Awhile back, this post noted a Harris County criminal district judge who contributes to the chronically over-crowded Harris County jail by requiring jail time for any defendant convicted of a drug offense, no matter how inconsequential.
Now, another Harris County criminal judge is being called on carpet for his rather odd manner of administering justice. This Chronicle article reports that Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 3 Judge Donald Jackson ordered more than a dozen criminal defendants who were late to court earlier this week to enter a guilty plea or spend the night in jail:

Jackson, who presides over County Criminal Court No. 3, ordered 16 people accused of misdemeanor crimes to sit in the jury box, told them that they were in custody and that their bonds were being revoked and raised, according to several Houston attorneys.
Jackson also told the defendants they would have to stay in jail overnight unless they agreed to plea bargain ó essentially to enter guilty pleas, the attorneys said. [. . .]
Houston attorney Kyle Vance, whose client was about 20 minutes late to court, said the man was “trying to get out of jail” Wednesday afternoon.
Vance said his client is facing a first-time charge of driving while intoxicated and had posted a $500 bond. Jackson raised his client’s bail to $2,500, Vance said.
“I was out of the courtroom for just a minute, and I asked the clerk, ‘Is their bond being revoked?’ And she said, ‘Both. It has been revoked and raised, unless you plea bargain.’ ”
Right after that, Vance said, another defendant entered a plea bargain. “And the judge said the revocation has been withdrawn since he pled.”

To make matters worse, the Harris County Criminal Justice building is a tough slog most mornings, with long lines at the x-ray machines slowing down traffic. The ACLU and the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association are looking into Judge Jackson’s behavior. Sounds as if it’s about time that the State Board of Judicial Conduct and Harris County voters did, too.