Justice of the Peace Jason Dunn, who serves Montgomery County Precinct 4, has been formally admonished by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct following an investigation that found multiple violations of judicial ethics, including accepting gifts, promoting private businesses on social media, soliciting funds for local events, and posting political endorsements.

The Commission’s action, issued as a Public Admonition and Order of Additional Education on June 5, 2025, also requires Judge Dunn to complete supplemental training related to social media use in a judicial role. The findings stem from activity on two Facebook pages — one personal and one official — as well as Judge Dunn’s affiliations with private businesses.

Two Facebook Pages, One Public Office

The Commission’s investigation centered on Judge Dunn’s use of two Facebook accounts: the official page “Jason Dunn, Montgomery County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 4” (referred to as the JP4 Facebook Page), and a personal page under the name Jason Dunn. Although the personal page was not labeled as official, it did reference his elected title and included a direct link to the JP4 page.

Both pages were used to promote local fundraisers, private businesses, and community events. In some cases, businesses highlighted on the pages had recently provided food or gifts to Dunn or his court staff. Dunn maintained that many of the posts were intended to support the community and denied receiving personal or financial benefit.

Fundraiser at Family-Owned Business Promoted Online

Among the events in question was “Fajitas for a Fighter,” a fundraiser hosted at the Waterin’ Hole — a bar formerly owned by Dunn’s wife and affiliated with their RV park, Dunn Right RV Park. A promotional video featuring Dunn and Constable Rowdy Hayden was posted online. In the video, Hayden introduces Dunn as “Justice of the Peace Jason Dunn,” and Dunn announces that the event will take place at the Waterin’ Hole.

Though Dunn denied any personal benefit and emphasized the event was meant to support a Marine veteran battling cancer, the Commission found that his involvement and promotional efforts tied his judicial office to private business interests in a manner that violated Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits lending the prestige of judicial office to advance private interests.

Gift-Giving and Social Media Posts Create Ethical Conflict

The Commission identified at least seven instances in which Dunn or his court staff accepted food or other gifts from local businesses and nonprofit groups. These included cookies, seafood, pizza, donuts, and barbecue meals, with several gifts being acknowledged publicly on the JP4 Facebook Page. Some businesses, such as The Rusty Buckle BBQ and Rhoden Real Estate, were highlighted after providing food to the office.

In one case, Dunn testified that a barbecue meal posted to both Facebook pages was a gift to his court clerk from her mother, who owned Rhoden Real Estate. However, he later acknowledged the food was provided in celebration of his 50th birthday.

Dunn admitted he was responsible for the posts made by his administrative manager, who managed the official Facebook page. He also acknowledged that the manager was aware of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct but was unclear on where she received training. The Commission concluded that these gifts and the associated social media posts cast reasonable doubt on Dunn’s ability to act impartially.

Fundraising and Political Endorsements Violate Judicial Standards

In addition to business promotions, the Commission cited multiple instances where Dunn used his Facebook pages to advertise fundraisers for local churches, civic causes, and organizations such as Grace Covenant Baptist Church and Mission Northeast. These posts violated Canon 4C(2), which prohibits judges from soliciting funds for charitable or civic groups.

One of the most serious violations involved a post shared to Dunn’s personal Facebook page from the East Montgomery County Republican Women. The post featured two women campaigning for Donald Trump, encouraged early voting, and included the hashtag “#MAGA2024.” The Commission found that this violated Canon 5(2), which forbids a judge from publicly endorsing another candidate for public office.

Judge Dunn Implements New Policy and Accepts Responsibility

Dunn testified that following the Commission’s inquiry, he implemented new policies for his office. These include no longer accepting any gifts, limiting JP4 Facebook Page posts to public notices only, and ceasing all promotional or fundraising content on his personal page.

He emphasized that no one asked him to make the posts in question and maintained that he did not intend to gain personally or professionally. However, he conceded that the public might reasonably perceive a special relationship between his office and the businesses mentioned online.

Commission Orders Education and Public Sanction

The Commission concluded that Judge Dunn violated five separate canons of judicial ethics:

• Lending judicial prestige for private gain (Canon 2B)
• Engaging in extrajudicial activities that suggest partiality (Canon 4A(1))
• Soliciting charitable funds (Canon 4C(2))
• Accepting gifts (Canon 4D(4))
• Endorsing a political candidate (Canon 5(2))

As part of the sanction, Judge Dunn is required to complete two additional hours of judicial instruction — specifically focused on the intersection of social media and judicial ethics — within 60 days of receiving notification of his assigned mentor. The Texas Justice Court Training Center will coordinate the mentoring assignment.

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