Judge disciplined for casting ‘public discredit on the judiciary’ on YouTube and in court
The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct has issued a public warning for Judge Stephanie Boyd, a judge of the 187th Criminal District Court in San Antonio, in part because of public comments that she made through her court’s YouTube channel. (Screenshot via 187th Criminal District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd’s YouTube channel)
The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct has issued a public warning for a Texas judge, in part because of public comments that she made through her court’s YouTube channel.
Judge Stephanie Boyd, a judge of the 187th Criminal District Court in San Antonio, livestreams her court proceedings on YouTube and has “engaged in extrajudicial activities with viewers,” including by hosting a book club and allowing comments about current court proceedings and participants, according to the commission’s June 3 decision.
The commission also found that Boyd “improperly injected herself into the plea bargaining process” in a July 2023 hearing, in which she had rejected a plea agreement submitted by the parties and was informed that defendant Willberth Villamil was withdrawing his plea. According to the commission, Boyd asked Villamil whether he “was willing to accept the 20 years in prison offered by the court” and characterized the case against him as “a ‘life-sentence worthy case.’”
In another October 2024 hearing, Boyd told defendant Thomas Henson that he “was facing 20 years in prison” and directed the court reporter to go “off the record,” the commission said. Boyd, who continued to livestream, then told Henson: “So it appears that you want to go to prison to be passed around for cigarettes or dessert. Because that’s what’s going to happen to you. Because you’re young. And they will think you are attractive at the prison.”
The commission found that Boyd should be publicly warned for failing to comply with or maintain professional competence during the Villamil case; for performing her judicial duties with bias and prejudice toward Henson in his case; and for failing to be patient, dignified or courteous toward either defendant. The commission also faulted Boyd for making comments through her court’s YouTube channel that could suggest how she might decide a case.
“Judge Boyd’s failures in the foregoing respects constituted willful and persistent conduct that is clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of her judicial duties and cast public discredit on the judiciary or on the administration of justice,” the commission said.
Boyd told the commission that she never viewed or responded to YouTube viewers’ comments, and that all her decisions were “based solely on the evidence presented and the law.”
She also told the commission that in Henson’s case, she thought that he “was not taking the charges or the potential probation seriously.”
KSAT in San Antonio, which has additional coverage, reports that Boyd’s term is up at the end of the year, and she lost her latest bid to be the Democratic candidate for the 187th Criminal District Court.
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