On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, The Dallas Morning News reported that the misconduct trial for former Dallas County District Judge Amber Givens has been postponed until February. The trial, initially scheduled to begin on Wednesday at the Supreme Court of Texas in Austin, was delayed following a complaint from Givens’ defense team.
Givens is appealing two sanctions previously issued against her by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct earlier in 2025. The allegations stem from incidents that occurred in 2021 and 2023.
Chip Babcock, Givens’ lead attorney, requested the three-judge panel to dismiss the case, citing the attorney general’s office’s alleged failure to participate in a scheduled deposition the previous Friday in Houston. According to Babcock, the defense had arranged the deposition for a representative of the judicial conduct commission. However, an assistant attorney general reportedly informed Babcock that the prosecutors would not attend, arguing that the deposition was scheduled outside of established discovery deadlines and without proper notice.
The justices presiding over the case denied Babcock’s request for dismissal. However, they did agree to postpone the trial to allow the deposition to proceed. The trial has now been rescheduled for February 24 and 25. Both the prosecution and the defense will each have four and a half hours to present their respective cases.
The sanctions against Givens were initially issued in June 2025. The first case involves allegations that Givens improperly directed or permitted her court coordinator to conduct a bond-reduction hearing in her absence. The commission’s findings indicate that while the judge’s picture appeared on the screen during the online hearing, neither party was informed that she was not physically present.
The second case involves allegations that Givens improperly jailed one man and revoked another man’s bond after she had been recused from their cases.
Givens, a Democrat, was first elected to the 282nd District Court in 2014. She subsequently won reelection in both 2018 and 2022. Givens resigned from her judgeship to challenge Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot in the upcoming March Democratic primary.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
