GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – A Galveston County judge has been suspended without pay one day after he was arrested on eight criminal counts.
Christopher Michael Dupuy resumed his role on the bench in a Galveston County courtroom on Thursday.
A lengthy petition filed earlier in the week on behalf of the State of Texas in the District Court of Galveston County by Attorney Greg Hughes requested the removal of Christopher Michael Dupuy.
A sourced told Local 2 that bond Wednesday was set at $19,000 and Dupuy was able to post bail.
The petition states: "As demonstrated by the allegations, and will be shown at trial, Respondent Christopher Michael Dupuy violated his oath of office, violated the laws of the State of Texas, committed acts of official misconduct, and is incompetent to hold office as judge of County Court at Law Number 3 at Galveston County, Texas, all of which, singularly and combined, justify his immediate and permanent removal from office as judge of County Court at Laws Number 3 of Galveston County, Texas."
A Grand Jury returned at least six criminal indictments against Dupuy, which include two felony charges and four misdemeanor charges. Charges are numerous, but range from "official oppression to retaliation to misuse of office equipment."
Allegations of wrongdoing include "threatening attorneys to using his position to help his fiancée," Local 2 reported.
Dupuy, a resident of Galveston, was elected to the office of judge of county Court at Law Number 3 of Galveston County in the general election of November 2010. Dupuy officially took office on Jan. 1, 2011. The petition stated that some of the misconduct alleged was directly related to "recent events in his life from the period just before he was elected."
The judge has not officially lost his job yet, but the petition requests that a move should be made to appoint a temporary judge to replace Dupuy.
On Thursday, the day after he bailed out of jail, Judge Dupuy surprised many by taking the bench in his courtroom to hear cases.
Local 2 legal analyst, Brian Wice, called the move ill-advised.
"I don't understand why if he had any sense of embarrassment at all why he would be back at work today," Brian Wice said.
Dupuy has several criminal, civil, and family court dates pending in the near future, but nothing at this point bars him from continuing to work in his capacity as a judge.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday Local 2 confirmed that the Commission on Judicial Conduct ordered Dupuy to be suspended without pay. The suspension will last until a hearing is set. There's no word on when that will be.