A Republican Texas Supreme Court justice going for reelection was caught calling his colleagues “brainwashed” in a leaked audio recording.
Justice John Devine pitched himself to a group of voters in September as the antidote to the other members, who boast “Big Law” backgrounds. This background has led to them being out of touch, he argued, focusing more on procedure than the Constitution, according to the audio obtained by the Texas Tribune.
“At times I feel like they would sacrifice the republic for the sake of the process,” he said. “My concern is that they all bow down to the altar of process rather than to fidelity to the Constitution. And when I say that, it’s not meant to be malice towards my colleagues. I think it’s how they were trained — how they were brainwashed.”
Devine, a former anti-abortion activist, is embroiled in the only reelection with a challenger in the state. His challenger, Second District Court of Appeals Judge Brian Walker, claims he is ethically compromised over partisan politics, jeopardizing the impartiality of the court.
“We have a judge who just continues to violate ethical rules and the code of judicial conduct that’s written by the Texas Supreme Court itself,” Walker said. “And if the people can’t trust that judges are going to follow even their own rules, then they’ll have very little confidence that the rule of law truly will prevail.”
In his September speech, Devine blasted his colleagues for dismissing a lawsuit centering on a custody battle over a child the mother claimed was transgender, over a procedural error. He hit other Texas courts that didn’t give favorable rulings in conservative cases as controlled by “RINOs” and “trans-Republicans.”
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Devine’s inflammatory comments follow a trend that has led to praise from Republicans and criticism from legal activists. The former argue that his tough voice is needed at a contentious time, while the latter bemoan his violation of legal norms.
Devine is an ally of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has made national headlines over the past year for a number of high-profile cases alleging corruption and infidelity.
