After suing Dallas County, Judge Amber Givens will receive her $25,000 supplement.
County commissioners voted Tuesday to amend the fiscal year budget to include her extra pay.
Commissioner John Wiley Price — for a second time — voted no to reward Givens and other low performing judges.
"So that the record would be clear, this is about supplement for a judge that in my opinion has not performed," Price said. “If you’re giving it to other judges who have not performed, who I voted against, I might as well add one more judge who has not performed, in my opinion.”
The vote to include the judge barely passed Tuesday, with Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins abstaining.
Attorney Nuru Witherspoon, who represents Givens, said the county had violated her constitutional rights.
"Judge Givens remains focused on providing thoughtful leadership to the Dallas County community," he said. "She is proud to work for all of the people of Dallas County, Texas and she looks forward to continuing to serve."
Givens, who presides over the 282nd District Court, sued Dallas County within a week of commissioners singling her out as the lone judge excluded from a budgeted $500,000 pay supplement.
Criticism about not showing up for work and state sanctions had been cited as reasons to approve the supplement for all judges except her.
Chelsey Steele's son's case was assigned to her court.
“Judge Givens was never in, not one time,” she wrote in an email to KERA. “I could never reach her in court/office or by email.”
Days before Givens filed the lawsuit, Jenkins read amendment clarifications during a budget hearing.
"The supplement, the maximum judicial supplement of $25,000 was awarded to all judges, with the exception of the Honorable Amber Givens, who did not receive a supplement."
He had suggested in a previous budget hearing that Givens be discussed separately.
“I'd like to make a friendly amendment, perhaps — or maybe it's not friendly — but I would like to vote on Amber Givens separately given all that stuff,” he said.
Givens had been sanctioned by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct while the county was working on its 2026 fiscal year budget.
Price argued at that time that good, hard-working county employees should get supplements and pay adjustments.
"They probably brought their ass to work, and they probably had to work," he said. "And, you know, this is real difficult. It's not like I'm gonna get invited to the Kwanzaa party."
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct reprimanded Givens on June 23 for allowing her coordinator to impersonate her online four years ago, according to disciplinary documents.
Defense lawyers had filed a complaint to the state.
Givens also was admonished for putting a man in jail and revoking another offender’s bond after she had recused herself from those cases.
Documents show that in 2022, more than 100 recusal motions had been filed against her in a short period.
The sanction document says that Givens maintains that in 2023 the district clerk's office did not update the county courts docketing system to reflect her recusals.
Lawyers and prosecutors have accused Givens of "making unfair rulings, treating lawyers with disrespect, and having a "retaliatory nature," according to the commission's documents.
The commission concluded that Givens "should be publicly admonished for failing to comply with and maintain professional competence in the law," among other failures.
"Judge Givens' failures in the foregoing respects constituted willful and/or persistent conduct that is clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of her judicial duties and cast public discredit upon judiciary or the administration of justice..." the commission's reprimand concluded.
Dallas County resident Fred Rooters III told KERA it's a problem throughout Dallas County courts.
“…Judge Amber Givens’ sanction for allowing non-judicial personnel to act as judges highlights a systemic failure in Dallas County courts. The same thing happened in my case this summer."
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
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