Texas judge is admonished for 'New York Jew' and Muslim beard comments, marathon court session
A Texas judge who referred to a district attorney as a “New York Jew” has been publicly admonished.
The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct admonished Judge Carter Tinsley Schildknecht of Lamesa in a May 11 order (PDF) that was released on Monday, report Texas Lawyer, KCBD and Courthouse News Service.
The commission said Schildknecht displayed a religious or cultural bias when she made the “New York Jew” comment and when she told an assistant DA that his beard made him look like a Muslim. The commission also cited a marathon court session in which Schildknecht refused to allow formal breaks and another incident in which the judge refused to allow the DA in her courtroom.
Schildknecht referred to the DA as a “New York Jew” in a private conversation with the DA’s secretary in July 2014, according to the commission’s order. Later that month, Schildknecht met with the DA to try to explain why she called him that. “When I tell people why you are different and have different thoughts, I explain because you are from New York and because you are Jewish,” she said.
In her defense, Schildknecht told the commission, “I may be too blunt, but I am not biased or prejudiced against New Yorkers or Jews.” She said she made the statement to explain that the DA’s approach and perspective may be different than that of someone who is raised in West Texas.
That same month, Schildknecht barred the DA from her courtroom, telling her bailiff words to the effect of “Get him out of here” or “I don’t want to see his face,” according to the order. Schildknecht told the commission she told the bailiff to remove the DA because the court’s business had concluded for the day and she didn’t see any reason for him to be in the courtroom.
In another incident, Schildknecht criticized an assistant DA’s beard in September 2014, saying, “You look like a Muslim, and I wouldn’t hire you with it,” or words to that effect. Schildknecht told the commission that the incident “seemed faintly familiar” and if she made the comment, it must have been during court downtime.
The commission also found that Schildknecht held a marathon court session for probation revocation cases that began at 1 p.m. on July 2, 2014, and lasted until 4 a.m. the next day. During that time, Schildknecht didn’t provide formal breaks to use the bathroom or to eat. Schildknecht told the commission the long session was needed to prevent jail overcrowding and there was enough downtime that participants could have eaten or used the restroom.
The commission said Schildknecht failed to treat litigants, attorneys and others with patience, dignity and courtesy when she held the marathon session and when she expelled the DA from her courtroom.
The commission ordered Schildknecht to spend four hours with a mentor to receive instruction on the open courts doctrine and the need to recognize and eliminate bias.
