Art. 2A.102 DUTIES OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS

Each district attorney is responsible for handling criminal cases in the district courts within their area, including any appeals that follow those cases. This means the DA's office acts as the state's lawyer whenever someone is criminally prosecuted in their district.

District attorneys also have a duty to show up for certain other court proceedings, like preliminary hearings or habeas corpus cases (where someone challenges being held in custody). However, this only applies if two things are true: the DA was told about the hearing ahead of time, and the DA happens to be in their district when it takes place. If the DA is busy with other official work, or is out of the district, they are not required to attend.

In short, this rule spells out when and where a district attorney must step in to represent the state's interests in criminal matters.