After losing re-election, Texas judge releases several minor defendants after asking a question

A Houston district court judge who lost his bid for reelection Tuesday faces criticism for releasing the majority of the underage accused who appeared before him on Wednesday after allegedly asking them if they would kill anyone. ;a.

District Court Judge Republican Glenn Devlin lost her seat Tuesday against her Democratic opponent Natalia Oakes in a wave of 59 conservative jurists who were ousted by Harris County voters, NBC affiliate KPRC reported. Houston.

And Wednesday morning, Devlin made a decision that shocked Steve Halpert, head of the Juvenile Division for the Harris County Public Defender's office.

"The miners were asked if they were going to kill someone they would be released," Halpert told the KPRC. "It was a bit shocking because it was not an issue that Judge Devlin would ever pose – nor to any judge."

The judge's actions were particularly incongruous given his track record on the incarceration of minor defendants, according to local media reports. A Houston Chronicle investigation in October found that Devlin and Judge John Phillips accounted for more than one-fifth of all children sent to juvenile jails in Texas last year, sending them "younger and less serious offenses than those of the Third County Juvenile Court ".

And even those responsible for helping young men and women to fight are alarmed.

"I'm confused by the reason he did it," NBC News chief Alex Bunin told reporters on Thursday. "This is definitely not good for children as far as they are released unconditionally."

Bunin said he was worried about the release of children on Wednesday, saying some of them had no parents or guardians to take them home at the time of their release. and that others needed supportive services such as mental health care.

The public defender also said he understands the prosecutor's concern, saying the judge's decision could "put the public at risk," according to a statement from Harris County Attorney Kim Ogg.

"Neither side is happy," Bunin said. "It's different in that it's generalized, it's never been done without taking into account the effect of the release of the child and the community."

But Cindy Milom, head of the Harris County Juvenile Courts, challenged any representation of a "mass liberation" of the defendants. She said only seven of the 13 juvenile defendants facing the judge on Wednesday had been released.

Milom, who said that the judge was on vacation and could not comment on the decisions he had taken, also rejects Bunin's assertions of concern about the conditions under which the children were released.

"I really have a hard time believing it because the public defender did not represent all the minors," Milom said.

Prosecutors told the Houston Chronicle that four of the released children were facing robbery charges. Oakes revisit cases during a reset scheduled for Jan. 4, reports Houston paper.

The ACLU Wednesday condemned the actions of the judge, deemed "unfair" and "motivated by partisan interests" or by "the result of his political loss". The organization has since asked the Commission on Texas' judicial conduct to launch an investigation.

"The massive release of children by Judge Devlin today, with no apparent concern for the safety of their children, nor to ensure that they are handed over to their parents, proves his detachment from every child's needs, "said the ACLU in a statement.

"I mean, the day after the elections, when he was not re-elected, he changed his policy," Bunin said. "There does not seem to be any intellectual reasoning for this rather than making a statement."

The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct told NBC News Thursday that it could not "confirm or deny" the existence of a complaint against the judge because of confidentiality rules in the state according to Eric Vinson, executive director of the commission.

Although Vinson declined to comment on specific facts related to the incident, the director clarified that even an outgoing judge could be the subject of an investigation.

"A judge is subject to the discipline of the commission," said Vinson, noting that the commission had the power to review the acts of a former judge while he was on the bench.

Oakes responded to a request for comment on Thursday night saying, "I am not in town, but after what I've heard, I would not expect that to d." a professional."