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A special court of review has approved the public admonishment of a former Houston state district court judge who ordered a mentally ill sexual assault victim jailed in order to secure her testimony at trial, a move that led to the woman being attacked by an inmate while in custody.

Stacey Bond, who served as the judge of the 176th District Court from 2013 until 2016, was given a public admonition by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in March for violating the rights of Jane Doe, an unnamed homeless woman who was jailed for nearly a month on a bench warrant that the commission said didn't meet the legal prerequisites for a writ of attachment.

Bond appealed that decision to a special court of review, a panel of Texas intermediate appellate court justices, including Rebeca Martinez of San Antonio's Fourth Court of Appeals, Leanne Johnson of Beaumont's Ninth Court of Appeals, and Wade Birdwell of Fort Worth's Second Court of Appeals.

According to the court's Aug. 10 decision, Doe was brought to court by a Harris County District Attorney Office investigator to testify at trial but was never served a subpoena. During direct examination, Doe was incoherent, her responses were nonsensical, and she appeared to be responding to internal stimuli, the panel said.

Doe was later taken into custody for mental health reasons after a prosecutor had observed her to be a danger to herself and heard her say she was not going to return to the courthouse. Bond later signed a writ of attachment, or bench warrant, ordering the Harris County Sheriff's Department to hold Doe until she could appear in court.

Doe was housed in the general population at the Harris County Jail and was eventually assaulted by another inmate. Doe also allegedly had an altercation with a guard and was charged with assault on a public servant, according to the panel.

Doe's assault case was assigned to Bond's court. Bond recused herself from the assault case, noting that Doe was a complaining witness in a case before her, and that she “had a great deal of sympathy for this individual.” “It would be improper for me to oversee her case. I would feel terrible about punishing her,” Bond said, according to the panel.

The Harris County DA's office later dropped the assault charge against Doe. And three days after she testified at trial, Doe was released from her material witness bond and left the Harris County Jail.

A grievance was filed against Bond, which resulted in the commission concluding that Bond had violated several cannons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, warranting a public admonition for her actions.

On appeal, the special court essentially affirmed the commission's decision to admonish Bond.

“It is clear that Judge Bond appears to be remorseful for the treatment of Ms. Doe while in the custody of the sheriff. Nevertheless, Judge Bond contends that she followed the applicable law and that she should not be sanctioned because at most she merely made a mistake in signing a poorly worded form for a writ of attachment or bench warrant for a material witness,” the court wrote.

“While mere mistakes of law are generally not sanctionable, on the record before us, we conclude that Judge Bond made an egregious legal error and failed to act in a manner that promotes confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary,” the court wrote.

Mac Secrest, a Houston lawyer who represents Bond, didn't return a call for comment.

Bond, who is currently a candidate for the 185th District Court, also did not return a call for comment.