Brown County Judge Resigns, Barred for Life From Texas Judicial Office

Brown County Judge Alan Shane Britton has resigned and agreed never again to hold judicial office in Texas, under an agreement with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct that closes the commission’s cases against him.

Britton signed the agreement on October 21. Ken Wise, the commission’s interim chair, signed it on October 27. Under its terms Britton “has officially and formally resigned his administrative and judicial duties” and is “forever disqualified from judicial service in the State of Texas.” He may not sit as a judge, seek election or appointment to a judicial office, or perform any judicial function, “including the performance of wedding ceremonies.” The commission agreed to pursue no further discipline.

The complaints

The agreement sets out the record. Complaints filed with the commission on April 9, April 15 and June 17, 2024, alleged that Britton “used the prestige of his office to protect defendants whom he represented as a licensed attorney in divorce cases from criminal warrants in his court.” A complaint filed on November 4, 2025, alleged that he was representing his wife, as a licensed attorney, in their own divorce case in Brown County.

On or about November 20, 2025, a grand jury of the 35th Judicial District Court in Brown County indicted him on five counts. Two were Class A misdemeanors: abuse of official capacity, and hindering apprehension or prosecution. Three were third-degree felonies: tampering with a government document, assault on a public servant, and tampering with a witness in a family violence case. The commission suspended him without pay on November 25, 2025.

Texas Scorecard reported that his criminal case was resolved through a plea bargain on October 13. The agreement states that the commission entered no findings of fact or conclusions of law.

How Texas disciplines its judges

The commission is the independent state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct and disability. The Texas Constitution authorizes it to issue sanctions, censures and suspensions, or to recommend that a judge be removed from office.

Britton’s agreement was made under Section 33.032(h) of the Texas Government Code. Any violation of it would count as misconduct under Article V, Section 1-a of the Texas Constitution. The commission may enforce it in court, with Travis County as the venue, and Britton bears the legal costs of any dispute decided against him.

The cases opened with complaints in 2024. They closed without a hearing on the merits, and the lifetime bar is enforceable in a Texas court.