Category Archives: Judge Watch

Texas Judges Gone Bad: Arrested and Charged for Felonies

Here in Texas, judges preside over all sorts of courts:  municipal courts, county courts, district courts in both the state and federal jurisdictions.  Courts where criminal charges are heard and defended. Judges make all kinds of rulings on law in these criminal cases, like whether or not a search was illegal or if evidence can…


Former Dallas Criminal Judge Etta Mullin Gets Bigger Discipline After She Appeals Public Admonition by Judicial Commission

Around the hallways of the Dallas County Courthouse, you can hear many a war story about appearing in the courtroom of Dallas County Criminal Court No. 5 when the Honorable Etta Mullin presided on its bench. If you didn’t have your own personal experience to share, there were lots of criminal defense lawyers (and other…


Prosecutorial Misconduct Rules Issued by Texas Supreme Court: Where is Michael Morton’s Prosecutor, Ken Anderson, Now?

Prosecutors do bad things all the time here in Texas; if you doubt this, just read a few of the stories we’ve posted about regarding abusive and illegal actions by District Attorneys here in the Lone Star State. These state prosecutors do all sorts of illegal acts, from hiding evidence and introducing false evidence in…


Two Dallas Police Officers Facing Criminal Investigations After Dallas Civil Trial Judge Rules Their Sworn Testimony in 2011 Criminal Case Is “Perjurious”

Judge Carl Ginsberg presides over the 193rd Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, and has been a Texas trial court judge since January 2007, so he’s not new to the ball game, and when he issued his opinion regarding the Melvin Williams criminal case earlier this month, Judge Ginsberg must have been well aware…


Are Texas Judges the Last Protection of Privacy Rights? Southern District Denials of Federal Prosecutors’ Requests for Sneaky Cell Phone Data Gathering With Stingrays, Cell Tower Dumps

Down in Corpus Christi, there’s a federal judge who has been aware of technology’s threat to privacy rights for a long while now: he’s the Honorable Brian L. Owsley, U.S. Magistrate for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Back in 2007, for example, Judge Owsley made the national news when…


Will Dallas Municipal Judges Be Booted From the Bench Because They Don’t Bring in Enough Fine Money to the City Coffers? Maybe.

Dallas isn’t immune to the national economic slump and those in the City of Dallas staff offices seem to looking everywhere for more money. Which is good, as long as they’re finding ways to be more efficient and productive with city budget money – but here’s the thing: in a recent Dallas city council meeting,…


Texas Judges Making International News (Not in a Good Way) as Honor Student Tossed in Jail For Excessive Tardies – She’s Been Working 2 Jobs to Support Her Siblings and Has Straight A’s.

This week, national and in some instances international coverage is following the action of a Texas judge down near Houston and it’s not exactly the best of news for the State of Texas legal system.   Controversial in some instances, the stories are doing little to boost the reputation of the Texas judiciary and the State…


Texas Judge Finds Probable Cause that Texas DA Illegally Withheld Evidence in Murder Trial of Michael Morton

We’ve been monitoring the case of Michael Morton – an innocent man who had been convicted of murder long ago in Williamson County.  For all the details on what happened to Mr. Morton, check out our post from last month, which delves into the allegations of bad acts by the prosecutor at Morton’s criminal trial….


Texas Judge Busted for Taking Bribes in Continuing FBI Sting: Ex El Paso Judge Tony Cobos Jailed

Tony Cobos, 44, full name Antonio Guillermo Cobos, only served one term on the state judicial bench over in El Paso, but that was time enough for Mr. Cobos to gut his legal career and maybe his freedom.  As of yesterday morning, Cobos still sat in an El Paso jail cell, having some problems with…


Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten Found Guilty of Bribery, Money Laundering – Plea Deal, No Jail Time

Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten has been found guilty of bribery (6 counts) as well as money laundering, record tampering, and engaging in organized criminal activity.  That was after a full-blown jury trial. Suzanne Wooten has also been sentenced to ten (10) years probation, a $10,000 fine, and must perform over  1000 hours of community service.  That…