Office of the Attorney General Files Motion for a Protective Order Preventing Convicted Child Murderer from Testifying in Show Hearing at Texas Capitol

AUSTIN – The Office of the Attorney General filed a motion for a protective order to prevent a procedurally deficient and overly burdensome subpoena from enabling a convicted murderer to testify at a House Committee hearing. The filing of the motion automatically excuses the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from complying with the subpoena pending a hearing and resolution of the motion.

Robert Roberson was convicted of murdering his two-year-old daughter in 2002 and scheduled to be executed in October 2024. In an unprecedented procedural maneuver intended to end-run the state Constitution and delay his execution, members of the Texas House issued a subpoena calling the convicted murderer to testify in front of their committee on a date after the execution was to take place. The legislative committee then sued to enforce their subpoena, doubling down on their unconstitutional effort to interfere with his death sentence. In November 2024, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the subpoena issued by a Texas House Committee may not interfere with a lawfully ordered execution.

The House members then issued another document purporting to be a subpoena demanding that Roberson be physically brought to the Texas Capitol to testify in person on December 20. In addition to presenting serious security risks, the subpoena is procedurally defective and therefore invalid as it was issued in violation of the House Rules, the Texas Constitution, and other applicable laws.

To read the filing, click here.

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