On Thursday, June 6, 2024, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a public warning against former La Joya Municipal Court Judge Miguel Salinas.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Judge Miguel Salinas,” with case number 24-0170.
The Commission’s investigation found that Judge Salinas, who last served as a municipal court judge in La Joya in November 2022, failed to complete the required 16 hours of annual judicial education for the 2022-2023 academic year. All Texas municipal judges are mandated to receive ongoing legal training each year from the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center in order to maintain competence.
Records obtained by the Commission indicated that Judge Salinas did not seek a waiver for missing his education requirements last year. Under the Rules of Judicial Education, judges who do not meet the minimum training threshold must provide cause for their non-compliance or be reported to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
In addition, Judge Salinas refused to cooperate with or respond to the Commission’s inquiries into the allegations against him, including a Letter of Inquiry sent in January 2024 and a Tentative Sanction notice the following month. The Commission noted that a judge’s failure to cooperate constitutes willful misconduct according to the Texas constitution and statutes.
After considering evidence that Judge Salinas willfully neglected his duty to annually take continuing legal education and ignored the investigative proceedings of the oversight commission, the public warning was issued citing violations of judicial canons requiring knowledge of the law and conduct maintaining integrity. The Commission asserted its authority to protect the public trust and confidence in the court system through disciplining judges.
The warning concluded Judge Salinas engaged in behavior that was inconsistent with properly carrying out his role and brought disrepute to the bench. However, as Salinas is no longer serving as a municipal judge, the Commission was limited to issuing the public warning rather than pursuing formal removal charges.
Going forward, the decision aims to remind all Texas jurists of their obligation to keep legal training up-to-date and fully cooperate with judicial conduct reviews.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
