Former Texas judge is reprimanded for delayed rulings, mass case dismissal
A former Texas family court judge has been reprimanded for delayed rulings and a mass dismissal of more than 600 cases, though she resigned more than five months ago.
The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct reprimanded Judge Denise Pratt in an order (PDF) made public on Monday, Texas Lawyer reports.
The commission said Pratt “failed to be diligent and failed to timely execute the business of the court.” The commission rejected Pratt’s contention that incompetent and untrained clerks were responsible for the delays.
Witnesses testimony supported Pratt’s “reputation for not showing up for court, not signing orders for months at a time, not disposing of cases in a timely manner and having the largest backlog of pending cases of all the Harris County family district courts,” the commission said.
The commission also said Pratt dismissed more than 600 cases for want of prosecution in the final days of 2013. Evidence shows that in most if not all the instances no notice was sent to the parties and no hearing was held, according to the commission. The judge also failed to ensure that active cases were not included in the list of dismissed cases, the commission said.
Greg Enos, a Webster, Texas, lawyer who filed three complaints against Pratt with Harris County prosecutors, said the commission acted too late. “When we needed their help and protection, they did nothing, and they wait until after she’s resigned to reprimand her,” he told Texas Lawyer. “That’s trying to let the horses out after the barn has already burned down.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyers are asked to help resolve ‘random chaos’ resulting from family court judge’s abrupt exit”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge didn’t give notice before dismissing cases, lawyer says in complaint”
