Texas Judge Chided for ‘New York Jew’ Quip
A Texas judge was admonished publicly for referring to a district attorney as a “New York Jew” and saying a prosecutor’s beard made him look “like a Muslim.”
In a ruling released Monday, the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct admonished Carter Tinsley Schildknecht of the 106th District Court in Lamesa. The commission required Schildknecht to obtain four hours of instruction on recognizing and eliminating explicit and implicit bias and/or prejudice, Texas Lawyer reported.
The admonition, which also criticized Schildknecht for holding marathon court sessions that lasted until 4 a.m., said the judge last July referred to District Attorney Michael Munk as a “New York Jew” in a private conversation with the D.A.’s secretary and later told Munk and another attorney, “When I tell people why you [Munk] are different and have different thoughts, I explain [it is] because you are from New York and because you are Jewish.”
In her written responses to the commission, Schildknecht said, “I may be too blunt, but I am not biased or prejudiced against New Yorkers or Jews.”
The admonition said that last September, Schildknecht told an assistant district attorney, “You look like a Muslim and I wouldn’t hire you.” In her written response, Schildknecht could not remember making the comment but said the situation was “faintly familiar.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
