Source reporting: Texas Scorecard
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct has publicly admonished Judge Travis Kitchens Jr. over conduct in two separate matters, including an order that conditioned parental visitation on COVID-19 vaccination or recent negative tests, Texas Scorecard reported.
Kitchens serves as judge of the 258th District Court, which covers Polk, San Jacinto and Trinity counties. The commission’s action concerned a May 2021 family-law case and a separate procedure the judge used when reviewing criminal plea agreements.
In the family case, the court was setting the start of a father’s visitation while the mother and children were quarantining after exposure to COVID-19. According to the report, Kitchens delayed the visitation date and directed both parents to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or produce a negative test obtained within 72 hours before visitation.
Kitchens told the commission that he believed the condition served the children’s interests by reducing possible exposure under the circumstances presented to the court. The commission nevertheless included the order among the grounds for public discipline.
The second matter involved materials Kitchens required criminal defendants and defense attorneys to review before the court would accept plea agreements. The documents addressed prison procedures, parole eligibility and sentence calculations. The court also required attorneys and defendants to sign a certification stating that counsel had explained those materials.
Texas Scorecard reported that Kitchens told the commission he believed the process could encourage defendants to comply with probation requirements. He also said adherence to the procedure diminished after approximately six months and that it was no longer mandatory.
The commission released its public admonition on August 25. It concluded that the conduct reflected a failure to follow the law and maintain professional competence and was inconsistent with the proper performance of judicial duties, according to the source report. A public admonition places formal discipline on a judge’s record, but it does not remove the judge from office or independently reverse rulings made in the underlying cases.
The matter is significant for judicial accountability because it addresses limits on trial-court discretion in two sensitive areas: parental access conditioned on medical decisions and the procedures governing criminal pleas. The disciplinary action also provides a public record for voters and litigants evaluating how courts administer family and criminal cases.