Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (07/27/06)
07/27/2006
The judge demonstrated a lack of professional competence in the law when she went forward with a trial and found a traffic defendant guilty in absentia, then issued an arrest warrant against the defendant for failure to appear without completing the underlying paperwork laying out the requisites of a written complaint upon which to base the warrant. Further, the judge erred when she detained the defendant until she was able to pay the outstanding fine assessed against her in the underlying traffic case and failed to afford the defendant the opportunity to post bond to secure her release from custody. [Violation of Canon 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (07/27/06).
