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Contempt case against Dallas DA to be dismissed, court records show

The Amber Guyger trial judge accused DA John Creuzot of violating a gag order.

Updated at 5:20 p.m. with statement from Cruezot's attorney. 

A contempt of court case against Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot will be dismissed, court records show. 

Creuzot was accused of violating a gag order when he was interviewed by a local TV station before the murder trial for fired Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. 

State District Judge Tammy Kemp ordered Creuzot to appear in her court to argue that he didn't violate a gag order she had issued last January in the murder case against Guyger. 

The legal matter has been pending since October and both sides have agreed to dismiss the case, according to a court order filed Dec. 27. A judge appointed in the case after Kemp was recused has not yet signed the order. 

RELATED: Amber Guyger trial judge will not preside over Dallas County DA contempt case

When Kemp issued the gag order, Guyger was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Botham Jean in September 2018 inside his home. The case went to trial in September 2019, and Guyger was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

But moments before the trial was to begin, Guyger's defense attorneys pointed out to Kemp that the DA had given a televised interview about the case. 

“To be clear, on last night, the evening prior to the start of this trial, our elected DA did an interview about this trial?” said Kemp on Sept. 23, when the interview was brought to her attention.

In the interview, Creuzot said his office's decision to pursue the murder charge instead of a manslaughter charge was appropriate. 

Kemp individually questioned the jurors about whether they had heard the interview before proceeding with the trial as planned. They each said they had not heard the interview. 

After the trial concluded, Kemp ordered Creuzot to appear in her court on the contempt allegation. 

Read the statement from Cruezot's attorney, Brian Wice below:

"We are gratified, but not surprised, that the Attorney Pro Tem agreed to dismiss Judge Kemp’s order attempting to hold Judge Creuzot in contempt of court based upon her unsupported and unsupportable belief that Judge Creuzot violated her gag order in the Amber Guyger case.

"This fair, right, and just resolution reaffirms the fundamental principle that judicial rulings driven by bias and animus and not the neutral and dispassionate application of the law to the facts have absolutely no place in our criminal justice system."

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