Kim Ogg

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Kim Ogg
DA Kim Ogg in January 2022.jpg
District Attorney of Harris County
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
Preceded byDevon Anderson
Personal details
BornHouston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (formerly)
Democratic
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA)
South Texas College of Law (JD)

Kim Ogg is an American lawyer. She is the Harris County District Attorney in Texas and assumed office in 2017. Her current term ends on December 31, 2024. She was previously the City of Houston’s first appointed Anti-Gang Task Force Director, and the executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston.

Early career[]

Ogg began her legal career working for a Republican District Attorney in 1987.[1] She was appointed as the first director for Houston's Anti-Gang Task Force in 1994 and ran for district judge as a Republican in the 1996 election.[2] Ogg was the executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston from 1999 to 2006 before leaving to practice law with her father.[3]

Harris County District Attorney[]

Ogg ran on a left-leaning platform against Republican incumbent Devon Anderson, using her inauguration ceremony to announce that all misdemeanor marijuana cases would be diverted from jail.[4][5]

Harding Street Raid[]

Kim Ogg has been criticized for her office's handling of the Harding Street Raid fallout - a botched raid that killed two homeowners. District Attorney Ogg's office was repeatedly ordered to stop withholding evidence and documentation.[6][7]

Campaign contributions controversy[]

Houston Watch reported that Ogg has accepted over $25,000 of campaign contributions from Ali Davari, who owns a mini-empire of strip clubs and has been alleged to have engaged in forced prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering, and wage theft.[8] In July 2019, Ogg's office recused itself from an investigation of a local gambling ring due to conflicts of interest involving contract employee Amir Mireskandari. Mireskandari and his wife contributed $14,475 in monetary and in-kind donations to Ogg's campaign between 2016 and 2017.[9] In 2020, Ogg also received backlash for an email sent to her office staff urging them to volunteer at a re-election campaign event.[10]

Bail reform[]

During Ogg's tenure as district attorney, she has been criticized for acting in opposition to her campaign stance in favor of cash bail reform. Her office continues to seek high bond amounts for low-level offenses such as marijuana possession, contributing to significant problems in Harris County involving pretrial detention and an enormous backlog of court cases.[11]

Personal life[]

Born in 1959 in Houston, Ogg attended the University of Texas at Austin and South Texas College of Law Houston, graduating with her BA in journalism in 1981 and her JD in 1986 respectively.[12][13] She and her longtime partner met while studying at South Texas College of Law, and they have one adopted son.[1] She is the daughter of Texas legislator and conservative Democrat Jack Ogg, and philanthropist Connie Harner Ogg.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "COVER STORY: Harris County DA Kim Ogg Is America's Top Gay Cop". OutSmart Magazine. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  2. ^ "Kim Ogg - Harris County District Attorney | Harris County District Attorney's Office". app.dao.hctx.net. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. ^ Rogers, Brian (2013-10-01). "Former Crime Stoppers head announces run for DA". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ^ "District Attorney Kim Ogg: No jail for marijuana misdemeanors". CW39 Houston. 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  5. ^ Post, John Leyba/The Denver; Images, via Getty (2017-01-26). "Against the Trump Tide". The Marshall Project. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  6. ^ Barned-Smith, St John (2020-08-21). "Judge orders DA to turn over documents to attorneys for former narcotics officers". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  7. ^ Barned-Smith, St John (2021-09-15). "Texas judges again order DA to stop withholding Harding St. raid evidence". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  8. ^ Watch, Houston (2021-12-08). "Harris County Voters: Kim Ogg Should Return Donations From Scandal-Plagued Strip Club Owner". Houston Watch. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  9. ^ Despart, Zach (2019-07-17). "Ogg dismisses poker room cases, citing conflict with consultant and fundraiser". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  10. ^ DeBenedetto, Paul (2020-06-26). "DA Kim Ogg Responds To Controversy Over Leaked Volunteer Email". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  11. ^ "Reform Candidates are Trying to Change the Definition of a 'Progressive Prosecutor' in Texas". The Texas Observer. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  12. ^ a b Downen, Robert (2018-03-05). "Jack Ogg, longtime Texas lawmaker and father to Harris County DA, dies". Chron. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  13. ^ "Harris County DA and Alumna Kim Ogg '86 Imparts Wisdom to STCL Houston Graduates at 2018 Commencement – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved 2022-01-13.
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