Russell Prasifka Admonished

Russell Prasifka, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in Atascosa County, Texas, was publicly admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after making a sexually explicit remark accompanied by a hand gesture in the booking area of the Atascosa County Jail. According to the Commission, Prasifka had just finished performing magistrate duties at the jail on December 7, 2024, when he entered the booking area, offered to tell a joke to a sergeant, and then made the explicit remark in front of a corporal and an officer who were also present. The Commission found Prasifka's conduct violated the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct's requirement that judges remain patient, dignified, and courteous in their official interactions, and issued a public admonition — one of the Commission's more serious sanctions short of suspension or removal.