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).