Legal heavyweights seeking Democratic Party nomination in El Paso DA's race
Legal heavyweights are relying on decades of legal experience in a battle to represent the Democratic party in the race for El Paso District Attorney.
James Montoya and Alma Trejo will faceoff in a May 28 runoff election to see who will challenge incumbent El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks in the Nov. 5 General Election. Hicks, a Republican, ran unopposed in the Republican primary election.
Montoya is currently an El Paso County deputy public defender, while Trejo resigned as El Paso County Criminal Court #1 judge to run for district attorney.
The El Paso Times sent questionnaires to the candidates in contested races in the March , 2022, primary election. Following are the answers to the questionnaire submitted by Montoya and Trejo.
Montoya ended primary night with 38% of the votes, while Trejo finished with 36% of the vote. Nancy Casas, a county attorney, finished third in the March primary gathering nearly 27% of the vote. Casas has endorsed Montoya in the runoff election.
The key focus in the district attorney's race has been staffing issues within the district attorney's office. The staffing shortage has been blamed for creating a large backlog of cases and delaying the El Paso Walmart mass shooting trial.
Montoya said he has a team ready to start on day one if he is elected to immediately fix the staffing shortage originally created under the former district attorney Yvonne Rosales, who resigned from office amid accusations of official misconduct.
"What makes me the best candidate is not just my own personal experience and qualifications, but that I actually have a team of experienced lawyers who have expressed a willingness to return to the district attorney's office or to start at the district attorney's office under my leadership," Montoya said. "One person cannot fix the situation in the DA's office. It's going to take a team effort. I'm very proud of the team that I have. I always tell voters, 'when you're voting for James Montoya, you're not just voting for one person. You're voting for a whole team of experience.'"
Trejo also said addressing staffing shortages is one of her main priorities. If elected, she will use her experience in the legal field to hire experienced prosecutors and maintain attorneys currently working for the district attorney's office, she said.
"I'm going to draw on my experience as a former judge and a former administrative who has hiring and firing experience and managerial experience," Trejo said. "I'm going to first of all read all the exit interviews to find out what the problem is. Why are people leaving? The problem is not recruiting. The problem is maintaining. So once I figure out what the problems are I'll sit down with my administration and figure out how we can solve that problem. Maybe it's offering part time. Maybe it's offering flex time. Maybe it's offering contract work. Whatever the needs of that office are that's what I plan to address."
The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted. Additional information can be found at elpasotimes.com.
More: James Montoya, Alma Trejo face off in runoff election for El Paso district attorney seat
James Montoya
Age: 33
Please describe your personal and professional background.
I am born and raised here in El Paso. Growing up, I attended Soccoro ISD public schools and became an Eagle Scout with Yucca Council Troop 37. I attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. for both college and law school. While in D.C., I worked for State Department and Department of Justice. I immediately returned to El Paso and started my legal career as an Assistant District Attorney under Jaime Esparza. Starting in 2014, I was assigned to the Special Crimes Unit and was responsible for the prosecution for all homicides and other major crimes in El Paso County. After unsuccessfully running for DA in 2020, I served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuting violent felonies, including murders, sexual assaults, and robberies, on Native American reservations in Oklahoma. Since 2022, I have served a Deputy Public Defender for El Paso County representing indigent members of our community accused of crimes. Throughout my career, I have worked on over 100 homicide cases and personally tried 65 jury trials, half of which were for murder or capital murder.
How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?
I am currently a Deputy Public Defender. If I am elected, being the DA will be my only employment.
Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?
I attended SISD public schools and graduated from Americas High School. I was accepted into a highly-competitive combined degree program at George Washington University, where I received both a B.A. in political science and my law degree.
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
Having now served in three different government law offices – the District Attorney’s Office, a U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Public Defender’s Office – and seeing first-hand a wide range of leadership styles, I believe the experience that best qualifies me to be DA is my extensive and unparalleled trial experience. To effectively lead an office of nearly 90 trial lawyers, I believe one must be a trial lawyer. Trial work, particularly on murder cases and other complex investigations, requires leadership – coordinating the efforts of dozens of law enforcement officers, forensic scientists, administrative staff, victim services personnel, and civilian witnesses demands leadership. It demands learning how to delegate, compromise, and adapt. It is necessary to understand the work that is actually being done in the office and all phases of litigation, from start to finish.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.
No.
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.
No. However, by law, I would be disqualified from prosecuting cases where I previously represented the accused. Those cases would be transferred to the County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?
Government transparency requires both the individual elected official and the agency/department to be readily accessible and accountable to the public, including responsiveness to open records requests, media interviews, and other citizen forums. Yes, throughout my career as an Assistant District Attorney, I regularly made myself available to answer questions after trials, regardless of the outcome, and I continue to provide my personal number on the campaign trail.
Issue related questions
What do you feel are the largest challenges facing the El Paso District Attorney’s Office? As District Attorney, what would you do to address those challenges?
The single most critical challenge facing the DA’s Office now is a staffing crisis. The staffing crisis began in 2021 with Ms. Yvonne Rosales’ mass dismissals. The appointed DA, Mr. Hicks, has been unable to solve it. To this day, the DA’s Office simply does not have enough lawyers to give the cases the attention they deserve. It is a disservice to victims of crime who want justice and it’s a disservice to those accused because they don’t have enough lawyers to ensure that a person’s constitutional rights are upheld. Every week as a public defender, I see cases dismissed the morning of trial because the DA’s Office is not sufficiently prepared or missed certain deadlines. Incriminating and exonerating evidence that should be turned over months before trial is regularly disclosed on the eve of trial. Emails and phone calls go unreturned for weeks. It is not an understatement to say that right now, the DA’s Office is barely getting by.
The only way to rectify the situation is to first, aggressively recruit and retain experienced lawyers, and then create a long-term effort to recruit, train, and mentor young lawyers. Following Ms. Rosales’ dismissals, many of my former colleagues began working for other governmental law offices, including the Public Defender’s Office, or went into private practice. Many of these individuals are ready, willing, and able to return to the DA’s Office under the right circumstances. I have identified a group of a dozen to 15 lawyers, both new and old, who are open to joining the DA’s Office under my leadership. This group of experienced lawyers would make an immediate impact on day one. Furthermore, they would create the environment and atmosphere necessary to create long-term stability and continuity in the DA’s Office.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I am the best candidate because I am the only candidate that (1) fundamentally understands the needs and problems of the DA’s Office right now and (2) has the experience, team, and plan necessary to solve it. In two short years, Ms. Rosales caused significant institutional harm not only to the DA’s Office, but our entire local criminal justice system. I have grave concerns that another four years of another district attorney who does not understand the gravity of the situation or the monumentality of the responsibility will cause that damage to become irreparable. We only have so much time to turn things around before it becomes the permanent state of being. I not only understand the challenge ahead, but I am ready to make the long-term commitment to fix it.
What are your top three priorities?
1) Fully staff the DA’s Office – no other initiatives are realistically possible until this condition is met. 2) Ensure that the Walmart case is responsibly prosecuted. 3) Establish office guidelines ensuring that crimes that directly impact public safety – crimes of violence, crimes involving weapons, domestic abuse, crimes against children, repeat DWIs – are prioritized for prosecution and receive the attention they deserve.
What role does the district attorney play? Is it more administrative position or litigation position?
Who the DA needs to be is a leader. To characterize the position as more administrative or litigation is a false dichotomy of the role of the DA. At its most fundamental level, the DA is the community’s elected representative in our criminal justice system. The DA needs to be a leader who understands how our community feels about criminal justice and public safety. A leader with substantive trial experience who has actually faced El Paso County juries and understands what the mission of the office is. A leader with vision, who can build a team of prosecutors, support personnel, and law enforcement, and articulate clear guidance for that team to follow, and to instill a culture of integrity, justice, and professionalism. I am that leader.
What are your plans and strategies to address the large backlog of cases currently pending in the El Paso justice system? What types of cases would you prioritize?
Again, it goes back to staffing. The backlog was created because there simply was not enough lawyers to review all the cases that law enforcement agencies were bringing to the DA’s Office for prosecution – police were arresting offenders, but the DA’s Office was failing to file charges against them in court. Although the appointed DA has made efforts to file the cases, the backlog itself has not gone away – the pile of cases is simply being pushed from within the DA’s Office and out into the courts. The DA’s Office now needs lawyers to actually prosecute the cases in court – lawyers that they do not have. That is precisely why one of my priorities is to provide clear guidelines to my assistant prosecutors to focus their time and attention on the cases that matter the most – crimes of violence, crimes involving weapons, domestic abuse, crimes against children, repeat DWIs.
How do you plan to handle low level misdemeanors such as marijuana possession?
While a DA is not free to disregard the law, nor do I believe that a DA should encourage lawbreaking, I will direct my prosecutors to place the lowest priority on victimless misdemeanors. These are cases that could potentially be disposed of with a class and a small administrative fee. In theft and vandalism cases, we will always prioritize restitution to the victim. For first time offenders, I will instruct my prosecutors to resolve the case in a manner that allows the person to expunge the case from his or her record.
Do you plan on continuing to seek the death penalty against the El Paso Walmart mass shooter?
Yes. My personal opinion is that the mass shooter deserves the death penalty and that a jury of El Pasoans should decide the appropriate punishment. However, the Department of Justice chose not to pursue the death penalty after reviewing mitigation evidence provided by his defense lawyers. I have not been made privy to that information and I believe that it should be reviewed. Furthermore, the critical question for me is what will the status of the case be on January 1, 2025 – if we are not any closer to trial, or if it appears we are unable to find an unbiased jury here in El Paso, those are factors that to me, weigh against continuing to pursue the death penalty.
A number of El Paso Police officers where recently arrested on criminal charges; how should these cases be handled? Would you be open to plea agreements that result in reduced charges?
I believe all public servants, including law enforcement officers, should be held to a higher standard by virtue of their position of trust. If elected, once we have fully staffed the DA’s Office, I intend to establish a Public Integrity Unit, which would handle cases involving public servants or licensed professionals accused of official misconduct. Regarding plea agreements and reduced charges, we will always follow the law and facts in resolving cases and each case is handled on an individual basis.
How can the District Attorney’s Office address border crime? How important is building relationships with law enforcement?
It is imperative that the DA’s Office has a positive working relationship with the various law enforcement agencies in our jurisdiction. The DA’s Office relies on law enforcement to conduct impartial investigations, collect all available evidence, and speak to the necessary witnesses. While the entities are separate, they must work together to keep the community safe and ensure the right offenders are held accountable. Furthermore, the DA’s Office plays a crucial role in providing oversight and accountability to our law enforcement agencies – the DA’s Office is uniquely situated to cast a critical eye on investigations, correct improper police procedures, and provide legal updates from the Legislature or from appellate courts.
Respectfully, the phrase “border crime” is so amorphous and ambiguous as to render it almost impossible to answer intelligently. Non-citizens who commit criminal offenses will be held accountable as citizens. I intend to work closely with federal law enforcement agencies to ensure that cases involving transnational criminal enterprises and trends are handled by those with the best available resources. I do not believe that state and local law enforcement agencies should be enforcing federal immigration laws. I do not believe that SB4 as enacted is constitutional – the laws contained/comprised by SB4 are virtually identical to the Arizona laws previously struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012 and as a result, do not believe that SB4 should be enforced by any state actor until its constitutionality has been definitively ruled upon by the federal courts.
What must be done to regain the El Paso community’s trust after the resignation of former District Attorney Yvonne Rosales?
Ultimately, I believe it is incumbent on the next District Attorney to begin the long and arduous journey to rebuild the DA’s Office as an institution and the community’s trust. I believe it is up to the elected official to set the tone and culture moving forward. I am committed to making myself personally accessible and accountable for all actions at the DA’s Office. I will work to ensure that the community is informed of the progress we make as well as any setbacks. I have never been one to shy away from an inconvenient truth – indeed, as a prosecutor you cannot! This is a position with a tremendous amount of responsibility and very little room for error. That is not lost on me. I am running to be DA because I fundamentally believe in accountability – people need to be held accountable for the things they do (or don’t), myself included, and I am relying on my team, the press, and the community to keep us on track.
Alma Trejo
Age: 59
Please describe your personal and professional background.
Like many El Pasoans, I am a first generation American. My father and his brothers came to the US to work in agriculture as braceros. After moving around for several years, we settled down in Fabens and I attended school and worked as a waitress at a local diner during my high school and college years. My parents still reside in Fabens.
I am the proud mother of a high school senior at EPHS. I was involved in school organizations during her school years.
I started as an intern at the County Attorney’s Office and eventually became a misdemeanor prosecutor. I started as a felony prosecutor at the District Attorney’s Office and was promoted to Chief of a felony trial team and later promoted to Chief of the Rape and Child Abuse Unit. I tried at least 80 felony jury trials including sexual assault cases, murder cases, capital murder cases and a death penalty case.
In 2002, I was elected as the Judge of County Criminal Court at Law #1 and remained on the bench until September 30, 2023. I presided over hundreds of misdemeanors jury trials during my time as a Judge.
I was elected as the Local Administrative Judge for the Council of Judges in 2015 and served in that capacity for 4 years. In 2021, I was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Hecht to serve on the Judicial Advisory Council, I am still serving as a board member. I also served on the El Paso Juvenile Probation Board for approximately 15 years.
How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?
I resigned as the presiding judge of County Criminal Court #1, pursuant to state law, to run for the office of District Attorney. I plan to go back to work after my daughter goes off to college this fall. My employment will be determined by the election.
Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?
After graduating from Fabens High School, I obtained my Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from UTEP and my Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech School of Law.
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
I was elected as Local Administrative Judge (LAJ) of the Council of Judges for 4 years. One of my first duties included repairing the County’s Indigent Defense Plan after failing an audit conducted by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. I wrote the County’s response and established our current Indigent Defense system and procedures that complied with the Fair Defense Act.
As the LAJ, I managed our $6 million budget for 40 courts and 200 court employees, handled HR matters, handled the hiring and firing of employees, established a performance metric team, addressed court backlogs, implemented court paperless procedures, updated court practices to comply with changing statutes, helped create the Jail Magistrate Court and collaborated with other county and community partners to address court issues. I met all these administrative responsibilities while still handing all my responsibilities in my court.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.
No.
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.
My brother is employed by EPPD as a detective, I am not sure if that would qualify as a conflict. That was a conflict when I served as a judge, I will inquire with the appropriate agencies to determine if a conflict exists.
What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?
The District Attorney has a responsibility to keep the public appraised of what the office is doing to keep El Paso safe. As I stated early in the campaign, I am committed to posting case data metrics on the website, the public should know how many capital murders, murders, sexual assaults, DWIs and other case types are pending in the office and the results of our jury trials.
I plan to be available to the press and to community organizations. I would like to also set up town hall meetings in different parts of town to talk to discuss community issues.
Issue related questions
What do you feel are the largest challenges facing the El Paso District Attorney’s Office? As District Attorney, what would you do to address those challenges?
The biggest challenge facing the DA’s office is the shortage of attorneys. This shortage has caused a backlog of pending cases. During the last three years as a Judge, I had to reduce the number of hearings and trials by half since I only had 1 prosecutor assigned to the court instead of the 2 prosecutors normally assigned to each court under the Jaime Esparza administration. It is my understanding that 24 attorneys have left the office in 1 year due to low morale.
I would read the exit interviews of the attorneys who have left in the past 4 years to avoid the same problems. I would offer part-time employment in addition to full time employment and would allow remote employment, when possible, to improve morale.
I would also send recruitment teams to our Texas law schools in hopes of attracting soon to be lawyers. I would build a work environment that appreciates our employees and keeps them happy. I have a good reputation among the legal field, and I know I can attract enough attorneys to establish a fully staffed office again.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I have vast trial experience as well as managerial experience. I can make decisions on day one. I have experience with budgets, employee matters, best practices and collaboration with others. I am a problem solver who focuses on solving the issue not playing the blame game.
I am the only candidate in the democratic primary with death penalty experience.
My main motivation for running for this position is to make El Paso safe for my daughter, nieces and for all our families. I have the skill set required to lead and transform the DA’s office with 170 employees and a $20 million budget.
What are your top three priorities?
My three priorities include the Walmart case, the attorney shortage and the backlog of murder cases. On the first day in office, I would meet with the Walmart case lawyers to find out the status of the case and figure out how soon we can try this case. I would also meet with the families of the Walmart case to give them an update of the case.
The answers to question 8 details how I plan to address the attorney shortage problem.
There are currently 80 murder cases and 35 capital murder cases pending in the office, some cases as old as 6 years. In the first month, we would assign all these cases to two person teams so that the cases can be worked on. All lawyers in the office would be included in these assignments. Once a case is ready, we would ask the court for a hearing date to proceed to trial, if necessary.
What role does the district attorney play? Is it more administrative position or litigation position?
The role of the DA is 95% administrative and 5% litigation, especially when the office needs to be rebuilt. Having said that, a DA needs to have vast litigation experience, especially in death penalty cases, murder cases and sexual assault cases since the DA makes the ultimate decision in these types of cases.
The DA is responsible for making sure the budget incorporates enough attorneys and staff to handle all the cases in 8 misdemeanor courts and 11 felony courts. If more personnel are needed, the DA must ask commissioners court for more positions and be able to justify these new positions with data. The DA is also responsible for all HR matters such as hiring, firing and employee grievances. Making sure your attorneys are properly trained and supervised is also another duty of the DA. The DA hires an administrative team for them to carry out the office’s priorities.
The DA also sits on various committees with criminal justice partners and must collaborate with others.
What are your plans and strategies to address the large backlog of cases currently pending in the El Paso justice system? What types of cases would you prioritize?
I would run data reports to find out how many pending cases we have and the age of those pending cases. I would classify the cases by high priority vs low priority. I would ask the courts to set up “rocket docket” hearings for the low priority cases so we can quickly dispose of those cases, this will free up the lawyers to start working on the high priority cases such as murder, rapes, violent offenses, DWIs and assaults.
Murder cases would be assigned to all lawyers in the office to resolve those cases as soon as possible and everyone would learn to try a murder case.
The goal would be for each prosecutor to be sent a monthly dashboard detailing the age and classification of the pending cases so that he/she can concentrate on the high priority cases and quickly resolve the low priority cases.
How do you plan to handle low level misdemeanors such as marijuana possession?
The County Courts implemented a cite and release program for misdemeanor marijuana cases, I would continue this program to avoid criminalizing our youth and save taxpayer money.
Do you plan on continuing to seek the death penalty against the El Paso Walmart mass shooter?
I would say yes for now. I would need to examine the penalty phase evidence and determine if we have the evidence to meet our burden and obtain the death penalty. I would also talk to the US Attorney’s office to find out why they didn’t seek the death penalty in the federal case. I would also find out if he is going to serve out his federal sentence first even if he is given a death sentence on the state charges.
I doubt we can find enough El Paso jurors who have not made up their mind as to his guilt, therefore this case will need to be tried in another county.
As a steward of taxpayer money, I would need to make sure we have the evidence required to obtain a death sentence. I would speak to the victims before deciding on whether to proceed to trial in another county to seek the death penalty or allow him to plead to life sentences.
A number of El Paso Police officers where recently arrested on criminal charges; how should these cases be handled? Would you be open to plea agreements that result in reduced charges?
These cases should be evaluated and handled in the same manner as any other case. The case may proceed to trial, to a guilty plea or even a dismissal depending on the evidence and strength of the case. If the evidence merits a reduction of charges, that is how the case will be handled.
How can the District Attorney’s Office address border crime? How important is building relationships with law enforcement?
All cases presented by law enforcement will be evaluated and prioritized on a case-by-case basis. I would start a dialogue with law enforcement, Commissioners Court, Public Defender’s office and other agencies to determine if we have the resources to prosecute SB4 offenses if the statute is determined to be constitutional by the courts.
Trust and open communication between prosecutors and law enforcement is necessary. I would initiate quarterly meetings between all law enforcement agencies and our office to address any issues.
What must be done to regain the El Paso community’s trust after the resignation of former District Attorney Yvonne Rosales?
The resolution of the Walmart case is one step toward regaining the community’s confidence again. Transparency through a website, media presses and town hall meetings will also help regain people’s confidence. Once the community hears that the office is fully staffed again and the backlog of cases is being addressed, I have no doubt the public will start trusting the DA’s office again.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: James Montoya, Alma Trejo answer campaign questions in DA runoff race
