The anger toward criminal court judges in recent years has been spiking among Americans. Every week there is a new story about a career criminal being let out on a low bond or not charged, just to commit another heinous crime. Activist judges let people out because of a sob story, then they go commit another violent felony against an innocent person. In Houston, that has been no different, and now, a local judge is facing sanctions from the state.
Harris County criminal court Judge Melissa Morris was sanctioned recently by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for her handling of four child sex crime cases. In those, Judge Morris ended probation early for four sex offenders, who had pled guilty to their crimes. The Commission called her actions “willful and persistent,” adding they “cast public discredit on the judiciary or the administration of justice.”
The Commission findings also state Morris failed to be “patient, dignified and courteous,” toward a prosecutor who requested hearings to reconsider her rulings. She is accused in addition of breaching grand jury secrecy by forwarding confidential information to a defense attorney.
All of this to say, an activist judge is finally getting their public slap on the wrist. For many, they feel it is well beyond time.
Houston attorney Jared Woodfill says this kind of ruling from this commission means something.
“For the commission to sanction a judge, they have to have done something very egregious…it is very rare that ever happens,” he says.
Oh, but there is more. It is not the first time Morris has been on the hot seat, or “hot bench,” if you will. Just last year, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office sought her removal from a domestic violence shooting case. They argued her comments and facial expressions showed bias against the victims. That request was denied by another, likely but not certainly activist, judge.
This is not necessarily career-ending, as Morris does not face removal from the bench. She can also appeal the sanction. But it should be. This kind of judicial activism has become a cancer to the United States. It has made people directly less safe and made an absolute mockery of our justice system. To say the absolute least.
Gettig rid of the activist judges is the only way forward for America. El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele has turned his country around, and he has said that you cannot do that without rooting out the activist judges. Which he did, and now the country is prospering like it has not in decades.
In the U.S., it is a bit more complicated. But the good news is, we have the power to get rid of them ourselves at the ballot box.
“We get the judges we elect…that is why it is so important when you look at candidates, deciding who to vote for…look at their history,” Woodfill says. “Look at the cases they have handled in the past…look at their experience as a lawyer…then make an educated determination on your vote.”
He adds this kind of behavior goes unnoticed and uncovered far too often. But not for this judge.
This is the first steppingstone, hopefully, to publicly holding these activist judges accountable for their ridiculous actions. With any luck, those steps will lead us to securing our country again.
Morris, meanwhile, is running for re-election in November.