Judge Dunn Admonished for Misusing Facebook Pages
On June 16, 2025, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished Jason Dunn, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in New Caney, Montgomery County, and ordered him to complete additional education on judges and social media. Over several years, Dunn and his staff used his official and personal Facebook pages, both of which identify him as a sitting judge, to advertise local businesses, promote fundraisers, publicize free food and gifts accepted from local organizations, and repost a campaign photo for President Trump. Below: what the Commission found, and where Dunn’s career stands now.
| CASE FILE AT A GLANCE | |
| Judge | Jason Dunn |
| Court | Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 |
| County | Montgomery County, Texas (New Caney) |
| CJC Number | 24-0434 |
| Sanction | Public Admonition and Order of Additional Education |
| Date Issued | June 16, 2025 (Commission meeting: April 2 to 3, 2025; testimony: June 5, 2025) |
| Signed By | Gary Steel, Chair, State Commission on Judicial Conduct |
What Judge Dunn Did
Jason Dunn, a former Houston police investigator and school board member, has served as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in Montgomery County since 2019. He runs two Facebook pages: an official page identifying him as Montgomery County’s Justice of the Peace, and a personal page that also references his judicial title and links directly to the official one.
The Commission’s findings covered a wide range of posts. In 2022, a video advertising a fundraiser at the Dunn Right Waterin’ Hole, a bar co-owned by Dunn’s wife, was posted to a related Facebook page; in it, a local constable introduces Dunn on camera as “Justice of the Peace Jason Dunn,” and Dunn announces the event himself. Separately, on seven occasions Dunn or his staff accepted food gifts from local organizations and businesses, including donuts, cookies, pizza, seafood, barbecue, and a cake from H-E-B, each publicized in a post on his official Facebook page. He and his staff also posted advertisements for a range of local businesses, from a pool supply company to a firewood seller, and promoted fundraisers for local churches and civic groups on his personal page. In one post, he reshared a photo from a local Republican women’s group showing two people campaigning for President Trump, alongside a note about early voting and the hashtag “#MAGA2024.”
In his response, Dunn said his administrative manager, not he personally, ran the day-to-day posting on the official page, though he acknowledged he had administrative control over it and was ultimately responsible for what she posted. He denied that any of it amounted to solicitation or personal benefit, describing the business and fundraiser posts as routine community engagement, and said the Trump repost was meant to promote awareness rather than endorse a candidate. His account of the gifts shifted during his testimony: he described one barbecue lunch as a gift from a court clerk’s mother, then later called the same lunch a birthday celebration for his own fiftieth birthday. He told the Commission that since learning of its inquiry, he has stopped accepting gifts, limited his official page to public notices, and stopped promoting businesses or fundraisers on his personal page.
The Discipline Ladder (Texas)
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issues sanctions, in order of severity, as admonitions, warnings, reprimands, and censures, either privately (confidential) or publicly (on the record), and can add an order of additional education to any of them. A public admonition, the sanction here, is the least severe sanction the Commission can issue on the public record. Removal and involuntary suspension are a different track entirely, requiring a separate Review Tribunal or the Texas Supreme Court.
The Rules He Broke
| Rule | What It Requires |
| Canon 2B, Texas Code of Judicial Conduct | A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others. |
| Canon 4A(1), Texas Code of Judicial Conduct | A judge shall conduct extra-judicial activities so they do not cast reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially. |
| Canon 4C(2), Texas Code of Judicial Conduct | A judge shall not solicit funds for any educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization. |
| Canon 4D(4), Texas Code of Judicial Conduct | Neither a judge nor a household family member shall accept a gift, bequest, favor, or loan from anyone. |
| Canon 5(2), Texas Code of Judicial Conduct | A judge shall not authorize the public use of the judge’s name endorsing another candidate for public office. |
How It Played in the Press
This one got a writeup from the judicial-accountability site AbusiveDiscretion.com shortly after it issued, alongside the Commission’s own public sanctions list and the routine Texas Bar Journal roundup. It does not appear to have drawn coverage from Houston-area outlets covering Montgomery County government directly.
Where Is He Now?
Dunn remains the sitting Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4. He filed as the incumbent for the March 2026 Republican primary and continued discussing his role publicly in local press through late 2025, with no indication the admonition affected his standing for re-election.
Facing the System in Texas?Judges are bound by rules too, and there are systems (public sanctions and appeals) built to hold them to it. Deandra Grant Law handles federal and state criminal defense in Texas. Call (214) 225-7117 • texasdwisite.com |
Sources
PRIMARY SOURCE
- State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Public Admonition and Order of Additional Education, In the Matter of the Hon. Jason Dunn, CJC No. 24-0434, issued June 16, 2025. scjc.texas.gov
NEWS COVERAGE
- AbusiveDiscretion.com: Texas Judge Jason Dunn Admonished for Promoting Businesses on Social Media. abusivediscretion.com
REFERENCE
- State Commission on Judicial Conduct: Public Sanctions, Fiscal Year 2025. scjc.texas.gov
- Community Impact: See which candidates filed for Montgomery County primary races. communityimpact.com
- Community Impact: Q&A, Judge Jason Dunn discusses his role as Precinct 4 justice of the peace. communityimpact.com
This post summarizes public judicial-discipline records and news reporting for general informational purposes. It is not legal advice.
Which county your case is filed in changes how it is charged, who prosecutes it, and which court hears it.
Deandra M. Grant, JD, GC, MS, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist
She holds a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Science and a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology, both from the University of Florida. She is the author of The Texas DWI Manual and has defended Texas DWI cases since 1994.
Charged With a Crime?
Whatever you're facing, a DWI or any criminal charge, the sooner you have a forensic-trained team on it the more we can do. Tell us what happened and we'll review your options, at no cost and no obligation. We're available 24/7 across all six Texas offices.
Request a Free Case Evaluation
Tell us what happened. We'll respond as soon as possible.