Former Hays County Judge Millie Thompson has been publicly admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for her behavior while in office. The commission’s investigation underscored the importance of professionalism in Texas courts.
Thompson served as the judge of the County Court-at-Law No. 3 in San Marcos. She was elected to the position in 2020 as a Democrat.
The commission—which is responsible for investigating allegations of judicial misconduct—found that Thompson had created a hostile work environment within weeks of taking office and excessively recused herself from cases without a valid legal explanation.
Probate Case
Controversy began just two weeks after she took office in January 2021.
Chris Perez—lead assistant court administrator for Hays County Court-at-Law No. 3—emailed Judge Thompson on January 21 regarding a probate case that should have been placed on her docket for the next day. It had been accidentally filed in a different court instead.
“This is grounds for termination – if you are my coordinator. Talk to Ms. Garner about the black letter law I just provided her,” Thompson responded via email the following day.
Thompson then reportedly invited Perez into her chambers. She questioned him regarding the probate case and accused him of lying to her twice by omission. She tried repeatedly to get Perez to admit to lying, though he continuously refused. Perez eventually asked Judge Thompson to provide proof that he had lied to her.
According to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s (SCJC) findings, “Judge Thompson began yelling at him and told him to get out of her office. After Perez replied to her yelling at him, Judge Thompson got up from her desk, walked towards him, pointed her finger at him and yelled, ‘Get out, get out.’”
Once Perez had left her office, Thompson reportedly yelled, “You’re fired!” That caught the attention of others in the building. Judge Robert Updegrove—who presides over Hays County Court-at-Law No. 1—overheard the confrontation and would later accompany Perez to Human Resources.
Perez accused Judge Thompson of causing a hostile work environment in two sworn statements to Human Resources. Thompson denied these allegations in a written response to the SCJC, and accused Perez of deliberately engaging in misconduct.
“Judge Thompson stated Perez was disrespecting her and refused to leave her chambers when she ordered him to. She believed this was sufficient grounds to fire Perez,” according to the SCJC.
Cease and Desist
Later that same January, Judge Thompson issued cease and desist orders and criminal trespass warnings against fellow Hays County Judge Chris Johnson and Judge Updegrove—both Republicans. Both judges and their staffers were forbidden from entering her office.
Judge Thompson reportedly wrote to Johnson and Updegrove, “You have created a hostile work environment by entering my chambers without my consent. You have created a hostile work environment by lying to the coordinators you assigned me by telling them I have no authority to fire my own coordinators.”
“I had to order a man I just fire[d] out of my office more than four times, and he stilled [sic] refused to leave,” Judge Thompson wrote, adding, “Cease and desist your retaliation against me for winning the bench.”
Changing the Locks
She then hired a private locksmith to change the locks of her office at the Hays County Government Center. The move triggered a series of confrontations.
The head of the building maintenance department reportedly tried to explain to Judge Thompson the county policy on such matters and provide her with the proper form.
She reportedly berated and yelled at the man, threatened him with contempt of court, and issued a written “order” to change the lock.
In her statement to the SCJC, Judge Thompson denied ever yelling at him.
“Thompson stated the head of the building maintenance department seemed angry, yelled at her and indicated he needed a court order to authorize the changing of the locks,” said the SCJC.
Stoddard’s Testimony
Another complaint emerged when Kyla Crumley Stoddard—the assistant court administrator under Judge Thompson—told Human Resources she was alienated from the rest of her co-workers “out of fear of what Judge Thompson might do if she ‘caught’ her fraternizing with her own colleagues.”
According to SCJS’s findings, Stoddard became “fearful for herself and those around her after watching and hearing Judge Thompson explode on multiple colleagues.”
She told the commission that her time working under Thompson was “the most toxic, stressful, demeaning, and hostile experience” she has endured.
Thompson replied that she treated Stoddard professionally but did not like her.
“I thought she was the beneficiary of back-door nepotism and she [was] not good at her job,” said Thompson.
The Lawsuit
By April 2021, Thompson had filed a lawsuit that included Johnson, Updegrove, and the Hays County Commissioners Court, alleging she was not being allowed to appoint her own coordinator and court reporter. She eventually retracted the lawsuit and the case was dismissed.
Thompson claimed to be the victim of gender-based discrimination, which led her to file the “whistleblower” lawsuit.
“I was a lone female judge, blocked from exercising a statutory right to appoint my staff and blocked from even knowing what the staff was doing on my court’s behalf by two male judges that completely controlled my court,” she told the commission.
Excessive Recusals and Resignation
The SCJC also accused Thompson of recusing herself and reassigning several attorneys’ cases to other courts without a valid legal explanation.
Thompson claims she “recused herself when it was appropriate according to Texas law.”
After only serving for four months, she abruptly resigned from her seat in May 2021.
According to the San Marcos Record, she left a handwritten message on her desk one morning simply stating, “I hereby resign as judge of Hays County Court-at-Law No. 3 effective upon receipt of this resignation.”
Thompson then reportedly returned to her private law practice.
The Admonition
Thompson appeared before the commission on August 6. She claimed she could not afford an attorney to represent her and declined to testify or answer questions posed by the commission.
On August 11—after having considered all of the above evidence—the commission issued Thompson a public admonition.
SCJC Executive Director Jacqueline Habersham told Texas Scorecard what the decision means for Thompson.
“The Public Admonition does not affect her ability to practice law in the State of Texas nor does it prohibit her from sitting or serving as a judge in the future, if elected or appointed. However, the sanction becomes part of her permanent judicial disciplinary record,” said Habersham.
The SCJC cited two primary reasons:
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Failing to be patient, dignified, and courteous to others with whom she dealt with in an official capacity.
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Failing to hear and decide matters assigned to her when she recused herself from several attorneys’ cases assigned to her court without a valid legal explanation.
“Judge Thompson’s failures in the foregoing respects constituted willful and persistent conduct that is clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of her duties and cast public discredit on the judiciary or on the administration of justice,” asserts the SCJC.
Thompson, Updegrove, and Johnson did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment in time for publication. Best efforts were made to reach Perez and Stoddard.
If you or anyone you know has information regarding judicial malfeasance, please contact our tip line: scorecardtips@protonmail.com.
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