Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace (08/11/05).
08/11/2005
The judge engaged in improper ex parte communications concerning the merits of a case that was likely to come before his court, failed to afford the defendant the basic rights and safeguards guaranteed by the constitutions of Texas and the United States, and dismissed a case without authority from the State when he conducted an "informal hearing" and attempted to mediate the issues between two litigants in the absence of one of the parties and the State. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 6C(2), Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace (08/11/05).
