Judge Kitchens Admonished Over COVID Vaccine Order

A Vaccine Requirement to See His Own Kids

On May 10, 2021, Kitchens presided over a contested custody hearing in a divorce case. Learning that the mother and children had been exposed to COVID-19 through the mother’s boyfriend, Kitchens adjusted the father’s visitation schedule and, according to the Commission’s findings, wrote into the temporary orders that both parents were to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by June 10, 2021, or, at their option, produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of any visitation. The father later told Fox 26 Houston that Kitchens told him directly he did not appear to agree with the order, and that he felt pressure to comply given that the same judge would be handling his case until his children turned 18; his attorney withdrew from the case after the father went to the press. The father ultimately exercised visitation without complying with the vaccine requirement.

The order came about a month after Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-35, issued April 5, 2021, which suspended the Texas Health and Safety Code provision that would otherwise let a governmental entity require an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine administered under emergency use authorization. In his response to the Commission, Kitchens said he relied on his own experience and training and believed the requirement was in the children’s best interest given the specific facts in front of him. The Commission found that reasoning did not excuse the order, concluding it was willful or persistent conduct inconsistent with his duties and a violation of his obligation to comply with the law.

A 41-Page Reading Requirement for Plea Deals

Separately, the Commission found that Kitchens had, since his election, required defense attorneys and their clients to review four documents on Texas prison life, parole eligibility, and parole time calculations before he would accept any plea agreement, and to sign a certification confirming they had done so. The requirement was posted in bold, all-capital lettering on the court’s own criminal docket sheet, describing the certification packet as 41 pages and offering to email it to counsel on request. Kitchens told the Commission he believed discussing prison and parole consequences with defendants gave them an added incentive to comply with probation terms, and testified that compliance with the requirement waned within six months of his taking the bench and was eventually dropped altogether.

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). 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

How It Played in the Press

The vaccine order drew real-time coverage in 2021: Fox 26 Houston ran the story of the father’s visitation order directly, and East Texas News covered it as well under the headline “A Sign of Things That Are Coming.” The Commission’s 2026 admonition itself, five years later, has stayed within official channels so far, appearing in the Commission’s own public sanctions record without new independent coverage identified at publication.

Where Is He Now?

Kitchens has continued to serve as judge of the 258th Judicial District Court and has campaigned for re-election since the underlying events. Nothing in the public record indicates further Commission action against him.

Sources

PRIMARY SOURCE

• State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Public Admonition, In the Matter of the Hon. Travis E. Kitchens, Jr., CJC No. 21-1342, issued August 25, 2026. scjc.texas.gov

NEWS COVERAGE

• Fox 26 Houston: Divorce Court Judge orders COVID-19 vaccine for Liberty Co. man to see his children (May 24, 2021). fox26houston.com

REFERENCE

• State Commission on Judicial Conduct: Public Sanctions, Fiscal Year 2026. scjc.texas.gov
• Texas Governor’s Office: Executive Order GA-35 (April 5, 2021). gov.texas.gov
• 258th Judicial District Court, Polk County. polktx.gov

This post summarizes public judicial-discipline records and 2021 news reporting for general informational purposes as of publication. It is not legal advice. It takes no position on COVID-19 vaccination policy generally; the issue here is a judge’s order conflicting with a then-effective statewide executive order, not the merits of vaccination itself.