GALVESTON – A Galveston judge already suspended and awaiting trial on criminal charges was arrested Wednesday for contempt of court and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
County Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy was sentenced to 45 days in the Galveston County Jail for using his Facebook page to make personal attacks on the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General David Glickler.
Harris County District Judge Ryan Patrick, who is overseeing Dupuy's criminal case in Galveston district court, also ordered Dupuy to cease using the Internet, any social media platforms or any electronic media to communicate about his case.
A gag order prevents Glickler and Dupuy's attorneys from commenting.
The gag order was already in effect when Patrick on July 25 ordered Dupuy in court to refrain from discussing the case or posting information about it on Facebook, according to the order issued Wednesday. Nevertheless, Dupuy attempted to file criminal complaints against Glickler with the Galveston County District Attorney's Office alleging witness tampering and contacted the media about the complaints, Patrick said in his order. Dupuy filed the complaints even though he has two attorneys appointed by the court, Adam Brown and Matthew Fox Curl. There was no indication that either attorney was aware that their client was filing complaints against Glickler.
"The court finds that Christopher Michael Dupuy has willfully and wantonly refused to comply with this court's lawful order," the order reads.
Patrick also chose a doctor to conduct an immediate psychiatric evaluation of Dupuy.
"It is the court's opinion that there is evidence to support a finding of incompetency and that the defendant should be examined" as provided by law, the judge said in his order. The examiner was ordered to furnish a report saying whether Dupuy is competent to stand trial and whether he has a mental illness.
Dupuy was indicted in May on six misdemeanor and two felony charges relating to his conduct in office and suspended within days by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. He was indicted in June on a misdemeanor charge of abuse of official capacity and in July on two perjury counts. Judge Patrick this month dismissed three of the original misdemeanor charges and the two original felony charges, ruling that Dupuy could not be prosecuted for official acts.
Dupuy posted a $19,000 bail after he was arrested in May on eight charges. Patrick on Wednesday imposed more conditions on that release, including a curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., wearing an electronic monitoring system and the psychiatric evaluation.