A Texas judge is under fire for reportedly admitting she sent nude pictures to a bailiff in her court and used illegal drugs during her tenure on the bench.
The Texas state commission charged with disciplining judges is arguing the Texas Supreme Court suspend Harris County Judge Hilary Green, DallasNews reports. Green reportedly admitted to using marijuana and ecstasy, along with the sexting charges.
Green has served as a justice of the peace since 2007, and was re-elected in November in a landslide victory.
The state commission wants Green barred from the bench for life. It filed a petition claiming Green misrepresented her relationship with a convict to hide her illegal purchases of cough syrup–a substance Green was reportedly addicted to for years.
Green’s ex-husband corroborated her addiction to cough syrup in 2015 divorce filings. He also claimed she had ongoing relationships with former litigants and witnesses.
Green reportedly admitted to trading sexts with a bailiff in her court, who allegedly remains assigned to Green’s courtroom, from October 2013 to March 2014. Green allegedly asked the bailiff to stop sending nude images after that.
The judge’s attorney, Chip Babcock, is arguing she cannot be removed from the bench for actions done before she was re-elected in November 2016.
The petition also questions why Green never tried to remove the bailiff from her courtroom or get him reassigned. Babcock argues that is not within Green’s power as a justice of the peace.
“He doesn’t work for her and so she doesn’t have any personnel responsibility over him so she couldn’t fire him or reassign him if she wanted to,” Babcock told reporters. “We’re going to aggressively defend this.”
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