On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished Michael Towers, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Bandera, Bandera County, and ordered him to undergo additional education due to his handling of an eviction case. The decision follows a review of allegations against Judge Towers, to which he responded in writing.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Justice of the Peace Michael Towers,” with case number 25-0937.
The Commission’s findings stem from an eviction suit filed on August 5, 2024, Jeanne Reddrick vs. Mike James Wolford, Cause No. CVE4-25-10, in Judge Towers’ court, which involved the ownership of a modular home. As Judge Towers had not previously handled an eviction suit involving title to a modular home, he consulted with the Texas Justice Court Training Center (TJCTC). The TJCTC advised him that he lacked jurisdiction over the case because of the title issue and recommended that he either dismiss or stay the Eviction Case until the ownership issue was resolved by the district court.
Instead of following this advice, on February 26, 2025, Judge Towers signed an order to transfer the case to the 198th District Court. Subsequently, on May 14, 2025, he held a hearing in the Eviction Case. After initially ruling to dismiss the case, Judge Towers then communicated with the plaintiff’s attorney, who expressed a preference for a final judgment that could be appealed. Consequently, Judge Towers signed an eviction judgment in favor of the defendant.
The Commission found that Judge Towers (1) failed to comply with the law or maintain professional competence in the law when he signed an order transferring venue to the district court and then issued an eviction judgment in the matter despite lacking the jurisdiction to do so; and (2) engaging in improper ex parte communications with plaintiff’s counsel and denying defendant’s counsel the right to be heard regarding the Court making final judgment in the Eviction Case instead of dismissing it as was decided in the May 14th Hearing, in violation of Canons 2A, 3B(2), 3B(8), and 6C(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
As a result of these findings, Judge Towers is required to complete two hours of additional instruction with a mentor in the area of eviction law, in addition to his required annual judicial education for Fiscal Year 2026. This additional education must be completed within 60 days of written notification of the mentor assignment. The Commission has authorized the disclosure of information related to the matter to the Texas Justice Court Training Center to facilitate the assignment of an appropriate mentor for Judge Towers.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
