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Texas Judge Smokes Pot, Drinks Cough Syrup, Sexts Bailiff, Gets Suspended

By George Khoury, Esq. on July 19, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Judge Hilary Green of Houston, Texas, was recently suspended after confirming allegations of illegal drug use, sexting with her bailiff, and illicitly taking prescription drugs. While the suspension is temporary, pending the final outcome of her case before the Texas Supreme Court, her own admissions are rather damning.

In her responses to written questions from the state's judicial council, Judge Green admits to taking marijuana, ecstasy, and cough syrup. In a deposition of her former "boyfriend," Claude Barnes, he details that Green also used cocaine and hired prostitutes. Barnes filed a complaint with the judicial commission allegedly after finding out that Green had been lying to and cheating on him. Along with Barnes' complaint, other allegations of judicial misconduct in actual proceedings surfaced, which Green contends are related to the nasty divorce she was a party to.

Like Stealing Pot From a Defendant in Court

Perhaps one of the more comical allegations to surface involves Judge Green taking the marijuana that her bailiff confiscated from a defendant that brought it into her courtroom. While this allegation has not been confirmed by Green, others have provided evidence regarding the incident. Based on the detailed allegations, it appears that Green sought out drugs from several parties. Interestingly, it seems that she was very determined to seek out prescription cough syrup. At one point, she allegedly asked her bailiff to find some for her, stating she would pay $500.

In addition to the sex and drugs, Green is also facing trouble for being deceptive and not being forthcoming with information related to the commission's investigation. In several of the responses Green provided, the commission noted inconsistencies. One such inconsistency included her instance that she stopped "misusing" cough syrup in 2013, when a doctor submitted an affidavit explaining she sought treatment for abusing cough syrup in 2014.

Want More Details of the Derailment?

For those interested in seeing some of the gory details, some of the texts that were sent have been excerpted in Above the Law's treatment on the recent order. Warning: the text messages are graphically descriptive of sexual conduct and could be considered NSFW.

For those who can't get enough gossip about judge's gone wild, the full petition, with exhibits attached, can be found online thanks to CourthouseNews.com. Claude Barnes' deposition, along with Judge Green's actual responses to the commission's questions can be found in the exhibits to the petition to the Texas Supreme Court filed by the judicial council.

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