Texas Judge Kelli Johnson has not been seen in her courtroom since May 1 for unknown reasons, ABC13 reported Tuesday.
Johnson served for 17 years as a district attorney before being elected as judge of the 178th Criminal District Court in 2016 and reelected in 2020, according to her official bio. During her tenure, she has presided over significant trials and had another high-profile case on the docket prior to her disappearance, ABC13 reported. (RELATED: Texas Court Ignores Dem Calls To Adopt New ‘Judge Shopping’ Policy)
Where’s Judge Kelli Johnson? High-profile justice hasn’t sat on the bench for weeks https://t.co/IG3zUtBCSc
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) May 22, 2024
She is also the first openly gay judge elected to the bench in Harris County, the New York Post reported. Johnson is a registered Democrat and is running for a third term in 2024, according to Ballotpedia.
“Judge Johnson is out for personal matters,” Amanda Cain, communications director for the Administrative Office of the District Courts, told ABC13 after initially refusing to comment. One courtroom employee told the outlet about the judge’s “manic behavior” and described her as “a danger to herself and to the community.”
The outlet cited a Houston police report from May 4 which documented a “disturbance/CIT” incident involving the judge, the outlet reported. CIT is a law enforcement acronym for crisis intervention, ABC13 noted.
Some of her cases have been taken up by a visiting judge, the outlet reported. Judge Susan Brown, the administrative judge for the region, refused to comment on whether there was any timetable for Johnson’s return, according to ABC13.
