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Judge to Appeal Social-Media Order

A state district judge says she'll appeal a judicial admonition over her Facebook posts about trials before her court.

Part of the discipline the State Commission on Judicial Conduct meted out to Judge Michelle Slaughter is that she attend classes on the proper use of social media.

In a statement to the Houston Chronicle, Slaughter said none of her Facebook posts expressed a bias for or against any party involved in the 2014 trial of David Wieseckel, who was accused of keeping his 9-year-old son in a 6-by-8-foot wooden box. Slaughter was removed from the case on a defense motion, and her replacement declared a mistrial. Wieseckel was later acquitted of unlawful restraint of a trial.

Slaughter said the commission's action restricts government transparency and her free-speech rights.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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