Election Day 2022: Tarrant County DA candidates talk issues

FORT WORTH, Texas — The two people who want to be the next Tarrant County district attorney have worked non-stop to get your vote.

Phil Sorrells is a former prosecutor and has worked 25 years as a Tarrant County judge. His opponent, Tiffany Burks, has worked as an assistant Tarrant County district attorney for the past 25 years. 

During their separate one-on-one interviews with WFAA, both shared their views on crime in the Tarrant County community.

“Crimes involving gun violence is up in the county,” said Burks. “I would say that crime involving drug activity is up. And I would say that crime, unfortunately, involving our youth is up.”

“Crime overall is down, serious crime is up, violent crime is up,” said Sorrells. “We’ve got to get a handle that I think COVID restrictions had shut the courthouse down.”

Burks’ biggest supporter is her military husband, Glennie Burks. The top supporter for Sorrells is his attorney wife, Susan, supporting his run for DA. Both candidates about controversial issues in Tarrant County like the death penalty, low level marijuana, abortion laws and possession cases.

“It’s not time to be soft on drugs. It’s time to get serious. We’re losing 300 people a day to overdose or poisoning from drugs,” Sorrells said, “It’s the law. As it stands right now, possession of marijuana is illegal here in Texas. We have a drug problem in Tarrant County. We’ve got a drug problem in the United States.”

“I think low level nonviolent offenses, which would include your possession, small amounts of possession of marijuana. They are clogging up our courts,” Burks said, “In many states, marijuana is becoming legal. I anticipate that at some point Texas will probably move in that direction. But until they do again, I have to follow my oath as a prosecutor.”

When it comes to the death penalty, both Sorrells and Burks talked about how the DA’s office would give victim families a voice under their leadership. 

Right now, Paul Storey sits on death row after his Tarrant County conviction, despite his victim’s family being opposed to capital punishment.  

“Tiffany stands on listening to what the family desires. I think that is very important,” said Burks, “It’s also important for me to explain to them what the pros are and what the cons are, and the reasons why the office might seek death. Education is a powerful thing. The more people know, the more prepared they are for what could happen.”

“I’ll take into account the victim’s family and what they have to say, and we’ll go from there,” said Sorrells, “Making the determination to take someone else’s life is not a flippant thing that you should consider. It should be a very solemn and serious thing to consider.  I’m going to look at obviously the nature of the offense, the crime, the history of the defendant, and the propensity for future dangerousness.”

Both candidates elaborated on upholding their oaths to follow the law of the land if they are successful winning the DA’s race. 

After current Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson announced she would not run for office last year, Sorrell’s stepped away from his job as a Tarrant County judge to throw his name in the hat for DA. 

Tiffany had already decided to run for DA prior to knowing Wilson would not be running, so Burks had already contemplated a campaign that might have included running against her own boss. 

Burks and Sorrells have shared information about their backgrounds, families and plans for the future of the DA’s Office on their campaign websites.