Tag Archives: State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Skeet Jones indicted and suspended

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Have you been waiting for a Skeet Jones update? Well, you’re in luck. State regulators have suspended without pay the top elected official of Texas’s least-populated county after a grand jury indicted him for cattle rustling. Judge Skeet Jones, patriarch … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit heard by SCOTx

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait. Texas Supreme Court justices Wednesday questioned whether a Waco justice of the peace should remain under threat of a judicial oversight body’s sanctions if she continues refusing to marry gay couples. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton’s sleaze goes beyond his (alleged) crimes and misdemeanors

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, in case you needed it. When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton held a news conference in May decrying state lawmakers’ anticipated vote to impeach him, he framed the decision as not only a threat to his political … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit to be considered by SCOTx

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The end of the line one way or the other. The Texas Supreme Court will review a case involving a Waco justice of the peace’s refusal to perform same-sex weddings. McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley sued the … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit still tossed

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. An Austin intermediate appellate court has upheld a Travis County judge’s decision to throw out McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley’s lawsuit against the state panel that sanctioned her in 2019 for refusing to perform same-sex weddings. … Continue reading →

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Hopefully the last time she will appear before a judge

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

For her sake, I hope it is. Years of legal trouble for a former Harris County civil judge have come to an end with three years probation. Alexandra Smoots on Wednesday wept as Judge Chuck Silverman granted her deferred adjudication … Continue reading →

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Charges against Judge Jordan dropped

Posted on July 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. Just four days after being indicted and arrested, Harris County misdemeanor court Judge Darrell Jordan saw an official oppression charge against him dropped. Fort Bend County prosecutors on Friday announced they were dropping the misdemeanor charge against … Continue reading →

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More on Jordan and Dolcefino

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Dolcefino speaks. Former TV reporter Wayne Dolcefino has called for the resignation of Harris County misdemeanor Judge Darrell Jordan, alleging a personal vendetta led the jurist to wrongly hold him in contempt of court in 2020. Dolcefino’s demand came after … Continue reading →

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The national media discovers Skeet Jones

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s NBC News with a nice, juicy story. Lawmen came to remote Loving County, Texas, on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands on one of Texas’ oldest crimes — cattle theft. Judge … Continue reading →

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The cattle-rustling County Judge

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Bonkers” is the first word that came to mind as I read this Twitter thread and the linked story at the end of it: . #BREAKING: Loving County Judge Skeet Jones was arrested earlier today by the Texas and Southwestern … Continue reading →

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Two judges sanctioned by Judicial Conduct Commission

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not a good look, and really bad timing for one of them. A pair of Harris County civil court judges have been sanctioned for behavior in their courtrooms, with one judge allowing the shackling of attorneys and another erupting into … Continue reading →

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County Court judge Barnstone resigns

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A Harris County civil court judge has resigned amid several allegations of judicial misconduct, including showing bias or prejudice toward litigants and attorneys on the basis of race, sex or socioeconomic status, according to the State Commission on Judicial … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit tossed

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a bit of good news. A Travis County judge has thrown out McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley’s lawsuit against the state panel that sanctioned her in 2019 for refusing to perform same-sex weddings. Judge Jan Soifer … Continue reading →

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Smoots-Thomas takes a plea

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A sad but hardly unexpected end to this story. The ex-judge in an orange jail uniform stood before a judge in black robes, swore to tell the truth and tried to make sense of her predicament. “My world truly turned … Continue reading →

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Another example of why bail reform is needed

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is troubling in a lot of ways, but fortunately there is a path forward. Since November, eight defendants fresh out of jail on bond have walked into state District Judge Ramona Franklin’s court and been sent right back to … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton does Ken Paxton thing

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Film at 11. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is not defending a state agency that is being sued for punishing a judge who refuses to officiate gay marriages. It’s the most recent in a handful of cases in which … Continue reading →

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Judge Powell back on the ballot

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So be it. A civil court judge Wednesday ordered that sitting criminal district Judge George Powell be included on the March primary ballot after the Harris County Democratic Party denied his application for candidacy last month. Party officials had to … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP sues for the right to be an anti-gay JP

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A Waco judge who received a public warning last month for refusing to officiate same-sex marriages filed a lawsuit against the state agency that issued the warning, claiming the governmental body violated state law by punishing her for actions … Continue reading →

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We have a filing failure

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

In typical fashion, it’s bizarre. One of the more bizarre things to happen during the recent filing period: Judge George Powell had his filing rejected because of a filing fee mistake. So he sued. Powell filed on the last day, … Continue reading →

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Former judge McSpadden rebuked by State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A former district judge who served on the Harris County bench for 36 years has received a formal reprimand from a state watchdog commission for comments he made to a Houston Chronicle reporter stating black defendants were getting poor … Continue reading →

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In which Greg Abbott moves to protect an anti-gay judge

Posted on December 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

First, there was this. The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct on Monday issued a public warning to a Republican judge from Waco who refuses to perform same-sex marriages but still performs them for opposite-sex couples. McLennan County Justice of the … Continue reading →

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Smoots-Thomas suspended from the bench

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

What you’d expect. A district court judge in Harris County has been suspended after she was indicted on federal wire fraud charges for allegedly misspending campaign donations. Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, will be removed from her bench without pay until … Continue reading →

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Justice Higley resigns

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is clearly the best course of action. Justice Laura Carter Higley, who lives in West University and served on the Houston-based court, submitted her notice to Gov. Greg Abbott, the appeals court’s clerk confirmed Tuesday. In the letter, she … Continue reading →

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The case of Justice Laura Higley

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is a sad situation, one with potentially fraught political implications. An appeals court justice serving Southeast Texas continues to sit on the bench as she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, all while facing familial discord over the control of her … Continue reading →

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The visiting judge and the public defender

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I want to understand more about this. Commissioner Rodney Ellis is calling for a review of the process used to select substitute judges after fielding a scathing letter from the county’s public defender outlining two decades of allegations against ex-Judge … Continue reading →

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The felony judges who abused the bail system

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Shame on them all. Three sitting judges and eight former district judges in Harris County were publicly admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in response to complaints that for years they violated state law and judicial cannons by … Continue reading →

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Paxton wants magistrates’ lawsuit tossed

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things, Kenny. The state attorney general Monday asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by three Harris County hearing officers who are fighting sanctions by Texas’ judicial ethics commission earlier this year over unfair bail practices. Texas … Continue reading →

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Harris County hearing officers sue to overturn their conduct sanction

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting twist. Three Harris County hearing officers have sued the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in an attempt to overturn their discipline for denying personal recognizance bonds to misdemeanor defendants, contending that the agency overstepped its authority by interpreting … Continue reading →

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JP Hilary Green resigns

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wise decision. The Harris County justice of the peace accused of paying prostitutes for sex, abusing drugs while on the bench and sexting a bailiff officially resigned this week – although her attorney says it has nothing to do with … Continue reading →

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ACLU goes after Judge McSpadden

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As well they should. The ACLU of Texas is asking Harris County’s longest serving felony court judge to resign after making a statement to the Houston Chronicle on his views about black men’s attitudes toward the criminal justice system. The … Continue reading →

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More judges caught up in the bail scandal

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

More judges to vote out. For more than a decade, most of Harris County’s felony court judges directed magistrates to deny no-cash bail to all newly arrested defendants, in apparent violation of state judicial conduct rules, according to internal documents … Continue reading →

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Judicial Conduct commission suspends JP Hilary Green

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! The Texas Supreme Court on Friday issued an order to suspend Harris County Justice of the Peace Hilary Green from office immediately based on allegations that Green illegally abused prescription drugs, sent sexually explicit texts to a bailiff while on … Continue reading →

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Judicial Conduct commission seeks suspension of JP Hilary Green

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Holy moley. In an explosive and rare move, Texas judicial authorities on Wednesday asked the Texas Supreme Court to suspend a Harris County justice of the peace accused of paying prostitutes for sex, misusing illegal drugs and ruling unethically in … Continue reading →

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City sued over bail practices

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

One more lawsuit going after the practice of jailing people who can’t afford to post bonf. Two civil rights groups sued the city of Houston late Monday, alleging the city jail has detained people for days at a time without … Continue reading →

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