State scolds Waller judge
Warning issued over campaign flyers bearing his name
The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct on Thursday announced a public warning against Waller County Judge Carbett “Trey” Duhon III for misusing the “prestige of his judicial office.”
In June 2017, the commission found, a political action committed called “Citizens in Support of Duhon & Mathis” held a concert at Waller Creek Fairgrounds to raise money for both Duhon and Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis. Campaign flyers said that concert tickets could be purchased at “the law firm of Trey Duhon.”
Duhon was a member of the organizing political action committee, had reviewed the fliers and yet “did not object to its contents or its distribution,” the commission stated.
As a result, it ruled, Duhon had violated two rules from the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct: One preventing judges from advancing “the private interest of the judge or others,” and another forbidding judges from using their names to publicly support other candidates.
Though the warning was signed on June 28, the commission released the announcement on Thursday, over two weeks later. Eric Vinson, the executive director of the commission, declined to provide an explanation for the two-week delay.
Duhon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.