On Friday, April 11, 2025, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished Judge Marcos Lizarraga, 168th Judicial District Court, in El Paso, El Paso County, for engaging in improper ex parte communications during a 2019 criminal trial. The decision followed a review of multiple allegations against Lizarraga, who appeared before the commission on April 3, 2025, to provide testimony and a written response to the concerns raised.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Judge Marcos Lizarraga.”
The admonition stems from Lizarraga’s conduct during the trial of Moises Galvan, charged with murder and aggravated assault in the case of State of Texas v. Moises Galvan, which began on May 8, 2019. The commission found that Lizarraga held several ex parte conferences—private discussions with one party’s counsel without the other present—concerning the case’s merits, violating Canon 3B(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct. This canon prohibits judges from initiating, permitting, or considering such communications outside the presence of all parties.
On May 17, 2019, Lizarraga met privately with defense attorney Francisco Macias to discuss the relevance of sensitive testimony Macias sought to introduce without revealing his defense strategy to the prosecution. Lizarraga later ruled the testimony relevant, allowing Macias to proceed. On May 28, 2019, Lizarraga held two separate ex parte meetings: one with Macias regarding alleged witness tampering by an attorney representing a prosecution witness, and another with Assistant District Attorneys Stacy Scofield and Linzui Vergara about the same issue, which was cited as a reason for a witness’s reluctance to testify. On June 1, 2019, Lizarraga again met privately with Macias to discuss whether a prosecution witness could invoke the Fifth Amendment and the potential impact on the witness’s federal case.
During the June 1 meeting, Macias acknowledged seeking the ex parte discussion to avoid conflict with the prosecutors, to which Lizarraga responded that this was not a valid reason for such a conference. Lizarraga later told the commission he believed these ex parte communications were justified, citing a 2018 Fourth Court of Appeals opinion in Ex Parte Miguel Martinez. However, the commission determined that his actions breached judicial conduct standards.
The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, authorized by Article V, Section 1-a(8) of the Texas Constitution, issued the public admonition to uphold high standards for the judiciary and maintain public confidence.
Lizarraga was found to have improperly considered communications from either the defense or prosecution without the other party present. The commission’s action reflects its ongoing efforts to ensure judicial integrity.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
