AUSTIN – More than half of the complaints filed against Texas judges in 2020 were against district judges, according to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The SCJC is an independent Texas state agency responsible for investigating allegations of judicial misconduct.
According to the commission’s annual report, a total of 1,518 cases were filed in 2020 – 1,240 of which were disposed.
Most of the disposed complaints were ones brought by litigants, 494 for 40 percent. Criminal defendants were second with 279 disposed complaints for 23 percent.
The majority of the complaints (790 for 52 percent) were filed against district judges. There are 465 district judges in Texas, accounting for only 11 percent of the total amount of judges in Texas, according to the report.
Although some are specialized, district courts can hear both civil actions and criminal matters.
In 2020, the commission acted in 60 cases involving Texas judges.
The commission found 21 judges failed to comply with the law, 17 were cited for incompetence and another 17 were cited for conduct that cast public discredit upon the judiciary.
District judges received the most disciplinary actions in 2020 – 29 for 48 percent.
The high number of complaints against district judges may actually be due to the convenience of technology, however.
Ever since the SCJC allowed complaints to start being filed online in 2015, the number of cases has “grown higher and higher,” says SCJC Executive Director Jacqueline Habersham.
Habersham accredited the increase in complaints against district judges to family law cases.
Any Texas litigant unhappy with a ruling can go to the SCJC website to file a complaint.
Some of the recent SCJC’s disciplinary actions against district judges include:
- On Dec. 4 Judge Mark Luitjen (Bexar County) received a public admonition and order of additional education for using derogatory slurs for undocumented workers while discussing political correctness in today’s “hyper-sensitive environment;”
- On Dec. 4 Judge Lonnie Cox (56th District Court in Galveston) received a public warning for endorsing Tax Assessor Cheryl Johnson at a fundraising event; and
- On Dec. 3 Judge Ken Molberg (95th District Court in Dallas County) was warned for lending the prestige of his judicial office to advance the private interests of other candidates for non-judicial public office. During a 2018 campaign, Molberg paid a PAC for his name and likeness to appear in advertisements supporting his campaign and the campaigns of the other candidates.
According to Office of Court Administration, approximately 4,151 judges were under the jurisdiction of the commission in 2020.