Outside judge assigned to petition to remove DA Casey Hall from office

A district judge from Denton County has been assigned to preside over a lawsuit to remove 97th District Attorney Casey Hall from elected office, according to an order.

The judge assigned is 362nd District Judge Bruce McFarling. The petition to remove Hall was filed in Montague County District Court.

David L. Evans, presiding judge of the Eighth Administrative Judicial Region, issued the order to assign McFarling on Monday.

The petition for removal, filed by July 17 by former 97th DA Tim Cole, is based on allegations Hall stole money from the state. Cole believes she should be removed from office on the grounds of incompetency and/or official misconduct.

A Montague County grand jury handed down an indictment July 9 against Hall for a charge of theft of $2,500 or more but less than $30,000, according to court records.

Hall maintains her innocence.

She was free Wednesday from the Montague County Jail on a $5,000 bond, according to online jail records.

The theft charge is a state jail felony that carries a punishment of 180 days to two years behind bars and a fine up to $10,000.

More: Local district attorney denies charge against her in grand jury indictment

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

In the petition Cole filed, he contends Hall requested two vouchers from the state in 2022 for $9,166.67 each to pay to a DA's investigator in her office. Hall endorsed the checks and deposited the money into her personal account, Cole said in the petition.

Cole also requested in the petition that Hall be temporarily removed from office until a judge makes a determination on his petition.

Any decision would impact the three counties in the 97th Judicial District — Archer, Clay and Montague.

In the March 5 Republican Primary, Henrietta attorney Katie Woods Boggeman defeated Hall in her bid for re-election. Boggeman has no competition in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Cole was the 97th DA from 1992 to 2006. He has continued to practice law in various capacities and has taught in law school. His residence is listed as Montague County.

More: Ex-DA wants current DA for Archer, Clay and Montague counties thrown out of office

Trish Choate is serving as the interim editor for the Wichita Falls Times Record News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Abilene Reporter-News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here . Her X handle is @Trishapedia .

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Outside judge assigned to petition to remove DA Casey Hall from office