Legislation aims to establish separate district attorneys for Sabine, San Augustine counties

HEMPHILL, Texas (KTRE) - In 2022, District Attorney Paul Robbins took on the job as D.A. of Sabine and San Augustine County at a time when there was a need for someone to do the work, but said he felt like David facing Goliath.

“I knew that there was a problem, knew that there was a backlog, knew that local law enforcement was not satisfied. When I started, I had an office manager and a paralegal, and it was just me,” said Robbins.

Three years later, Robbins has a chief investigator, an assistant district attorney, and a victim’s offender coordinator.

He says so far, they’ve worked through over 1,000 cases, but even with help, over 850 cases are still pending in both counties.

“We’re one of the only jurisdictions in East Texas that has one D.A. for multiple counties,” said Robbins.

If Senate Bill 997 passes, that will change. The bill would give each county their own district attorney.

Robbins says splitting the workload can help them get through 90% of their cases a year.

He says it’s a requirement they have to meet, or they could miss out on over $2 million in state funding.

“Funding for roads, funding for communications, all those things would be precluded if we don’t make that 90%,” said Robbins.

Robbins says they’ve met their 90% goal in Sabine County, but they’re about 100 cases away in San Augustine.

With Senate Bill 997 acting as their sling shot, Robbins hopes they’ll be able to take Goliath down for good.

“Having another D.A. and his team working on half of those cases is certainly going to be more efficient,” said Robbins.

Senate Bill 997 is authored by District 3 State Senator Robert Nichols, with District 9 State Representative Trent Ashby backing it with House Bill 3409.

If passed, the bill wouldn’t go into effect until 2029.