Judge Steve Rogers
AUSTIN - The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct has issued an order of additional education for Judge Stephen Rogers, 268th District Court, for, among other charges, failing to treat attorneys in his court with patience, dignity, and courtesy.
According to the commission’s opinion, on Aug. 15, 2023, attorney Annie Scott filed a complaint for alleged misconduct, alleging that she and her co-counsel, Michael Elliott, appeared on behalf of their client and were scolded by Rogers for wanting to go to to trial with their client in her jail clothes.
“When Scott and Elliott confirmed (their client) would be appearing in jail clothing, Judge Rogers responded by stating that ‘was not going to happen in [my] courtroom’ and that they ‘were not going to pull that in [my] courtroom,’” the opinion states. “Judge Rogers… ordered Scott and Elliott to go to Walmart to purchase clothes for (their client) to wear during the trial.
“Judge Rogers ended the hearing by slamming his hand on the bench and yelling, ‘Don’t fuck with me in my court.’ Judge Rogers’ words were accompanied by finger-pointing, finger-wagging, slamming his hands on the bench, and standing up while scolding Scott and Elliott.”
The commission also found that Judge Rogers failed to perform his duties without bias or prejudice when he displayed bias against Elliott when he did not allow him to remain in his courtroom and transferred his cases out of his court after Elliott corrected him regarding his seeming misunderstanding of the law.
“Judge Rogers continued to display this bias in his written responses to the Commission, stating he was ‘aware that Mr. Elliott seemed to be of the opinion that he was smarter than just about everyone else and seemed to be of the opinion that he could do or get away with whatever he wanted,’” the opinion states.
“Judge Rogers’ demonstrated bias arose from his ignorance of the law and inability or unwillingness to listen to the arguments from attorneys with more criminal law experience citing well-established law.”
The commission issued a private reprimand for failing to treat Scott and Elliott with patience, dignity, and courtesy, finding that Judge Rogers acknowledged his bad language reflected poorly on the judiciary, and that there was no evidence he exploited his position to satisfy his personal desires, or that he had any personal bias against all criminal defendants or criminal defense attorneys.
Rogers has been ordered to take two additional hours of continuing judicial education with a mentor assigned to him through the Texas Center for the Judiciary, to be completed by Dec. 31, 2025.
The opinion was issued on May 28.
Docket No. SCR 25-0001
