A judge who was sanctioned for writing about a criminal case on Facebook is getting a new trial on appeal, with one side claiming that her posts cast doubt on her impartiality and the other side arguing that the judge’s free speech rights protect her conduct.
“Would this panel this morning ever consider posting on Facebook that you have a big trial that starts this morning involving the judge who made the Facebook posts and she told the jury not to. I think the answer to that question is: no, this court would never do that. I think this court knows why,” said Bill Chriss, of counsel at Gravely & Pearson in Austin, who represents the commission.
