When he was elected district attorney in Nueces County in 2016, Mark A. Gonzalez stood out even among a growing class of progressive Democratic prosecutors: a former criminal defense attorney with tattoos across his body, including one reading “Not Guilty,” whose name appeared in a Texas state police database of registered gang members.
Once deemed “the most unlikely D.A.
in America,” Mr. Gonzalez was one of the first prosecutors in Texas to encourage police to ticket people, rather than arrest them, for a range of minor offenses.
He made his office friendlier to defense lawyers.
The removal effort is one front in an expanding campaign by conservatives across the country to limit the power of Democratic prosecutors who have promised to reform the criminal justice system, or else to oust the prosecutors altogether.
Persons:
Mark A, Gonzalez, ” Mr
Organizations:
Democratic, Republican
Locations:
Nueces County, Texas, America