Texas judge orders attorney to appear in court after criticizing magistrate for berating IT worker in viral video

A Texas judge who was caught belittling an IT worker in a now-viral video has ordered an attorney who demanded he apologize over his conduct to appear in court.

Attorney James Stafford recalled seeing Harris County Judge Nathan Milliron’s outburst on Reddit, where the magistrate talked down a technician who had helped him with a computer issue, according to the pair’s email exchange obtained by Houston Public Media.

“I hope you issued him an apology for the way you treated him,” Stafford wrote. “I hope you were just having a bad day and this is not your typical judicial temperament. Have a great weekend.”

In response, Milliron accused the lawyer of “ex parte” communication and ordered him to appear before him in court. Ex parte communication occurs when one party in a legal proceeding contacts a judge without the other parties’ knowledge, according to the outlet.

“You probably shouldn’t be communicating with a Judge, ex parte, on his judicial e-mail address,” Milliron wrote. “As an officer of this Court, you are ORDERED to appear before this Court on April 10, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. to discuss further.”

The attorney fired back in a follow-up email, arguing he had “no cases in your Court, thus this is not ex parte but merely a voter exercising one’s freedom of speech concerning what some would consider offensive decorum in your courtroom.”

Stafford told ABC13 he will not appear before Milliron — insisting his email calling out the judge’s behavior doesn’t qualify as ex parte.

Milliron landed in hot water earlier this week after a viral video showed him losing his cool on an IT staffer who was trying to help him fix an audio problem in his courtroom.

When the worker informed him the issue had been resolved, Milliron became visibly irritated after the staffer referred to the problem as a “false alarm.”

In an attempt to lighten the mood, the IT technician called it a “false negative,” prompting Milliron to curtly thank him before ordering him out of the courtroom.

After the technician left, Milliron ordered someone off camera to “find his supervisor.”

“Jesus Christ. I’m sick and tired of this bulls–t today,” he said in the viral clip.

As the first video continued to make rounds online, a second clip emerged Tuesday showing Milliron losing his temper with a defense attorney mid-hearing in another tense courtroom exchange.

In the clip, shared on X, Milliron cuts off the attorney mid-explanation, telling her she’s “wasting [his] time this morning.”

The attorney pushes back, arguing there’s an overlapping issue in the case, but Milliron shuts her down and denies the motion outright.

As she attempts to make her case, Milliron instructs his deputy to remove her from the courtroom — then threatens to have her “cuffed.”

“Jesus Christ, these people today,” he shouts as she steps back and out of view of the camera.

“Step away! You’re about to be cuffed!” he shouts while pointing at the lawyer.

Milliron has served on the bench in the 215th District Court since January 2025, ABC13 reported.

While his conduct sparked a storm of backlash, his status as an elected judge shields Milliron from disciplinary action by local court administrators.

Judge Rabeea Collier, the civil court’s administrative judge, released a statement to the outlet Monday saying the court is aware of the video.

Collier added that the “Civil Trial Division is committed to maintaining a workplace grounded in respect and to upholding the integrity of the judicial process.”

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