A special court on Thursday dismissed all judicial sanctions against former Dallas County judge Amber Givens, who is set to become the county鈥檚 next district attorney.
In a six-page , Texas鈥� Special Court of Review ruled evidence didn鈥檛 support the allegation that Givens 鈥� then judge of Dallas County鈥檚 282nd District Court 鈥� allowed her court coordinator to conduct a virtual hearing in her place in 2021.
Nor did the evidence support allegations that Givens intentionally put a man in jail and revoked another鈥檚 bond after she recused herself from their cases, the court ruled.
The court also dismissed allegations Givens mistreated attorneys who practiced in her court or showed prejudice toward members of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, which filed a complaint against her to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The commission, responsible for disciplining state judges, issued a public and against Givens over those incidents last year. Givens then appealed the discipline to the special court, which led to a trial in February.
While testimony and other evidence showed Givens was 鈥渃ertainly a polarizing individual,鈥� the court wrote, the Dallas County district clerk鈥檚 software was flawed and made it hard for a judge to know if a motion to recuse had been filed or granted. The evidence also showed trial courts faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淭here were a number of inconsistencies in the testimony regarding specific incidents that are understandable after such a passage of time,鈥� the opinion reads. 鈥淗owever, when taken as a whole, the evidence before this Special Court of Review does not prove the violations alleged against Judge Amber Givens by a preponderance of the evidence.鈥�
The Special Court of Review is comprised of three intermediate state appellate court justices chosen by the Texas Supreme Court chief justice to review discipline issued by the commission.
"To God be the glory," Givens said in a about the ruling Thursday. 四虎影院 reached out to Givens directly and will update this story with any response.
Givens' attorney in the appeal, Chip Babcock, told 四虎影院 the court's decision was gratifying. The evidence, Babcock said, showed members of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association were trying to get Givens off the bench.
"Everybody has the right to petition government if they feel they've been wronged," Babcock said, "but certainly the person who's being complained about has a right to defend themselves, and Judge Givens did so and very effectively because the charges were just totally without merit."
Amanda Branan, former president of the defense lawyers association who testified in the trial over Givens' sanctions, told 四虎影院 the association respects the court's decision.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct declined to comment.
Two probation officers testified at trial that they'd heard Givens' former court coordinator Arceola Warfield speak during an August 2021 hearing when the judge was supposed to be speaking, The Dallas Morning News . The Texas Rangers investigated the matter, but prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against Givens over the incident.
Givens at trial that she was working remotely, called Warfield on the phone and had her hold the phone up to Warfield's computer so Givens could preside over the hearing, the News reported.
The former judge also denied mistreating attorneys in her court and said she didn't know she had been recused from the two men's criminal cases because of issues with the Dallas County district clerk's computer system.
Givens, a Democrat, resigned from the bench to run for Dallas County District Attorney against fellow Democrat and incumbent John Creuzot. Givens won the March primary and, because no Republican candidates filed to run for DA, Givens will be elected in November and take office next year.
Toluwani Osibamowo is 四虎影院鈥檚 law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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