| Action |
Date Issued |
Summary |
| Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge. (09/24/10) |
09/24/2010 |
The judge failed to follow the proper procedures set forth in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure prior to incarcerating an individual for his inability to pay his fines. The judge's conduct demonstrated a failure to comply with established law, and a lack of professional competence in the law. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge. (09/24/10). |
| Private Admonition of a District Judge. (10/14/10) |
10/14/2010 |
The judge improperly acted as an advocate and legal counsel for a family member in a small claims action by (a) initiating contact with opposing counsel in an effort to negotiate a settlement on behalf of the family member; and (b) appearing at trial, passing notes to the family member that included legal advice and trial strategy, and requesting that he be permitted to sit at counsel table with the family member. [Violation of Canon 4G of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a District Judge. (10/14/10). |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (11/23/10) |
11/23/2010 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and demonstrated a lack of professional competence in the law when he signed an "Order of Reversal" reinstating a traffic case without input or participation from the State. [Violation of Canon 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (11/23/10). |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a County Court at Law Judge. (12/08/10) |
12/08/2010 |
The judge went beyond the scope of his judicial role as a neutral arbiter and deprived the parties of an opportunity to respond to his findings when he undertook an independent investigation as to whether the witnesses had committed perjury. At the time of this investigation the judge had not issued a final judgment in the still-pending case. The judge knew or should have known his actions could have caused a reasonable person to question whether or not he would be impartial or could have resulted in his becoming a fact witness in post-trial proceedings. [Violation of Canon 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a County Court at Law Judge. (12/08/10). |
| Private Reprimand and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (12/10/10) |
12/10/2010 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and demonstrated a lack of professional competence in the law by: (1) denying Complainant his due process rights to a hearing regarding a permit violation charge when she failed and/or refused to provide Complainant with the opportunity to enter a "not guilty" plea to the charge and/or have a trial in the matter; (2) adjudicating Complainant's guilt and assessing a fine in his absence without notice and without setting a court date; and (3) threatening Complainant with arrest if he did not pay the fine when he appeared in court. The judge also acted improperly when she shredded documents in violation of the minimum records retention schedule established by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Reprimand & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (12/10/10). |
| Private Admonition and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (01/19/11) |
01/19/2011 |
The judge failed to follow the law and maintain professional competence in the law by (1) failing to provide a party with notice of a hearing, and (2) issuing orders in a case over which she had lost plenary power. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. (01/19/11). |
| Private Reprimand of a District Judge. (01/26/11) |
01/26/2011 |
The judge exceeded the scope of his authority and failed to comply with the law by jailing an individual, without notice and a hearing, for contempt following a confrontation between the judge and the individual after court proceedings had adjourned. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Reprimand of a District Judge. (01/26/11). |
| Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace. (01/31/11) |
01/31/2011 |
The judge forwarded letters of introduction to specific members of the community, which cast doubt on the judge's ability to act impartially in certain types of cases those members filed in his court and conveyed the impression that they would be in a special position to influence the judge when deciding cases. The judge further delayed providing pertinent information in response to the Commission's inquiries, which hindered the Commission's ability to make a timely and informed decision about the matter. [Violation of Canons 2B, 4A(1) and Article V, Section 1-a(6) of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace. (01/31/11). |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (02/15/11) |
02/15/2011 |
The judge failed to follow the law and demonstrated a lack of professional competence in the law by: (a) failing to issue an adequate show cause order specifying the underlying contemptuous act of which Complainant was accused; (b) failing to ensure that Complainant was personally served with a copy of the order to show cause; (c) treating Complainant's contempt proceeding in a matter suggesting that Complainant had been accused of a criminal offense; (d) entering an order adjudging Complainant in contempt of court and setting a fine in his case prior to the hearing; (e) setting Complainant's fine in an amount in excess of the $100.00 limit provided in section 21.002(c) of the Texas Government Code. The judge further engaged in an improper ex parte communication with the prosecutor; dismissed the Complainant's case without first receiving a written motion from prosecutor; and failed to enter a final written order or judgment in Complainant's case. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2), and 6C(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (02/15/11). |
| Private Admonition of a Former County Judge. (03/31/11) |
03/31/2011 |
The judge presided over a criminal matter wherein he was the injured party. The judge was disqualified from presiding over the matter and should have arranged to have another judge handle the plea. [Violation of Canon 2A and 3B(1) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Former County Judge. (03/31/11). |
| Private Admonition of a Former Municipal Court Judge. (04/04/11) |
04/04/2011 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and failed to maintain professional competence in the law when she allowed her court staff and city prosecutors to "take" pleas from juvenile defendants in her absence. The judge failed to comply with the plain language of the statute, which requires that juvenile pleas be taken and accepted contemporaneously in a courtroom setting in the presence of both the judge and the juvenile's parent or guardian. [Violation of Canon 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Former Municipal Court Judge. (04/04/11). |
| Private Admonition of a former Justice of the Peace. (05/09/11) |
05/09/2011 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and failed to maintain professional competence in the law when he: (1) ordered various individuals in his court into "timeout", and ordered his bailiff to handcuff two individuals when they tried to leave during the "timeout" period; (2) attempted to mediate a dispute between two roommates in a matter that was not pending in his court; (3) allowed tenants in eviction cases to "cure" defaults in their rental obligations, in contravention of the parties' rental agreements; and (4) held a show cause hearing in which he summoned a landlord's attorneys back to court after losing jurisdiction in an eviction case, threatened to sanction the attorneys for allegedly acting in bad faith, and thereafter issued a public memorandum chastising one of the attorneys for his conduct in the case. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a former Justice of the Peace. (05/09/11). |
| Private Reprimand of a Justice of the Peace. (07/11/11) |
07/11/2011 |
The judge willfully and/or persistently violated the law when he allowed defendants to make donations to private non-profit organizations in exchange for a credit on their assessed fines. The judge's practice of maintaining and providing a list of approved organizations to which the defendants were allowed to make donations, which list included a scholarship program started by the judge, combined with the "Thank You" letters sent to the judge by the organizations who received the donations, created the impression that (1) he was personally soliciting donations on behalf of those organizations, (2) he was lending the prestige of his judicial office to advance the organizations' private interests, and (3) the organizations were in a special position to influence him. [Violation of Canons 2B and 4C(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Reprimand of a Justice of the Peace. (07/11/11). |
| Private Admonition and Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (07/12/11) |
07/12/2011 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, engaged in an improper ex parte communication with a litigant, and denied a party the right to be heard according to law when he: (1) communicated and plea bargained with a defendant outside the presence of the State; (2) dismissed several of the defendant's cases without input or consent from the State; and (3) erroneously noted on the file jackets of the dismissed cases that the State and its witness were not ready for trial. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(8), and 6C(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition & Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (07/12/11). |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge |
07/11/2011 |
The judge willfully and/or persistently violated the law when he: (1) engaged in conduct that favored a relative of a member of the city council; (2) engaged in an undignified, impatient, and discourteous conversation with the mother of a juvenile defendant; and (3) engaged in undignified, impatient, and discourteous treatment of the juvenile including having the juvenile arrested and handcuffed. [Violation of Canons 2B and 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. (07/11/11). |
| Private Reprimand of a Former Municipal Court Judge. (08/31/11) |
08/31/2011 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and failed to maintain professional competence in the law by permitting defendants to make charitable donations in lieu of performing community service when he knew, or should have known, the law does not permit such a substitution for class C misdemeanors. When asked by a defendant wishing to make a charitable donation in lieu of performing community service to which organization to give, the judge lent the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of those specific charitable entities he identified. The judge also failed to comply with the law and failed to maintain professional competence in the law when he followed a procedure that had the practical effect of placing a commercial driver's license holder on deferred disposition, when he knew that the law prohibited him from doing so. Finally, the judge failed to treat a member of his court staff in a patient, dignified and courteous manner by making jokes in court that he knew, or should have known, would cause the staff member public embarrassment and humiliation. [Violation of Canons 2A, 2B, 3B(2), and 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Reprimand of a Former Municipal Court Judge. (08/31/11). |
