| Action |
Date Issued |
Summary |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (10/11/02) |
10/11/2002 |
The judge wrote a letter on official court stationery to the superintendent and board members of the Corpus Christi Independent School District, in which he criticized them for taking a certain action. The letter constituted an extra-judicial activity which cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as a judge. [Violation of Canon 4A(1) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a District Court Judge (10/11/02) |
| Private Warning and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (10/29/02) |
10/29/2002 |
In adjudicating a truancy matter, the judge improperly applied certain provisions of both the Texas Education Code and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, while failing to comply with other applicable or mandatory provisions of those statutes. [Violation of Canons 2A and 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (10/29/02) |
| Private Admonition of a Senior Judge (12/17/02) |
|
The judge made an insensitive comment to a court reporter with whom he had dealings in an official capacity, which lacked the appropriate dignity expected of a judicial official. [Violation of Canon 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Senior Judge (12/17/02) |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (02/14/03) |
02/14/2003 |
The judge improperly exercised his contempt authority by failing to serve the alleged contemnors with proper legal process, and by failing to provide them with full and unambiguous notification of when, how and by what means they had been guilty of contempt. The judge also failed to properly admonish the defendants about proceeding without counsel at the contempt hearings when they faced the possibility of a jail term. He also failed to obtain the defendants' knowing and voluntary waiver of counsel, before finding them in contempt and ordering them to jail. Further, the judge failed to provide proper notice to the parent or guardian of a minor charged with a criminal offense, as required by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 45.0215. The judge's actions in exercising his contempt authority, and his procedures involving a minor charged with a criminal offense, demonstrated a lack of professional legal competence. [Violation of Canon 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (02/14/03) |
| Private Warning of a County Court at Law Judge (02/28/03) |
|
The judge appeared in his judicial robe in an advertisement for a theological seminary. [Violation of Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning of a County Court at Law Judge (02/28/03) |
| Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge (02/28/03) |
02/28/2003 |
The judge lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance his own private interest by sending a letter to two assistant district attorneys urging the imprisonment of a particular criminal defendant with whom he had a personal dispute. [Violation of Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge (02/28/03 |
| Private Admonition and Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (06/27/03) |
06/27/2003 |
The judge berated a law enforcement officer with whom the judge dealt in an official capacity and threatened her with contempt. The judge's actions lacked the appropriate patience, dignity and courtesy expected of a judicial official. [Violation of Canon 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition & Order of Additional Education of a Justice of the Peace (06/27/03) |
| Private Order of Additional Education of a County Judge (06/27/03) |
06/27/2003 |
The judge failed to follow proper procedures when he ordered the arrest of a pro se defendant following a protective order hearing, without first reading the defendant his statutory warnings, and without affording the defendant the right to counsel, the right to waive counsel, or the right to remain silent. Additionally, the judge's frustration with the applicant's desire to withdraw the request for a protective order resulted in a comment from the judge that suggested an unfavorable comparison between the defendant and Charles Manson, demonstrating a lack of patience, dignity, and courtesy. [Violation of Canons 3B(2) and 3B(4) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Order of Additional Education of a County Judge (06/27/03) |
| Private Admonition of a District Judge (08/07/03) |
08/07/2003 |
On behalf of his daughter, a district judge wrote a letter of representation on official court stationery to a municipal court. In this letter, the judge entered a plea of "not guilty" for his daughter, and sought the name of the prosecuting attorney ""¦for possible plea negotiations." [Violation of Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a District Judge (08/07/03) |
| .] Private Admonition of a Justice of the Peace (08/07/03) |
08/07/2003 |
The judge requested and received a number of pre-signed "Marriage Waivers" from a retired district judge. Exercising his discretion, the judge thereafter executed these documents in order to allow couples to waive the 72-hour waiting period as provided by Section 2.204 of the Texas Family Code. There is no provision of law which allows a justice of the peace to execute a marriage waiver. The judge executed the marriage waivers without legal authority. [Violation of Canon 2A of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Justice of the Peace (08/07/03) |
| Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace, (8/25/03) |
08/25/2003 |
The judge, while traveling on a state highway at nighttime with his family, chased, stopped, and arrested another motorist based on his perception that the motorist had committed a traffic offense, and therefore presented a danger to other motorists. During the incident, the judge displayed a handgun for which he did not have a license to possess. [Violation of Article 5, Section 1-a(6)A of the Texas Constitution.] Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace, (8/25/03) |
| Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge (08/25/03) |
08/25/2003 |
In resolving a matter involving the failure to show proof of liability insurance, where the defendant subsequently timely provided such proof to the court, the judge charged a $35 "insurance dismissal fee," a fee that is not allowed by law. [Violation of Canon 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Admonition of a Municipal Court Judge (08/25/03) |
| Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace (08/25/03) |
08/25/2003 |
In one matter, a driver attempted to resolve a traffic ticket in the judge's court by entering a plea of no contest with a request for deferred adjudication, and by paying the requisite fine and fees to the court. Over the next three months, the driver's mother contacted the court numerous times to find out the status of her son's ticket; each time she learned that the case was still open. Eventually, the driver's paperwork was processed correctly. In another matter, the commissioners' court of the judge's county complained that the judge engaged in fiscal mismanagement by failing to fulfill his statutory obligation to deposit monies as required by the Local Government Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. A county auditor's report showed that the judge's court had thousands of dollars worth of un-posted receipts, thousands of unprocessed citations, late deposits and receipts that did not match funds on hand. Further, the audit indicated that the court had not implemented a plan of action to correct similar problems cited in earlier audits. It was also determined that for more than two years, the judge had failed to file requisite monthly activity reports with the Office of Court Administration, contrary to the Government Code and despite receiving several notices that the reports were overdue. The Commission acknowledged that a subsequent audit found that the judge had made substantial progress in addressing the shortcomings found by the initial audit. [Violation of Article 5, Section 1-a(6)A, Texas Constitution, and Canon 2A, Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.] Private Warning of a Justice of the Peace (08/25/03) |
