I’ve been doing a deep dive into the incredibly strange world of Live-streaming in Courtrooms, and how it’s impacting public perception. Normally, the majority of Judges I encounter are like Judge Corey Wiggins, acting like an absolute fool.
Every once in a while, a judge comes around that reminds me not everyone on the bench is a complete monster. Like the now retired Judge Baillargeon.
I was recently sent a clip of Harris County Texas Judge David Fletcher in a proceeding where a black man was stopped for going under the speed limit and changing lanes.
In a rare courtroom moment that went viral for all the right reasons, Texas Judge David Fletcher didn’t mince words when faced with a routine traffic stop that absolutely reeked of racial profiling.
In short, he was caught driving while black.
Thankfully, Judge Fletcher caught this and called it out.
The video which has been circulating widely on YouTube, shows Judge Fletcher calling out law enforcement in open court for pulling over a Black man without legitimate cause and then doubling down with weak justifications.
The courtroom goes silent. The message is loud and clear: Enough.
Finally, a Judge Who Doesn’t Just “Understand”—He Acts
Too many judges lean on neutrality to avoid accountability. But Judge Fletcher did something rare:
He called it what it was—racial profiling—and dismissed the case on the spot.
In just a few minutes, he did more to challenge biased policing than entire police oversight boards have in years.
He acknowledged what communities of color already know:
- That “I smelled marijuana” is a go-to excuse for illegal searches.
- That “nervous behavior” is often code for being Black in public.
- That some cops abuse their discretion—and get away with it—unless someone in power finally says no.
Why This Matters
The judge didn’t just suppress terrible evidence or dismiss a completely outrageous case: he called out the rot.
It’s the kind of bold, public rebuke that rarely happens in Michigan courtrooms, especially in the ultra-conservative jurisdictions, even in Kalamazoo where they send drones over poor neighborhoods to further suppress them and hold them down.
And all of this absolutely matters because it disrupts the cycle of silence and complicity that allows over-policing of Black drivers to continue unchecked.
Systemic Racism Won’t Fix Itself. Judges Have to Speak Up.
This wasn’t activism; it was judicial integrity in action, something I so rarely get to see. An elected official actually doing this job and upholding the laws that he is required to interpret rather than raging against them like so many rural judges like that of Judge Michael Schipper.
And in doing so, Judge Fletcher reminded the public of what the bench is supposed to be: a shield against state overreach, not a rubber stamp for it
We need more of this; more judges willing to say: This is garbage. This is racist. This stops here.
Know of a really good judge doing the right thing? Let me know; let’s highlight the good happening in the world.
