Calls mount for resignation of controversial judge

The incendiary statements of a local judge regarding Black defendants have triggered a new round of calls for his removal.

"The way he treats African American suspects you know before they go in that court room they will not have a fair shake," said Sidney Stewart of the Greater Houston Justice Coalition.

The onslaught of outrage aimed at Judge Michael McSpadden has entered its second week.

"Unfair is unfair and that person has already got some pre-disposed personality or attitude about who they are going to judge that day. That's unacceptable," said Cynthia Cole of AFSCME Local 1550.

The 36-year veteran of the Harris County bench has drawn continual fire after admitting that for more than a decade he's refused bond to African-American defendants because they were, in his words, "tainted", "not good risks" and listened to "rag tag organizations like Black Lives Matter".

"Even if you are racist, you ought not be stupid enough to say it," said James Douglas, President of Houston's NAACP.

Today the NAACP and the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice called for McSpadden's removal while also contending the judge's unrepentant words represent slam-dunk evidence of racial bias in Harris County's bail system - a system County leaders continue to defend in Federal Court.

"They have spent millions of dollars at this point defending Judge McSpadden's ability to arbitrarily lock people up," said Lena Hidalgo, Democratic Candidate for Harris County Judge.

"I think it's time to stop talking and it is time for action. It begins with Commissioners Court. Settle the lawsuit," added Johnny Mata of the Greater Houston Justice Coalition.

A spokesman for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett says a settlement offer is already on the table without a response thus far from the plaintiffs.

Meantime, in a letter attributed to McSpadden by the Houston Chronicle the Judge claims he actually granted bond to "countless" defendants over the years and closed his rebuttal with the statement, "What I said was true, whether you like it or not."