Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

06-24-26

The publisher of the Uvalde Hesperian, Michael Robinson addressed the Uvalde County Commissioners Court on Monday and submitted a Texas Attorney General’s Letter Decision ordering the release of public records from the 38th Judicial District Attorney’s office.

Prior to speaking, Robinson presented Uvalde County Clerk Donna Williams with the Texas Attorney General’s Office official letter decision to be entered into the Uvalde County’s public records.

“I have submitted a complaint to the Attorney General’s Office. I am entering a copy of the letter decision into the public record. The public has a right to these records under Texas Law; I urge you to encourage the D.A. to comply with the law,” he said.

According to Robinson, he has been advised by attorneys he has talked to that his final remedy is to file a writ of Mandamus lawsuit against the District Attorney in her official capacity to force the release of the aforementioned public records.

  Commentary

“In Texas, winning a fight for public records is supposed to end the battle.
In reality, it often just begins a new one.
Getting a formal ruling from the Texas Attorney General in your favor is rare. Only about 1 to 2 percent of open records disputes ever receive a letter decision supporting the requestor. I was one of the few who did.
Despite that, 38th Judicial District Attorney Christina Mitchell has simply refused to comply with the Attorney General’s order to release public records related to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Months later, those records remain secret, ” he said.

10-31-25

by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

On Saturday. On October 25th, the Uvalde Hesperian received a copy of a letter sent to 38th Judicial District Attorney Christina Mitchell by the office of the Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton. In the letter it announced its decision on a public records request for the search warrant issued on the residence of Celia “Sally” Gonzalez, where the Robb School shooter was residing prior to the May 24th, 2022, tragedy.

In the letter ruling by the Texas Attorney General is states: 

“Pursuant to section 552.302 of the Government Code, a governmental body’s failure to comply with the procedural requirements of section 552.3-1 results in the legal presumption that the requested information is public and must be released unless there is a compelling reason to withhold the information from disclosure.

The letter continues following some case citations listed:

“Although the District Attorney’s office raises the exemption from disclosure, because you have not submitted the information for our review, we have no basis for finding any of the information excepted from disclosure. We have no choice but to order the requested information be released pursuant to section 552.302.”

  Upon receiving the letter, the Michael Robinson dba Uvalde Hesperian sent an email on Thursday, October 30th to 38th District Attorney Mitchell asking about the status of the public records request.

That same day, Mitchell replied to the email and wrote: “I will be appealing that decision.”

On August 14th, 2024, Robinson, submitted a public records request for the aforementioned search warrant to the 38th Judicial District Attorney Christina Mitchell.

On August 18th, 2025, Robinson received a response via email from the District Attorney Mitchell stating, “This is to inform you that I have requested an opinion from the Attorney General’s office regarding your request below”

  With the email, Mitchell attached a .pdf copy of a letter she electronically sent to Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxon dated August 18th, 2025.

In the letter, Mitchell wrote, ‘Please be advised that the mass shooting that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, remains an ongoing investigation and prosecution of the Texas Rangers, the FBI, and the 38th Judicial District Attorney. Any release of records or reports to that incident would interfere with said ongoing investigation and prosecution and would impede and hinder my ability to prosecute the criminal offenses alleged by an Uvalde County grand jury. I am therefore requesting that the investigation of this incident, specifically, the information requested in said electronic mail be withheld under Section 552.108 of the Texas Government Code. Any release of that information, specifically, the search warrant of the shooter’s home would interfere with the detection, investigation or prosecution of a crime. Any release of evidence as it relates to the information requested is a release of evidence of a crime.”

According to the Attorney General of Texas website addressing what to expect after a ruling is issued:

“Responsibilities for the Governmental Body

When a governmental body receives its letter ruling from the ORD, the governmental body must:

1. Promptly release the requested information to you if the ruling states to release the information, or
2. Notify you when and where the requested public information will be provided to you, or
3. Notify you when and where the requested public information will be made available for your inspection, or
4. Notify you of the governmental body’s intent to challenge the letter ruling in a District Court in Travis County, Texas. A governmental body has 30 calendar days to challenge a ruling in district court. But less than 1% of letter rulings are challenged in court.”