It was almost a year ago to the day that Texas court-at-law judge William Adams was caught on film beating his disabled daughter Hillary after he had caught her illegally downloading video games.
While the incident in question had actually taken place all the way back in 2004, the fact it was made public in November 2011 led to Adams being put on "paid leave" from his role.
Well, the 13-member Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct decided in September that a year's paid vacation is enough for a Judge who hits his kids over downloads (and Hillary's decision to work in a video game store), and has reinstated him to his position.
Here's their finding:
The commission acknowledges that Judge Adams was not aware that he had been secretly videotaped, and that he was not the person who released the videotape on the Internet. However, because Judge Adams regularly presides over and decides child custody, child abuse, and family violence cases, his private conduct did cast public discredit upon the judiciary and the administration of justice.
As punishment, he got...an official warning.
You have got to be kidding me.
Texas judge gets a warning over beating video [My San Antonio, via Buzzfeed]