Arrested Travis County deputy district attorney resigns, lawyer says

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Travis County assistant district attorney facing criminal charges has resigned from his post after nearly 20 years with the prosecutor’s office. His attorney, Charlie Baird, says the resignation was partly due to concerns that a potential termination would affect his much-needed health benefits.

Joseph Frederick’s resignation came shortly after he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on June 8, Baird said. Frederick is accused of pointing a firearm at his roommate and saying, “I’m going to shoot you,” according to court records.

“Mr. Frederick’s decision to resign from the DA’s office was due in part to his concern about maintaining the pension/retirement benefits he had accumulated during his many years of service in the DA’s office. He also considered his future health needs, including health insurance,” Baird said.

In addition, Baird stated that Frederick considered the amount of time and resources the prosecution would have had to spend investigating and resolving the circumstances of his recent arrest had he remained in office.

“Mr. Frederick did not want to impose this burden on the office he loved and served for many years, so he resigned,” Baird said.

We asked Travis County about its employee policy regarding terminations and resignations and the impact each has on maintaining accrued benefits and health insurance. We will update this article when we receive a response.

After Frederick’s arrest, several sources, including Baird, informed KXAN that Frederick was battling Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that causes involuntary or uncontrollable movements such as tremors, stiffness and problems with balance and coordination, according to the National Institutes for Health.

“There is no doubt that the decisions of a person suffering from Parkinson’s are influenced by that disease,” Baird said of Frederick’s decision to resign. He told KXAN that Frederick does not believe Parkinson’s has had an impact on his performance as ADA.

“Parkinson’s disease has affected Mr. Frederick physically but not his mental functioning,” Baird said.

Work as Deputy District Attorney

KXAN searched the court records related to the capital crime assigned to Frederick and found a file that mentioned his medical condition.

Court records containing email communications from last November show that Frederick requested a rescheduled hearing due to his health condition.

“I will not be appearing in court this morning as I have an appointment with my neurologist regarding my deep brain stimulator which is not working properly,” he wrote in an email, according to records, referring to a device that the National Institutes of Health says helps with movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Frederick noted in his email that no charges have yet been filed in connection with the capital crime and expected the case to go to a jury in December as investigators are still gathering evidence.

The case was never presented to a grand jury and the felony charge was ultimately dismissed by prosecutors earlier this year, court records show.

KXAN reviewed the Travis County District Clerk’s records of all cases assigned to Frederick since 2019, when he was first listed as the “assigned” attorney for cases, and found 32 felony cases. All were either dismissed or denied and closed with “no charges filed,” according to court records from the Travis County District Clerk.

According to court records, these cases involved three different murder charges, aggravated assault and numerous drug offenses.

KXAN asked Baird about Frederick’s caseload compared to other ADAs. Baird said he didn’t feel Frederick was purposefully assigned fewer cases, but he thought the caseload could be related to the type of cases he prosecutes.

KXAN found that several other ADAs were also listed as “staff” prosecutors in felony cases during the same time period.

The Trial and Jury Division staff were assigned well over 100 criminal cases, the majority of which were dismissed and closed with a “no charges filed” ruling.

According to records, another ADA in the same department as Frederick had a comparable caseload of 37, nearly half of which ended in charges or convictions.

In February of this year, Frederick was listed as one of two attorneys assigned to the Homicide and Major Crimes Unit, according to the District Attorney’s Office’s attorney assignment records. As of June 1, assignment records no longer list a Homicide and Major Crimes Unit, but instead list both Frederick and the District Attorney’s Office also handling major crimes as “pre-arraignment” attorneys.

KXAN contacted the District Attorney’s Office and asked for details about Frederick’s role as prosecutor before his resignation, as well as comment on Frederick’s caseload and whether Parkinson’s affected Frederick’s work.

The district attorney’s office acknowledged KXAN’s requests but did not provide responses to the information requested. KXAN will update this article when a response is received.

What happens next in the case

According to court records, Frederick was released on $10,000 bail the same day he was arrested. Two days later, prosecutors filed a motion for recusal, arguing that the alleged crime was committed while Frederick was employed as a prosecutor during regular business hours, the motion states.

On Monday, Caldwell County District Attorney Fred Weber was assigned to prosecute the case, which will be heard in Travis County’s 460th District Court.