Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton is asking a Collin County court to keep his divorce records with his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, sealed as several media organizations push for their release.
In a filing this week, Paxton called the request to unseal the documents an “unprecedentedly broad and intrusive” demand for personal information.
The records have been sealed since earlier in the year, but a coalition of news outlets argues they should be made public because both Paxtons are elected officials. The case is now before a Collin County district judge, with a hearing set for December 19 to determine whether the documents will remain sealed.
Texas law generally allows divorce records to be sealed only when a judge finds a compelling privacy interest that outweighs the public’s right to access. The court will decide whether that standard applies in this case.
The dispute unfolds as Paxton campaigns for the U.S. Senate, adding public attention to a legal fight that would otherwise remain a routine family court matter. No timeline has been announced for the judge’s ruling following next month’s hearing.
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