About District Attorney José P. Garza
José P. Garza was elected by the people of Travis County and took office on January 1, 2021. During his tenure as district attorney, he has prioritized reducing gun violence, centering the needs of survivors and victims in the criminal legal process, and rebuilding the community’s trust in the criminal justice system.
Since his election, DA Garza has focused prosecution efforts on acts of violence and developed programs to address the root causes of crime. In his first term, DA Garza created a Major Crimes and Homicides Unit, released a Four Point Plan to Reduce Gun Violence, and convened the first ever Gun Violence Summit. DA Garza also advocated for gun violence prevention strategies targeting high-risk populations, including for the creation of a Travis County Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program and the implementation of a county-wide firearm surrender protocol.
DA Garza has expanded TCDA’s Victim Services Division and led efforts to resolve a historic lawsuit that sexual assault survivors had brought against Travis County and its previous district attorney. Since the settlement of that case, DA Garza has assembled a community board of sexual assault advocates and survivors to develop and oversee the implementation of a host of reforms to improve sexual assault prosecutions and the strengthen the support offered to sexual assault victims and survivors.
As district attorney, Garza has championed public safety strategies that are community-based and data-driven. Under his leadership, TCDA launched the Travis County Transformation Project, a restorative justice program for youthful offenders, expanded pre-trial diversion programs to connect qualified participants to workforce training, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment, and expunged the records of over 1,000 individuals who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
DA Garza is a graduate of the University of Texas and Catholic University School of Law. Prior to being elected as Travis County District Attorney, Garza worked for a federal district judge, served as a public defender with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and the Office of the Federal Public Defender, worked in Washington, DC at the U.S. Congress, National Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and was the Executive Director of Workers Defense Project.