In an April 18 order released Tuesday, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct claimed that Justice of the Peace Christopher Lee of Kleberg County "used language that manifest bias and prejudice through his ‘redneck court' statement" during a 2016 trial.
Lee has admitted in testimony during disciplinary procedures to opening his court every morning with the phrase "this is a redneck court."
According to the public warning and order of additional education released by the State Commission Tuesday, the practice came to light when Lee presided over a small claims jury trial on November 20, 2016, involving Darla Gandy, who was suing Jesus Espinosa for "fees incurred when he left a residential lease agreement before the term expired."
"Mr. Espinosa, who is Hispanic, says Ms. Gandy breached the lease agreement by aggressive and intimidating conduct directed at him, including flying a Confederate flag on the property," the public warning states.
On April 5, Lee appeared before the State Commission to testify on the use of the term "redneck" during the 2016 trial.
Lee supplied the commission with two definitions of "redneck" before appearing in court for trial, according to the document. First he gave his own, which he said was a "small town country boy who works hard from sun up tell [sic] sun down in order to get the job done." Then he read the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary definition, which defines a "redneck" as a "white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern US, who typically has a working-class job and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive." During the testimony, Lee told the commission that he agrees with the dictionary definition he provided.
Espinosa says "he felt offended by Judge Lee's comments and believes the judge's conduct showed prejudice against him."
"Judge Lee expressed different perspectives on the foreseeable effects of his routine use of the term ‘redneck court,'" the public warning notes. "On one hand, he agreed that using the phrase ‘this is a redneck court' could inject bias or prejudice into his legal proceeding. However, he also disagreed with the notion that a person in Mr. Espinosa's position could have perceived his use of the term ‘redneck' as reflecting a potential bias or prejudice."
The commission ordered that Lee take four hours of racial sensitivity training because he "failed to be patient, dignified and courteous to Jesus Espinosa."