Self Described "King" of County Criminal Court 16 Judge Jordan Arrested
Darrell William Jordan, a Harris County misdemeanor court judge, on Monday was arrested and charged with official oppression, according to court records.
Jordan is accused of using his office to unlawfully arrest and detain Wayne Dolcefino, a private media consultant and former TV journalist.
The charge stems from an incident on June 30, 2020, when Dolcefino was jailed in contempt of court by Jordan during a hearing in Harris County Court at Law No. 16.
Jordan accused Dolcefino of attempting to interrupt proceedings in the court by demanding to interview the judge. He jailed Dolcefino after giving him repeated warnings, according to court documents.
Dolcefino was found guilty and sentenced to three days in Harris County Jail, six months of probation and a $500 fine.
Monday’s indictment accuses Jordan of wrongfully holding Dolcefino in contempt or subjecting him to summary punishment and jail without a hearing.
In a 2020 video posted on the Dolcefino Consulting Facebook page after his arrest, Dolcefino revealed that he was wearing a hidden camera during the hearing.
The video shows Dolcefino attempting to ask Jordan about public corruption complaints and public records requests he made about multiple Houston and Harris County officials. In the video, Jordan, who was holding court hearings over Zoom, told Dolcefino that he couldn’t ask questions, told him to sit down and warned him to stop interrupting proceedings.
Court records indicate that the grand jury declined to hand down felony charges related to tampering with records and retaliation.
Jordan was arrested, formally charged and released on Monday evening, he said during a short phone interview with the Houston Chronicle. He directed other questions to his attorney.
Marc Carter, Jordan’s attorney, said the case was filed with Harris County DA’s Office, who recused themselves and asked Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton to investigate the allegation.
“Judge Jordan is absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing and looks forward to his day in court,” Carter said in a statement released on Monday.
“Contempt is a power given to judges so they can maintain decorum and control court proceedings. Without it the courtroom would be chaos. Litigants, officers of the court, and jurors want judges to be able to control proceedings and when necessary exercise their contempt power.
“This prosecution, if District Attorney Brian Middleton goes forward with it, will have an absurd result and a chilling affect on a judge’s ability to maintain order in their courts. It’s absurd to think anyone can walk into a court, disrupt the proceedings and the judge of the court ends up being prosecuted. That’s not a reasonable person’s idea of justice. The DA should exercise discretion and dismiss this case,” Carter said.
Jordan in May was admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct over a separate incident. The commission found that Jordan threatened to charge at least one assistant district attorney with contempt of court for “failing to show him the proper respect” and in October 2018 summoned several prosecutors to his chambers to lecture them about the perceived disrespect he was feeling.
During that meeting, Jordan referred to himself as the “king” of his court and the state’s attorneys as “hang-’em-high prosecutors,” the commission found.
After that incident, the District Attorney’s Office accused Jordan of unprofessional actions and made a formal complaint to the commission. The commission ordered Jordan to undergo two hours of additional training with a mentor.
Dolcefino’s Facebook page referred to the commission’s orders as a joke and wrote that Jordan needed to “face justice.” The Facebook page didn’t refer to Jordan’s arrest as of Monday.
The District Attorney’s Office and Dolcefino did not immediately respond to a phone calls on Monday evening.
Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor. It carries a possible punishment of one year in county jail and fine of up to $4,000.
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Video of original encounter-
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