A Texas real estate agent charged with murder and a Dallas broker who remained licensed after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a 16-year-old have exposed gaps in the Texas Real Estate Commission’s authority to discipline license holders accused or convicted of serious crimes.
The two unrelated cases illustrate how Texas law can leave real estate licenses active even when a license holder faces allegations or convictions that many members of the public might expect to trigger immediate regulatory action.
Jarishia Jackson, a licensed Texas real estate salesperson, was arrested and charged with murder following a fatal stabbing in Mansfield on May 23.
Police alleged Jackson fatally stabbed 50-year-old Latashia Shannel Polk after an argument escalated into a physical fight behind a residence on Morgan Road. Polk later died at a hospital from multiple stab wounds, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner website. Jackson was arrested after receiving medical treatment, CBS News reported. She remains presumed innocent unless convicted in court.
Despite the pending murder charge, TREC representatives said state law does not allow the commission to suspend or revoke a real estate license based solely on an arrest or criminal charge.
“The Commission does not have authority under Texas law to suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline a license holder for being arrested or charged with a crime,” TREC Government and Strategic Communications Director Summer Mandell told Texas Scorecard in an email. “However, we take criminal activity seriously and always monitor such situations.”
Mandell said the commission’s disciplinary authority is governed by Chapter 53 of the Texas Occupations Code and generally applies after a qualifying criminal conviction or guilty plea.
The set of qualifying convictions is limited and includes felony offenses which “directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation” and “a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure,” per state code.
The commission’s response highlights one limitation in the current regulatory framework. Even someone charged with one of the most serious violent crimes under Texas law may continue holding an active real estate license while the criminal case proceeds.
At the time of Jackson’s arrest, her license was listed as “active”. At some point after her arrest, Jackson’s license status changed to “inactive.”
Inactive status can be prompted by the license holder’s request, failure to renew or after a sponsoring brokerage cuts ties with a license holder, according to the TREC website.
Representatives for REAL Brokerage, Jackson’s sponsoring brokerage, declined to comment on the record to Texas Scorecard.
Jackson’s license remains legally valid. Another case demonstrates a different limitation.
William Lewald Hutchinson, also known as Bill Hutchinson, remains listed in TREC records as an active Texas real estate broker with an expiration date of July 31, 2027. Public TREC records reviewed by Texas Scorecard showed no disciplinary actions against his license during the past 10 years as of August 17.
Texas Department of Public Safety records show Hutchinson pleaded guilty in California on April 29, 2024, to misdemeanor sexual battery involving a 16-year-old female victim. Although his lawyers reportedly told the Dallas Morning News that the conviction was expunged earlier this year as part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, state records still show him as a registered sex offender in Texas.
TREC officials confirmed the agency received Rap Back notifications, a system of background check alerts, regarding Hutchinson’s case.
Asked why Hutchinson continued to hold an active broker’s license with no public disciplinary action reflected in agency records, Mandell said the misdemeanor conviction did not trigger Texas’ statutory self-reporting requirement.
“Section 1101.652(a)(7) requires license holders to self-report to the commission within 30 days when they are convicted of or plead guilty or no contest to… a felony… [or] any criminal offense involving fraud,” Mandell wrote. “The conviction you asked about does not fall within that requirement.”
Mandell also confirmed that the commission was looking into the matter further.
Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.652 authorizes disciplinary action for felony convictions and criminal offenses involving fraud. TREC’s guidance likewise states that, for license holders convicted after becoming licensed, the agency considers only felonies and offenses involving fraud.
That statutory language creates a circumstance in which certain misdemeanor convictions — including Hutchinson’s California sexual battery conviction — do not automatically trigger the same reporting requirements that apply to felonies or fraud offenses.
The agency did not disclose the status or expected timeline of its review.
Texas Scorecard contacted the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and State Sen. Mayes Middleton, the Republican nominee for attorney general in 2026, for comment on whether changes to state policy governing TREC’s disciplinary authority are warranted. Neither responded before publication.
