Black Lives Matter protest Activists march in New York City on July 7, 2016. Photo: a katz/Shutterstock.com

Comments about black men in the criminal justice system brought a public warning for former District Judge Michael McSpadden of Houston.

While McSpadden was judge of Harris County's 209th District Court, he was quoted in a February 2018 newspaper article saying he feared defendants released on bond would commit new offenses. He stated that young black men charged with felonies weren't getting good advice from their parents and "rag-tag" organizations like Black Lives Matter. That advice told them to resist police, and have contempt for police and the justice system, the judge is quoted as saying in the Houston Chronicle.

"The incendiary advice I see from Black Lives Matter can be counterproductive to some of the young men who find themselves dealing with the criminal justice system," he said in the newspaper article, according to the public warning.

A public warning is more severe than any of the private sanctions that the judicial conduct commission can issue. When it comes to public sanctions, a warning is the middle level of severity. The judicial conduct commission released the public warning Monday, although it issued the sanction Nov. 12.

The ACLU of Texas filed the complaint against McSpadden, according to a press release. The group also protested the judge's comments on Twitter.

The judge's comments did not end with the article quotation.

McSpadden later wrote an editorial published in the same newspaper that repeated the sentiments. He wrote in the editorial that during his 36 years on the bench, defendants of all races had changed their attitudes, and no longer respect the rule of law.

"In the case of young black defendants who are disproportionately represented in our system, they are not receiving good advice from their parents as did my generation, to cooperate with law enforcement at all times, and respect the laws," he wrote in the editorial, according to the public warning.

When McSpadden responded to the judicial conduct commission regarding a complaint about his statements, he wrote that racial disparity in the criminal justice system is a serious issue and that people should be able to talk about the problem to help find a solution. Calling someone a racist wouldn't solve the problem of too many black men in the system, he wrote in his response.

In the warning, the commission found that McSpadden's conduct violated a rule in the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that requires a judge to conduct his extra-judicial activities in a way that does not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's ability to act impartially. McSpadden also violated a part of the Texas Constitution that allows a judge to face discipline for willful, persistent conduct that's inconsistent with his duties and casts public discredit on the judiciary or administration of justice.

In May 2018, a visiting judge removed McSpadden from a criminal case when that defendant's attorneys argued that McSpadden's racial comments raised the appearance of bias, the Houston Chronicle reported. Prosecutors didn't oppose McSpadden's recusal, saying they disagreed with the judge's comments and would not defend him.

This August, McSpadden was one of 11 current and former district judges who received public admonitions for using bail bond practices that violated Texas law and cast public discredit upon the judiciary. His attorney, Nicole DeBorde, denied that the group of judges violated the law and said the judicial conduct commission overstepped its authority by purporting to be a court that's able to answer questions of law. She said shortly after the admonitions came out, the commission withdrew them. They've all been deleted from the commission's website.

No one answered multiple calls at the phone number that McSpadden has listed on his State Bar of Texas profile. DeBorde, partner in Hochglaube & DeBorde in Houston, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Read the public warning:

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