Four current and seven former district judges in Houston plan to appeal sanctions by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct that claimed their bail bond practices failed to comply with Texas law and cast public discredit on the judiciary.

Harris County’s justice system has been in hot water for years over bail bond practices that lead to lengthy incarcerations of indigent defendants. The county lost a major lawsuit that alleged constitutional violations in its misdemeanor courts and recently entered a settlement to reform its bail bond practices.

Public Admonitions

  • 182nd District Judge Jeannine Barr
  • 174th District Judge Hazel Jones
  • 351st District Judge George Powell
  • 337th District Judge Herb Ritchie
  • Former 185th District Judge Susan Brown, who now serves as presiding judge of the 11th Administrative Judicial Region
  • Former 248th District Judge Katherine Cabaniss
  • Former 208th District Judge Denise Collins
  • Former 351st District Judge Mark Ellis
  • Former 180th District Judge Catherine Evans
  • Former 209th District Judge Michael McSpadden
  • Former 263rd District Judge Jim Wallace