Ronald Dale "Ronnie" Earle (born February 23, 1942) is the district attorney for Travis County, Texas. He recently became widely known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money. Earle has also prosecuted other Texas politicians, including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and on one occasion prosecuted himself for an election law violation after missing a campaign finance filing deadline by a day; he was fined $212.

Biography
Earle was born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised on a cattle ranch in Birdville, Texas. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, earned money working as a lifeguard, played football, and was president of his student council. Earle graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967, then served as a municipal judge in Austin from 1969 to 1972. Earle was elected to the Texas Legislature as a Democrat in 1972, serving until 1977. Earle was elected district attorney of Travis County in 1976.

Earle has been married to his second wife, Twila Hugley Earle, a former junior assistant, for more than two decades. He has three children and one grandchild by his first wife.

Role as Travis County District Attorney (DA)
The Travis County District Attorney's office investigates and prosecutes crimes related to the operation of the Texas state government. Earle's Public Integrity Unit has a mandate and legislative funding to prosecute public officials who break the law.

Although he is a locally elected prosecutor, Earle's authority is nationwide in its impact when national political figures are its targets. Elected as a Democrat within the perennially left-leaning capital city of Austin, he has held office for 27 years, and is the only Democrat with statewide prosecutorial authority. Thus, Earle is unique, and far more politically powerful than the D.A.s in many larger Texas cities, such as Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Investigation and indictment of Kay Bailey Hutchison
Earle filed charges against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, then Texas State Treasurer, for allegedly misusing state telephones and allegedly assaulting a staffer. Earle attempted to drop the charges on the first day in court — in fact, at the pre-trial hearing — after the judge in the case questioned the admissibility of his evidence. The judge refused to allow it, instructing the jury to return a "not guilty" verdict so the charge could not be brought against her again. In the case against Senator Hutchison, when it became clear that a dismissal was necessary, he dispatched an assistant to stand up in court and make the motion. A less widely known fact in the Hutchison affair is that the Senator was indicted twice. The first grand jury included a member who was under accusation of a crime and disqualified to serve. Thus, the original indictment was void under Texas law. Earle's failure to realize that the first grand jury was improperly constituted led to all the indictments from that grand jury being declared void, both in the Hutchison case and in the cases of everyday citizens. Earle sought re-indictment of the Senator, reviving the case. Ultimately, the Senator was acquitted.

According to Time Magazine, Earle raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury looking for proof of allegations that Hutchison used state equipment and employees on state time to help with her campaign. She was indicted by a grand jury in September 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering. Senator Hutchison was acquitted, as Earle did not have sufficient evidence to present. Time reported on July 14, 2003, "Earle amassed thousands of documents as evidence and many thought the new Senator would lose her job. But at a pretrial hearing, the judge and Earle clashed over the admissibility of the documents; fearing he would lose, Earle declined to present a case. Hutchison was quickly acquitted and Earle was portrayed as a fool."

Investigation and indictment of Tom DeLay
For over two years, Earle and eight separate grand juries investigated possible violations of Texas campaign finance law in the 2002 state legislative election. His investigation of two political action committees that spent a combined $3.4 million on 22 Republican Texas House races focused on a PAC founded by DeLay and directed by Jack Abramoff (Texans for a Republican Majority PAC). During the investigation, DeLay charged that Earle was a "runaway district attorney" with "a long history of being vindictive and partisan".

Earle's investigations led to the discovery of what is now known as the Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal in which it is alleged that Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist orchestrated a corrupt lobbying scheme. These activities are the subject of ongoing Federal and Senate investigations. Abramoff is currently under indictment for an unrelated fraud charge.

Earle failed in his first attempt to secure an indictment against DeLay. That grand jury returned a "no bill" due to insufficient evidence according to at least one grand jury member. That member also claimed the "no bill" visibly angered Earle.

On September 28, 2005, the grand jury indicted DeLay for conspiring to violate Texas state election law. Texas prohibits corporate contributions in state legislative races. The indictment charged that Texans for a Republican Majority, DeLay's political action committee, accepted corporate contributions, laundered the money through the Republican National Committee, and directed it to favored Republican candidates in Texas.

On October 3, 2005 DeLay's lawyers filed a motion to get the indictment of conspiracy to violate election law dimissed on the grounds that the crime of conspiracy did not apply to Texas' election laws at the time of the alleged offense. In 2003 the state conspiracy statute was changed to explicitly mention political fundraising violations. If the court accepts that the earlier law did not apply to political fundraising violations the prosecution would be ex post facto and therefore invalid.

Earle sought and received a second indictment of DeLay from a new, seventh grand jury in Austin on charges of conspiracy to launder money. DeLay's lawyers assert that this indictment is also flawed. While the Texas Penal Code defines laundered money only as money gained as the "proceeds of criminal activity," DeLay's lawyers maintain the corporate donations came from normal and legal business activity.

Earle recently lost his bid to keep Judge Bob Perkins presiding over the prosecution of Tom DeLay. Perkins has contributed to liberal candidates and organizations including MoveOn.Org. DeLay's lawyers were successful in arguing the judge could not be perceived in public as impartial under the circumstances. Prosecutors countered that absent contrary proof, judges should be presumed impartial. Perkins had voluntarily recused himself in Earle's earlier prosecution of Sen. Hutchison.

One day later, Earle filed a legal motion to forbid Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub from selecting Judge Perkin's replacement, citing changed judicial standards in Texas. Schraub had contributed to Republicans, including DeLay allies Rick Perry and George W. Bush. Upon learning of the motion, Schraub recused himself, thus avoiding the court battle that took place over Perkins. Schraub then asked the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Republican Wallace Jefferson to make the selection. Jefferson appointed Pat Priest, a San Antonio senior judge who was also a Democrat, but had made considerably fewer campaign contributions than Perkins.

Prosecutorial misconduct charge
DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, filed a legal complaint charging Earle with prosecutorial misconduct in connection with the DeLay indictment. The complaint, filed in an Austin, Texas court on Friday, October 7, 2005, claimed that Earle "and his staff engaged in an extraordinarily irregular and desperate attempt to contrive a viable charge and get a substitute indictment of Tom DeLay before the expiration of the statute of limitations." DeGuerin also claimed Earle "unlawfully incited" William Gibson, the foreman of the grand jury that indicted DeLay on conspiracy, to talk publicly to the media to bias the public and still sitting grand jurors. In a later interview with the Houston Chronicle [10] DeGuerin said he did not yet have any hard evidence to support these claims, but was seeking court permission to depose grand jurors. Earle has claimed the charges have "no merit."

DeGuerin served Earle with a voluntary subpoena to appear in discovery to answer questions under oath about his conduct with the grand jury Tuesday October 11, 2005. Earle declined to accept the subpoena (as was his right under Texas law, since it did not bear a Court seal). DeGuerin responded with a plan to obtain a court seal and have Earle re-served.

Documentary
Earle has partnered up with producers making a movie about his investigation of DeLay called The Big Buy, an upcoming documentary film which was filmed with Earle's cooperation from 2003-2005.

The film was shown at the Dallas Film Festival shortly before the announcement of the indictment of DeLay. Supporters of DeLay have argued that Earle's cooperation in the production of this film might violate the Texas Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys.

Other politicians investigated by Earle
Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough (Democrat - 1978) - Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough was convicted of lying to a grand jury and forgery. He gave up his seat and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Texas State Rep. Mike Martin (Republican - 1982) - Martin, who represented Longview, pled guilty to perjury and did not run for re-election. State Treasurer Warren Harding (Democrat - 1982) - Harding pled no contest to official misconduct and did not run for re-election. Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox (Democrat - 1985) - Mattox, a political rival of Earle's,[16] was acquitted of bribery and went on to win re-election. Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis (Democrat - 1992) - Lewis pled no contest to charges of failing to disclose a business investment after a plea bargain. He did not run for re-election and was fined $2000.
Texas State Rep. Betty Denton (Democrat - 1995) - Denton was convicted of listing false loans and contributions on campaign finance reports and was sentenced to six months probation and fined $2000.
Texas State Rep. Lane Denton (Democrat - 1995) - After funneling money from the Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association, Denton was convicted of theft and misapplication of fiduciary property. He was sentenced to 60 days work release, six years probation, and fined $6000. Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) Members David Bradley (Republican), Bob Offutt (Republican), and Joe Bernal (Democrat) - Earle initiated a criminal investigation against three SBOE members in 2002. Earle accused the board members, who are elected from districts in Texas, of violating the state's "Open Meetings" law when the three met for lunch at a restaurant in Austin, Texas on the day of an SBOE meeting. The law requires a public meeting when elected bodies assemble in a quorum of three or more persons to conduct business. The SBOE members responded that they were simply eating lunch. Earle turned the investigation over to Travis County Attorney Ken Oden, who in turn indicted the members on misdemeanor counts.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle (Democrat - 1982) - After Earle's campaign filed required campaign finance reports a mere one day late, rather than recusing himself and seeking to have a special prosecutor appointed, Earle actually brought charges against himself. He managed to secure a conviction and paid a $212 fine.

LaCresha Murray case
Earle has been criticized for mishandling the still-unresolved Lacresha Murray case.

In 1996 Earle indicted 11 year old LaCresha Murray for capital murder involving 2 year old Jayla Belton - the youngest homicide prosecution in Texas history. Earle's evidence rested on an alleged confession by Murray, obtained by interrogation at a children's shelter in the absence of any attorney or family member. Murray's case provoked several public protests of Earle's office and at the Texas State Capitol from her detention in 1996 until her 1999 release, when the case was reviewed.

She was again tried and convicted of intentional injury to a child, receiving a 25-year sentence. In 2001, the Texas' 3rd Court of Appeals reversed and remanded her sentence after finding that her confession was illegally obtained. Earle dropped all charges against her.

In 2002, a suit was filed against the Travis Co. District Attorney's Office and a host of other individuals and various agencies. The lawsuit alleges that Lacresha and her family have been victimized by malicious prosecution, defamation, mental anguish, libel and slander. Charges of racism are also raised in the suit, suggesting that the Murray family would have been treated differently had they been white. Murray's suit was dismissed; on November 28, 2005, the US Supreme Court refused to revive the lawsuit.

Maurice Pierce case
Ronnie Earle has also been criticized for mishandling Maurice Pierce in the unresolved Yogurt Shop Murders case.

On December 6, 1991, four teenage girls were murdered inside a local yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. In 1999 Earle led the "Yogurt Shop Murders" case against suspect Maurice Pierce leading to a grand jury indicting him on four counts of first degree murder. Pierce was arrested along with Robert Springsteen IV, Michael Scott and Forrest Welborn for the murders of four girls.

Robert Springsteen IV and Michael Scott eventually confessed for the crime. Springsteen was convicted and sentenced to death. Scott was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Welborn was never indicted for the crime.

Pierce continually maintained his innocence up until his release, occurring three years after his arrest. The state could not use Springsteen's and Scott's confessions against Pierce, so, without a confession, and only circumstantial evidence to connect him to the yogurt shop, the state had to either try Pierce or release him. Earle released him and dropped all charges citing a lack of evidence. The case against Pierce remains open.

Perception of Earle
During his rise to statewide prominence in Texas, and more recently national prominence during the DeLay investigation, Earle has attracted both praise and criticism from political commentators, observers, and other politicians who interact with him. To Earle's supporters, he is seen as a strict law-and-order prosecutor who is not afraid to challenge powerful figures. To his critics, Earle is viewed as a self-promoting partisan operator, a carrier of grudges, and even mentally unstable. He has the reputation of being unapproachable by most criminal lawyers, favoring an elitist approach under which he will discuss cases directly only with the community's most prominent members of the bar. His over-reaching has even extended to having an investigator follow a young criminal lawyer who referred to one of Earle's assistant's by a vulgar name during a witness interview. And, in the 1990's he instituted what he termed the "Appropriate Punishment Team" concept in his office. Under that program, suspects were charged by information rather than grand jury indictment, a process available under Texas law only with the consent of the accused. Under the APT program, the consent of the accused was not obtained prior to the filing of an information. While the process sped cases through the criminal courts, it also deprived defendants of their right under Texas law to not be brought before a felony court judge until and unless they were indicted by a grand jury.

Terry Keel, a Republican Texas State Representative, candidate for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, attorney, former sheriff, and a loyal former employee of Earle, with his take on the DeLay indictments: "...I disagree strongly with the way he's handled these cases. I can't see how any crime has been committed. Ronnie's stance in all this has not been constructive. If we have problems with campaign finance, then he needs to come to the table and work with the Legislature. He's not going to get anything but resentment from holding a gun to the leadership's head. Republicans are really angry about this. They see an unscrupulous DA abusing his office to pick on Republicans. I can tell you that Ronnie Earle would never prosecute someone he believed was innocent. He sees his role as reweaving the fabric of society. He sees his role as prosecutor like that of the proverbial Dutch uncle. He really believes all that. But sometimes he gets bad advice, such as in the Kay Bailey Hutchison case. His enthusiasms get him in serious trouble." Keel nodded at the photograph of the senator on his wall. "This is going to end up just like the Hutchison debacle."
The Wall Street Journal accuses Earle of having "a history of indicting political enemies, Democrat and Republican, on flimsy evidence that didn't hold up in court." Paul Burka, of Texas Monthly said, "I don't think Ronnie is seen here as a total partisan. . . [He] didn't look the other way in his own party. . . [He is] not your typical DA."
Jim Mattox, who was acquitted of charges brought by Earle, said, "You might question his competence as district attorney, but I don’t think you could question his motivations as being overly partisan about the matter." Mattox nevertheless questioned the political motives of Earle's case, stating "Ronnie Earle had visions of grandeur. He was using it as a steppingstone."
A friend of Jim Mattox, Jim Marston, said, "Ronnie Earle is a Boy Scout who is offended by wrongdoings, chief among them, public officials' abuse of power. . . If I have any complaint about Ronnie, it's that he is overly cautious about who he prosecutes. The fact that it has taken two years to investigate Tom DeLay is a sign not of partisanship, but of being completely careful."
According to U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was also exonerated of charges brought by Earle, "Ronnie Earle's record is spotted with controversy, allegations of misuse of power, and corruption. This should not be tolerated in a prosecutor with such awesome responsibility." Earle responded by telling supporters, "The attack of the 50-foot cheerleader isn't over yet."
The Christian Science Monitor writes, "Indeed, many describe Earle as a populist. 'He really believes that the people govern,' says David Anderson, a UT law professor and longtime acquaintance. 'He's suspicious of corporate power in all its forms. I don't think he's irrational about it, but ... he's vigilant and zealous about maintaining the individual's power in the political system."
Bob Stein, Rice University political science professor: "He is notorious for going after power... I read this indictment. This is not a frivolous lawsuit." Dick DeGuerin, high-profile Houston attorney for DeLay and Hutchison: "I represented Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison 12 years ago, and to me this seems like what Yogi Berra said: `It's deja vu all over again,'" DeGuerin said. "That was a political prosecution. This is a political prosecution."
According to the Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram "The late Bob Bullock, the legendary Democratic state comptroller and lieutenant governor, once described the Travis County district attorney as "a little boy playing with matches." Earle had looked into Bullock's dealings but never brought an indictment."
Rosemary Lemberg, an assistant district attorney in Earle's office, explains that Earle singlehandedly pushed forward the DeLay investigation over the objections of colleagues. "Ronnie was the only person in maybe a group of six or seven lawyers in a room who thought we ought to go ahead and investigate and look at those things."

Roy Minton, an attorney for one of the organizations investigated by Earle. "The problem that Ronnie has is that he sees something that he believes is wrong. If you ask him, when he says, 'They're doing this' and 'They're doing that,' you say, 'Alright, let's assume they're doing that, Ronnie, is that against the law?' He will say it's wrong. You say, 'Well, OK, let's assume that it's wrong. Where is it that it is against the law?'"
Pat Buchanan, conservative commentator, has claimed that Ronnie Earle should be "behind bars".
The Free Enterprise Fund released a video and commercial in Austin comparing Earle to a dangerous snarling rottweiler and asking viewers to call Earle and tell him it isn't a crime to be a conservative."(video, 0:30 seconds)