Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge. (08/04/10)
08/04/2010
The judge failed to notify the parties of a conflict of interest when she found her neighbor guilty of a city ordinance and assessed a fine. The case was filed in her court as a result of the judge's inquiry to a city code enforcement officer regarding her neighbor's property being in violation of a city ordinance. The judge further engaged in improper ex parte communication with an alleged victim in a case, and then failed to accord the defendant the right to be heard when she instructed her clerk not to provide notice to the defendant's attorney in the pending criminal matter. [Violations of Canons 2B, 3B(1), 3B(8), and 6C(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge. (08/04/10)
