Texas Judge’s Racial Comments to Lawyer Sparked Investigation

A lawyer’s misconduct complaint against US District Judge Ada Brown stemmed from a hearing during which she repeatedly directed racial insults at him, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

Attorney Ezra Young, who has represented a Black woman professor suing over a tenure denial, filed a complaint against Brown following the April 2026 hearing in Dallas, he confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg Law. Young’s complaint and the judge’s formal response were among the documents that Brown circulated in an Oct. 17 email to lawyers, judges, and members of the media.

Throughout the hearing, the judge, a Black woman with Native American ancestry, accused Young of mistreating Black attorneys, took “judicial notice” of her own background in making findings against Young, and repeatedly referred to Young, who is Latino, as being White. Brown called the hearing months after she revoked Young’s ability to practice in her courtroom to weigh whether the lawyer should face sanctions.

“I think what’s happening here, quite candidly, is you are very intimidated for some reason, Mr. Young, with Black excellence, in light of your White mediocrity. Yeah. Right?,” Brown said, according to the transcript. “You should write that down. I mean, you — I’m — you look like a White man, right?”

“I’m not White, Your Honor,” Young replied, adding that he’s Latino.

“Well, you are White-presenting; is that fair to say?” Brown said, according to the transcript. Young said that he’s “fair-skinned,” and Brown said that Young had “White privilege” when he argued his client didn’t receive key evidence in the case.

“You’re the White savior, come to save all the stupid Black lawyers in Texas who need your help, from New York,” Brown later said, according to the transcript.

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Soon after, Young filed a formal complaint against Brown, saying he believed the judge may be suffering from a mental health condition. The complaint helped launch a judicial investigation that resulted in her temporarily losing her docket earlier this month.

A special judicial committee has ordered Brown to undergo a psychiatric examination as part of that investigation.

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Brown has said she won’t participate in proceedings tied to complaints by Young and Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the Fifth Circuit. Brown earlier defended her conduct toward Young in a 76-page written response viewed by Bloomberg Law.

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