Last month I was sanctioned by the Judge in League City Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks’ bankruptcy hearing. Read on.
Background.
In September of 2023 Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Southern District Court, Case #23-80179. If you are interested in the details, the case documents are public record via a free PACER account. Filing bankruptcy is a burden on a family and we should hope for a good result for the sake of his family.
But, this is Justin Hicks.
Someone who ran as a fiscal conservative, sits on League City Council, is responsible for the city’s $300M budget, voted as Mayor Pro Tem by most of his colleagues, and has managed to piss off a large segment of the community with his extreme, partisan, rhetoric. He has worked hard to push his extreme agenda by purging books, librarians, and true conservatives from running in non partisan city elections. He has meddled in school board elections endorsing unqualified extremist candidates and supporting litigation against CCISD after his candidate lost. He has posted divisive memes and posts on his social media page. He is not a conservative. He’s a jack ass.
But, back to his bankruptcy.
As I mentioned the bankruptcy records are all public. The hearings are open to the public also. I attended one of the hearings with my friend, Heidi. We walked into the hearing and sat quietly in the back row. Hicks was sitting up front. Hicks turned around, looked as us, and left. Moments later the Judge called the case, noticed Hicks had left, and said “Oh. He left”. After realizing he was not returning, we left too.
The photo
Unfortunately, not knowing the rules of the court prohibiting photos, my friend took a pic from outside of the courtroom of the back of Justin’s head and posted it to a social media page. Justin discovered the pic the next day. I have to admit I was unaware of the rules of the court. There are no signs on the door or any warnings posted, but ignorance isn’t an excuse.
Hicks drags us into his case
Hicks, representing himself with the skills set of Jackie Chiles, filed a motion for sanctions against us. The motion claimed he had a right to a peaceful hearing without people, like myself, in attendance and that a picture was taken against court rules. He claimed we were dressed incognito and were there to disrupt the hearing. (It was cold and rainy so appropriate attire was necessary) The motion was denied due to technical errors, but the judge gave him instructions on how to refile his motion, and he did. The judge was also very clear that the United States Constitution allows citizens to attend public hearings, so only the violation of the court rules was included in the new motion for sanctions.
The sanctions
We attended a second hearing to address the sanctions and spoke under oath to the Judge. We were given the opportunity to address Hicks. The entire transcript is available if interested. Hicks submitted a proposed sanction order for the Judge. It included a $2000 daily fine, incarceration, and factory resets of our phones. In the end the Judge sanctioned us a total of $350 split evenly and required us to write a letter of apology. I have complied with the letter noting that I never took any pictures. Hicks stated under oath that he had no evidence showing otherwise and I offered my phone to the court for review, again under oath. Nevertheless I got hit with a $175 fine payable to Hicks for his time and effort to file the motion.
The time and effort
We never saw a breakdown of his time and effort and his expenses. In his motion he wanted to be reimbursed for his time and mileage driving to and from the court even for the times he filed the erroneous motion. That part was denied. He could have sent everything via the mail like I did. Hicks also wanted time off of work for himself and his wife, mileage, and pain and suffering. Most was denied. He also asked for sanctions of thousands of dollars. Again denied. So in the end we had to pay Hicks $175 each to help him pay his bills.
But there is Good news for Hicks.
At his last hearing Hicks said his career is back on track and he finally got a job and was able to buy a new car for his wife! That’s good for his family. His bankruptcy case is now closed.
Hicks re-election
The above quote could be a good attack ad against Hicks like the one attacking a candidate for city council and supporting Hicks’ endorsed candidate, Courtney Chadwell. Months prior to this hit piece going out Hicks had filed his own bankruptcy. I’ve asked Chadwell what he thinks about Hicks “own record of being irresponsible with money and the fact that [he] will be a liability to the city” when managing the $300M+ annual budget. He has not responded.
The Risk.
Hicks shouldn’t file for reelection. Instead he should spend more time concentrating on his fiscal stability and block walking for the Trump reelection campaign. Conservatives probably think the same but Republicans will give him a pass and reelect him. Veterans know you can’t get a security clearance with a looming bankruptcy over your head. Anyone who is responsible for contract negotiations especially for government entities could be a risk while being in financial trouble. We will see in November if voters are concerned with security or hypocrisy. My bet is on hypocrisy.
BTW. Checks in the mail. Literally.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 