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A juvenile judge in Houston stunned everyone in his courtroom when he unceremoniously freed as many as a dozen young suspects who came back to him after he lost to a Democrat.
Judge Glenn Devlin, who is known to be sentenced to death in droves.
Public defenders said that it is a question of what the voters want as it is indiscriminately the defendants go, seemingly implying that the newly elected democratic judges would be lenient towards criminals.
Judge Glenn Devlin lost his bench on Tuesday night to a Democrat, and on Wednesday freed youths who came before his court, saying 'that's what the people want'
The youths were facing various charges, ranging from misdemeanors to felonies stemming from violent crimes. At least four of them were facing counts of aggravated robbery.
All of the cases came before Devlin 's bench on Wednesday, the day after the midterm elections, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Democrats swept the benches of Republican justices in Houston on Tuesday night, seizing control of 59 posts, including Devlin's.
Natalia Oakes, the Democrat who defeated Devlin in Tuesday's election, said she would not expect this kind of conduct from a professional
After setting the juveniles free, Devlin rescheduled all of the cases for January 4, when his replacement will have taken the bench.
Public defender Steven Halpert quoted Devlin as saying his juvenile client accused of aggravated robbery, as well as others: '"If I release you, are you going to go out and kill anybody?"
Each of the defendants said 'No' and was released on the spot.
Halpert said he had previously requested, but without success.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg hit out at Devlin over the move, saying: This could endanger the public. '
Until Wednesday, Devlin had a reputation for being sent to custody, and together with another justice, he was responsible for one in five juvenile suspects sentenced to detention last year in the state.
'I'm not sure that I can wrap my arms around what he's actually doing,' Alex Bunin, the chief public defender in Harris County, told the Houston Chronicle. 'It's a huge change, and it has not been elected, so I do not know what to attribute it to other than that.'
Halpert said it was not uncommon for the day before, but it was never seen anything like what happened on Wednesday.
"The voters of Harris County," said Jay Jenkins, "has a policy attorney with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Devlin, who is at Harris County Juvenile Court in Houston (pictured), is notorious for sending youths to detention
Devlin declined how to meet when the Houston Chronicle.
The ACLU of Texas is calling on the Texas Commission on Judicial Judicial Conduct to Judge Devlin, accusing them of releasing the juveniles without any look for their safety and without allowing them to be released to their parents.
"It is improper for a judge to make orders motivated by partisan interests or in spite of a result of his political loss," said Sharon Watkins Jones, director of political strategies for the ACLU of Texas.
Natalia Oakes, the Democrat who beat Devlin in the election, told KTRK she would not have expected this kind of conduct from a professional. .
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