| Action |
Date Issued |
Summary |
| Private Reprimand of a Retired County Court at Law Judge (9/14/17) |
09/14/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and ultimately pled no contest to a charge of reckless driving. The judge's conduct also cast public discredit upon the judiciary as multiple media outlets published stories regarding his arrest. [Violation of Canon 2A of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Reprimand of a Retired County Court at Law Judge. 09/14/17. |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (9/20/17) |
09/20/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and maintain professional competence in the law when he held a testifying witness in direct contempt of court when she made derogatory comments regarding the court and the judge (amongst others) on her Facebook page during the lunch break of a final hearing outside the presence of the judge. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge. 09/20/17. |
| Private Admonition of a County Court at Law Judge (9/21/17) |
09/21/2017 |
The judge failed to perform his judicial duties without bias or prejudice when he sent a letter to the attorneys for both parties in a case before him in response to one of the parties' request for a jury trial stating that under the proper circumstances the judge could set aside a jury verdict and order a new trial. [Violation of Canon 3B(5) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a County Court at Law Judge. 09/21/17. |
| Private Reprimand and Order of Additional Education of a County Court Law Judge (10/11/17) |
10/11/2017 |
The judge failed to timely execute the business of his court by not entering a final judgment in a family law case for approximately twenty-two months after he had presided over a final hearing in the case. [Violation of Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution and Section 33.001(b) of the Texas Government Code.] Private Reprimand & Order of Additional Education of a County Court at Law Judge. 10/11/17. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (10/12/17) |
10/12/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and denied an incarcerated pro se litigant her right to be heard in a custody case involving her three daughters when he: (1) failed to consider whether the litigant's appearance was necessary at the final hearing on the matter; and (2) improperly denied the litigant's request for a bench warrant on the grounds that she did not also request a hearing on the bench warrant. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge. 10/12/17. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (10/27/17) |
10/27/2017 |
The judge failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer while engaged in his official duties when he raised his voice, used expletives, and threatened to hold the respondents to a peace bond complaint in contempt if they did not stop arguing and fighting. [Violation of Canon 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 10/27/17. |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (10/27/17) |
10/27/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and denied parties their right to be heard when he: (1) changed the original judgment in their case without affording the parties notice of his intent to do so or the opportunity to be heard according to law; and (2) issued an unenforceable judgment and failed to award damages in the lawsuit. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 10/27/17. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (10/30/17) |
10/30/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, and engaged in willful conduct that was clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of his duties and cast public discredit upon the judiciary and the administration of justice when he approved an employee's timesheets when that employee had not worked, which led to negative media coverage regarding the matter. [Violation of Canon 2A of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 10/30/17. |
| Private Warning of a District Court Judge (11/7/17) |
11/07/2017 |
The judge knowingly or recklessly misrepresented the identity, qualifications, present position or other fact concerning himself when he published endorsements that were not valid. Further, the judge failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer towards a lawyer with whom the judge dealt with in an official capacity when he made sexist comments about that lawyer and referred to others in a derogatory manner. The judge failed to conduct his extra-judicial activities so that they did not cast reasonable doubt on his capacity to act impartially as a judge, and his conduct cast public discredit upon the judiciary when he made sexist and racist comments in a media interview. [Violation of Canons 3B(4), 4A(1), 4D(1) and 5(1)(ii) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning of a District Court Judge. 11/07/17. |
| Private Admonition of a Justice of Peace (11/17/17) |
11/17/2017 |
The judge lent the prestige of his office to advance the private interest of another when he went to the previous employer of his granddaughter to discuss her wish to be rehired with the owner and gave the owner a business card identifying himself as a judge. [Violation of Canon 2B of the Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Justice of the Peace. 11/17/17. |
| Private Warning of a County Judge (12/15/17) |
12/15/2017 |
The judge's conduct cast public discredit on the judiciary when he: (1) made comments at two Commissioner's Court meetings threatening to kill and/or physically fight a county department head and a county commissioner; and (2) publically stated that he was going to call the Governor's office to obtain a permit to kill two people with whom he was having a political dispute. [Violation of Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning of a County Judge. 12/15/17. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of an Associate Judge (12/19/17) |
12/19/2017 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and denied an incarcerated pro se litigant his right to be heard in a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship involving his daughter when she denied him the opportunity to participate in a hearing in the case. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of an Associate Judge. 12/19/17. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (1/4/18) |
01/04/2018 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and denied a pro se litigant her right to be heard when he refused to accept her filing of an eviction action based on his brief discussion with the tenant and belief that the intended lawsuit would involve the sale of real property, which would have been beyond the jurisdiction of his court. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 01/04/18. |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (1/18/18) |
01/18/2018 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and to maintain professional competence in the law by collecting a "warrant fee" before agreeing to meet with a defendant to resolve a case, and by sending defendants to jail if they chose not to pay the upfront "warrant fee." The judge also showed a bias against indigent defendants by not allowing them to bypass magistration if they could not pay the upfront "warrant fee." [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(6) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 01/18/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Municipal court Judge (1/30/18) |
01/30/2018 |
The judge failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer while engaged in her official duties and denied the rights of unrepresented traffic citation defendants to be heard when she: (1) gave a speech to defendants informing them that they did not want to talk to her about anything, that they knew they were going to be convicted, and that they had no excuse for alleged failures to comply with the terms and conditions of deferred dispositions; and (2) failed to allow multiple defendants the ability to speak or respond regarding their cases. [Violation of Canons 3B(4) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Municipal Court Judge. 01/30/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a County Judge (2/8/18) |
02/08/2018 |
The judge lent the prestige of her judicial office to advance the private interest of another when she promoted the business arrangement between a company and her county's Sheriff's Department in letters that she sent to constables throughout the state. [Violation of Canon 2B of the Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a County Judge. 02/08/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (2/8/18) |
02/08/2018 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer while engaged in his official duties when he: (1) treated a pro se traffic defendant attempting to file several pre-trial motions in a discourteous and irate manner; and (2) signed a Trial Setting, Trial Setting Continuance, Jury Pool Letter, and subpoenas in the case after he had recused himself from the matter. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2) and 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 02/08/18. |
| Private Admonition and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (4/18/18) |
04/18/2018 |
The judge failed to comply with the law, failed to maintain professional competence in the law, and improperly failed to recuse himself in two criminal traffic cases he personally witnessed when he: (1) executed probable cause affidavits in both cases, ordered the arrests of both drivers, and magistrated both defendants; and (2) subsequently failed to recuse himself on both cases. [Violation of Canons 2A, 3B(1) and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 04/18/18. |
| Private Admonition of a District Court Judge (4/18/18) |
04/18/2018 |
The judge exhibited bias and prejudice in the performance of judicial duties on the basis of religion and/or sexual orientation when he addressed a jury panel regarding the United States Supreme Court's anticipated decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, and interjected his personal religious belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman and solicited prayers regarding the Justices' deliberations. Further, the judge's extra-judicial activities cast reasonable doubt on his capacity to act impartially as a judge when he posted a comment on his Facebook page regarding the personal decision of a defendant regarding her pregnancy indicating his public condemnation of the defendant's decision in that regard. [Violation of Canons 3B(6) and 4A(1) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a District Court Judge. 04/18/18. |
| Private Reprimand and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (6/6/18) |
06/06/2018 |
The judge's conduct cast public discredit upon the judiciary when he consumed alcoholic beverages at a public event and placed himself in a position where it appeared to law enforcement officers that he was publicly intoxicated. Further, the judge failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer while engaged in his official duties when he made inappropriate comments during a telephone conversation with a Sheriff's deputy. Finally, the judge lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance the private interests of another county officer when he made a public endorsement for her re-election by co-hosting a joint campaign event with her. [Violation of Canons 2A, 2B, 3B(4) and 5(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Reprimand & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 06/06/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (6/6/18) |
06/06/2018 |
The judge lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance the private interests of his court administrator and her family, failed to comply with the law and maintain professional competence in the law, improperly failed to recuse himself, and engaged in improper ex parte communications when he: (1) made repeated attempts to expedite a hearing in a probate matter in another court through communications with that court and its staff; (2) performed the magistration of his court administrator's half-sister in a criminal case; (3) pressured an assistant district attorney in the criminal case to request a transfer of the case to his court; and (4) communicated to the assistant district attorney his dissatisfaction with the terms of a proposed plea agreement, and directed her to impose certain conditions on the sentence. [Violation of Canons 2A, 2B, 3B(1), 3B(2) and 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and Article V, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge. 06/06/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (6/6/18) |
06/28/2018 |
The judge failed to exhibit the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of a judicial officer while engaged in his official duties, and exhibited bias and prejudice against women at his workplace by his words, when he made disparaging comments about another county official who was a female, as well as about other women on multiple occasions. [Violation of Canons 3B(4) and 3B(6) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace. 06/28/18. |
| Private Reprimand of a County Judge (8/8/18) |
08/08/2018 |
The judge lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance his private interests when he threatened to retaliate against a Sheriff's deputy for actions the deputy took involving one of the judge's private practice clients. [Violation of Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Reprimand of a County Judge. 08/08/18. |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (8/28/18) |
08/28/2018 |
The judge failed to comply with the law and to maintain competence in the law, when he failed to issue a bond to a defendant in a felony DWI case for more than two months, after revoking that defendant's initial bond for violations of the conditions of the initial bond. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge. 08/28/18. |
