A judge’s gavel rests on a book of law. (Dreamstime/TNS)
Dreamstime/TNS
A Dallas County judge’s continued insistence on masks in her courtroom alongside other COVID-19 protocols drew scrutiny this week from the state’s highest court.
The health policy still posted on Judge D’Metria Benson’s website says that in addition to wearing masks, anyone entering her courtroom must alert court officials if they have various health conditions, including diarrhea.
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A lawyer complained in writing to a local administrative judge after a colleague was barred from Benson’s court and threatened with jail by a bailiff after refusing to wear a mask. The complaint, reviewed by The Dallas Morning News, also notes that while others must wear a mask in court, the judge doesn’t cover her face.
The allegations prompted a swift, skeptical response from Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice James Blacklock, who wrote to Benson demanding she either explain what legal authority she had to impose those rules or inform him the allegations about the policy were false. The justice gave her until 5 p.m. Friday to respond.
“If this is true, please carefully reconsider whether you have the legal authority for these actions,” wrote Blacklock, a Republican. “I am aware of no legitimate basis on which a Texas judge may condition a person’s presence in a courtroom on a mask requirement or on a heightened health screening.”
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Benson’s court coordinator said the judge would not comment on the matter. Friday morning, her courtroom was locked. A sign on the door said masks or face coverings were required for entry.
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Benson has presided over Dallas County Court at Law No. 1, a civil law court, since 2006. She was defeated in the March 3 Democratic primary by Erin Nowell, a former appellate court judge, but will continue to serve until the end of the year.
The written complaint about Benson’s policies, first reported by The Texas Lawbook, was sent last week to Administrative Judge Ray Wheless, who presides over the region that includes Dallas County. It was sent by attorney Brian Hail on behalf of his client, Scott Frenkel, also a lawyer.
Frenkel was among the attorneys involved in a February medical malpractice case before Benson when a bailiff denied him entry to the courtroom for refusing to wear a mask, Hail wrote in the complaint. Frenkel refused the order because he can’t wear a covering over his nose and mouth for long, Hail said.
“Mr. Frenkel told the bailiff that the order was unlawful and that he would not put on a mask,” Hail wrote. “Mr. Frenkel was given the choice of entering wearing a mask, leaving or continuing to argue and ‘ending up on the 7th floor,’” Hail wrote.
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The 7th floor is where a jail holding area is located, the lawyer said, and is often used for people found in contempt of court.
“So basically, mask up, get out or go to jail are the three options for her courtroom,” Hail said during a phone interview with The News. “I had heard that this issue has been raised before [with Benson] and has been ignored, but we’re not going to let it be ignored anymore.”
Hail’s complaint said one of Frenkel’s associates had to try the case without Frenkel in the courtroom.
Wheless confirmed that the mask issue has been a persistent one with Benson. But he said he didn’t learn until this week she was still mandating them.
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“I told her in December 2023, you’re going to get in trouble with the commission,” Wheless said, referring to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates allegations of judicial misconduct. “I told her you have no legal authority to do that.”
Blake Hawthorne, clerk of the state Supreme Court, didn’t respond Friday to multiple messages from The News as to whether Benson had sent a response by the deadline.