAACP, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. My wife, Dr. Keonna Roberts and I are the proud parents of Albert III and Karrington.
Tiffany Burks
Occupation: Attorney
Age: 51
What’s the best way for voters to reach you? By emailing tiffanyburksforda@gmail.com
Website: tiffanyburksforda.com
Public offices you’ve held or run for, with years: No previous offices held or run for
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Why are you seeking this office? Too many citizens question the fairness of the criminal justice system, whether all citizens are treated equitably, and whether justice is, or ever can be, achieved.
I am seeking this office because the citizens of Tarrant County deserve a criminal justice system in which the district attorney makes decisions in the pursuit of justice, a district attorney that does not allow politics to interfere with the administration of that justice, and a system that treats every citizen of Tarrant County fairly and equitably.
What would your top 3 priorities be if elected? If elected the next Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney, my top 3 priorities will be 1) rebuilding the divide of distrust between the community and the criminal justice system with an unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability, and doing the right thing for the right reason, all the time; 2) engaging and partnering with community resources to make diversion programs, when appropriate, the norm and not the exception; and 3) our bail system.
How do you think the Texas Bail Reform bill will impact the jail population? In passing the Texas Bail Reform bill, the legislature missed an opportunity to create real bail reform that addresses, not only issues of community safety, but issues related to Texans being held in jail for nonviolent offenses because they cannot make bail. By creating an automatic rule, which casts a wide net and does not allow for exceptions, the Texas Bail Reform bill will impact the jail population in Tarrant County by jailing citizens who, otherwise, might be candidates for cashless bail.
Do you believe non-violent offenders should be jailed? If so, what types of non-violent offenses do you think people should be jailed for? The determination of who should or should not be jailed should be made on a case-by-case basis and is an integral factor missing in the Texas Bail Reform bill.
Bail serves two purposes – to ensure one’s appearance at court and, in appropriate instances, to protect. I support the dual purpose of the cash bail system. However, for many citizens, bail becomes oppressive when they lack the financial means to post bond – effectively acting as a jail sentence before the person has been formally charged and/or had his or her day in court. This violates the constitutionally given equal protection rights of Tarrant County citizens, which should concern all of us.
There are circumstances in which personal recognizance (PR), cashless bonds are appropriate. I support allowing those who make the decisions about bail to use PR bonds in the appropriate cases to have the flexibility to do so.
Our criminal justice system does not need laws that tie the hands of the courts to one outcome or another automatically. I have handled hundreds of cases, and one thing I know for certain is that every case, like every individual, is different. Therefore, it is imperative that we reimagine a bail system that fulfils its purposes of ensuring appearance in court and, when appropriate, protecting the community. We can achieve this dual purpose without penalizing members of our community who may not have the financial means that others have. Fairness, equity, and justice should be the prevailing cornerstones of our criminal justice system, including our bail system.
Anything else you’d like voters to know? Tarrant County is at a defining moment — one in which we decide what our criminal justice system looks like for decades to come and one in which we decide who we are as a community. The elected District Attorney plays a crucial role in the criminal justice system.
A vote for me is a vote for transparency, just and equitable accountability, experience, and tested leadership – not politically pandering talking points or political agendas – just honest hard work, in which fairness, equity, and integrity inform the pursuit of justice.
I appreciate your time, and I hope to earn your vote.
Larry Meyers
Did not respond.
