Former Dallas County Judge Amber Givens Testifies in Misconduct Trial Over Staff Impersonation Claim

On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, The Dallas Morning News reported that former Dallas County District Judge Amber Givens testified in her judicial misconduct trial, denying allegations that she allowed a staff member to impersonate her during a court proceeding nearly five years ago. Givens’ testimony before a three-judge panel in Austin marked her first public statements regarding the accusations.

The trial, held at the state Supreme Court, focused on events from August 2021, when Givens allegedly permitted her court coordinator to stand in for her during a bond hearing. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct previously issued a public reprimand and admonishment against Givens after determining she had allowed the court coordinator to stand in for her during the bond hearing. The commission also ruled that Givens had treated attorneys poorly in her courtroom on three specific occasions and had taken action in two criminal cases after she had been recused from them. Givens appealed the findings, which then voided them and led to last week’s trial.

Givens’ statements to the panel reportedly contradicted earlier testimony from two prosecutors and two probation officers who witnessed the hearing in question. The trial was presided over by a Special Court of Review, consisting of three justices from appellate courts across the state. Prosecutors from the attorney general’s office presented the case against Givens. The panel has not yet issued a ruling and is expected to do so in the coming weeks.

The justices have several options, including reinstating the sanctions, dismissing them, or upholding the public reprimand. If the reprimand is upheld—the harshest sanction available—Givens would not be able to serve as a visiting judge, a common choice for former judges.

During her testimony, Givens explained that on the day of the bond hearing, August 3, 2021, she experienced car trouble and was working remotely, as permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. She claimed she had difficulty logging into the virtual hearing and instructed her court coordinator, Arceola Warfield, to log in to Zoom from Warfield’s computer to proceed with the court’s business.

Givens stated that she called Warfield during the hearing and instructed her to hold her phone up to the computer’s speaker so the attorneys could hear. She said she approved the bond amount agreed upon by both sides and required the defendant to wear an ankle monitor, despite his objections. Givens also claimed she informed participants that Warfield would read the bond conditions. Her attorney, Chip Babcock, presented phone records to support her claims.

A former bailiff from Givens’ court testified via videotaped deposition that he heard Givens’ voice over the phone. Warfield was not called as a witness, despite attempts by the attorney general’s office to subpoena her.

Testimony from Givens and the bailiff reportedly clashed with accounts from prosecutors and probation officers, who stated they never saw or heard Givens during the hearing. All four expressed concern about the events and reported the incident to supervisors.

Following the incident, leaders of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association filed a complaint with the judicial conduct commission. The lawyers’ group also alleged that Givens treated attorneys disrespectfully and submitted videos of court hearings to support their claims. A criminal investigation was launched by the Texas Rangers, and a special prosecutor was appointed, but no charges were filed.

Givens described the allegations of allowing a staff member to impersonate her as disturbing, stating, “I would have never asked [Warfield] to pretend to be me. I’m going to put my degree on the line? My license on the line? For a bond hearing? No.”

Givens also denied being disrespectful to attorneys and attributed issues to the rollout of a new court computer system, which prevented her from knowing she had been recused from two cases.

In other testimony, Amanda Branan, former president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, described Givens as acting like a “queen” on the bench.

John Creuzot testified about an email he received from Givens after she learned about the bond hearing allegations. Givens accused a prosecutor in his office of spreading lies and threatened to file a bar complaint, which never occurred. She also asked Creuzot to reassign the prosecutor, which he did.

Givens resigned from her position in December to run for Dallas County district attorney, challenging incumbent John Creuzot in the March 3 primary. Both are Democrats, and with no Republican candidates, the primary winner is likely to win the November general election.