AUSTIN, Texas _ Siding with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his bid to replace the judge in his criminal case, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday that the judge lost control of the case when he transferred Paxton's trial to Houston on April 11.
The Dallas-based 5th Court of Appeals voided every order state District Judge George Gallagher issued after April 11 _ including one setting Paxton's trial for September.
The appeals court also ordered the Collin County district clerk to transfer Paxton's case files to Harris County, where presumably a new judge will be selected. The full impact of the order was unclear, however, because the appeals court said it lacked the jurisdiction to grant Paxton's request for a second order prohibiting Gallagher from taking further action in the case.
Paxton faces two counts of securities fraud related to private business deals in 2011, when he solicited investors in a McKinney tech company without revealing that Servergy Inc. was paying him for the work. Paxton's September trial was to be on a third charge, failure to register with state securities regulators in 2012.
