Court of Criminal Appeals blocks order in Walmart case

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has placed on hold a ruling by an El Paso appellate court that ordered the judge in the Walmart mass shooting case to toss three “ex parte” orders he had issued.

The state’s highest criminal appellate court issued its ruling Tuesday, after defense attorneys for accused mass killer Patrick Crusius appealed a writ of mandamus issued Dec. 9 by the El Paso Eighth Court of Appeals that ordered 409th District Judge Sam Medrano to vacate three rulings he had issued after hearing from defense attorneys but not the prosecution.

The District Attorney’s Office challenged Medrano’s three rulings, which involved two directives that the jail preserve surveillance video of Crusius in detention, and another order prohibiting the jail from providing unspecified medical treatment to the defendant. Prosecutors said the ex parte orders weren’t allowed under a 2023 Court of Criminal Appeals decision, and the Eighth Court agreed.

The Court of Criminal Appeals ruling sets aside the Eighth Court of Appeals order to allow the higher court to review the legal arguments. The District Attorney’s Office has three months to outline its arguments with the Court of Criminal Appeals.