Courts Scold Ex-Judge Over Romance but Hesitate to Penalize Him

A spate of mixed rulings involving a former bankruptcy judge and his once-secret relationship with a local attorney indicate his former colleagues on the bench are vexed by his ethical lapses, despite issuing decisions largely in his favor.

The recent findings highlight the complex legal questions arising from former judge David R. Jones’ longstanding romance with an attorney at Jackson Walker LLP, a law firm that regularly appeared before him in his Texas court.

With more legal hurdles for him to overcome—including lenders dissatisfied with a four-year-old bankruptcy deal and an appeals court’s revival of a recusal decision—the rulings provide ...