When a Harris County IT worker fixed Judge Nathan Milliron's computer and tried to lighten the mood with a small joke, Milliron told him to get out of his courtroom and muttered expletives as he left. The exchange was captured on a court livestream and went viral over the weekend.

That would be troubling enough on its own. But what happened next made it worse.

When defense lawyer James Stafford, a 52-year veteran of the legal profession, sent Milliron a private email asking him to apologize to the IT worker, Milliron responded by ordering Stafford to appear before him in court on April 9 to address his opinions. A judge used the authority of his bench to summon a private citizen to court for sending a polite email. Stafford has called the order legally invalid. The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association has said it will show up in court to support him.

This is not a story about a judge having a bad day. It is a story about a judge who believes his position places him above basic accountability. Judges in Texas are elected officials. They serve the public. They are entrusted with enormous power over people's lives, their freedom, their rights, and their access to justice. That power demands a standard of conduct, not just in rulings, but in how they treat every single person who walks into their courtroom, including the IT worker who fixed their computer.

And the viral video is not the only red flag. Records from the Texas Ethics Commission show that Milliron is currently delinquent on both campaign finance and personal financial disclosure filings. These are not optional. They exist so that voters can evaluate the conduct and potential conflicts of the judges they elect. Failing to file them is not a minor oversight. It is a pattern.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct exists precisely for situations like this. It has the authority to investigate, sanction, and recommend removal of judges who fail to meet the standards required of their office. It should be doing its job here.

Sign this petition to call on the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct to open a formal investigation into Judge Nathan Milliron and to affirm that no judge in Texas may use the authority of the bench to retaliate against attorneys or citizens for exercising their right to speak.