By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
ELLIS COUNTY – The new Ellis County 504th Judicial District Court will be official on September 1, 2025.
The bill passed in the house after much wear and tear on Ellis County Rep. Brian Harrison and his efforts to expose what he called the corrupt leadership in the Texas House.
He said the removal of the court from the original bill was his “punishment” because he had “The courage to expose the way the Texas House members are betraying the Republican voters of Texas.”
While proud he saved the court in the end, Harrison said “This was one of the most underhanded things many of the members said they had ever seen in the history of the Texas House.”
When former Ellis County Judge Todd Little left his seat in May the second criminal court in Ellis County was a done deal.
He and Harrison had worked hard to make the 504th Judicial Court a reality for the county.
At the last minute and just before HB2878 was in its final stages for a vote the Ellis County Court was removed from the bill by State Representative Jeff Leach. Leach represents Collin County and serves as the chairperson of the Texas House Committee on the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence (JCJ).
Harrison said Leach at the last minute, unbeknownst even to the committee members, deleted the Ellis County court as part of his committee substitute of the bill right before it was voted out. He did not even tell the members of the committee that he did it.
“Jeff did it at the last second and the only reason Ellis County almost did not get that court was because Jeff Leach made a decision to punish Ellis County and make our streets less safe in a vindictive and childish attempt to what they thought would harm me because I refuse to go along with their corruption,” Harrison said.
Leach said during a committee meeting while speaking to Representative Giovanni Capriglione that the Ellis County State Representative had never talked to him about putting this item in the bill.
Harrison said that was an obvious untruth since the item was not only in two senate bills for possible passing, but also in HB2878, which Leach himself had authored.
Harrison later spoke on Leach’s comment before the house leadership body “I think it is of utmost importance when this body conducts business that we are factual and this body deserves the truth.
I am going to read a quote because it was a question to why the 504th judicial district of Ellis County was not in the bill that the body was contemplating today. Again, this was the reason and rationale the 504th judicial district court of Ellis County was not in the bill the body contemplated today with Leach stating to his knowledge there was no legislation filed asking for it [the court] and that is why it was not included.”
Harrison said this is “Demonstrably false. Not only was it filed in legislation it was filed in three separate pieces of legislation.”
He went on to explain “It was filed in a bill filed by Senator Bob Hall back in February SB1397. It was filed in March in a legislation filed by Senator Brian Hughes in SB2878. And finally, it was in a third piece of legislation filed in the House and authored by Representative Jeff Leach.
The fact is the only reason that court was not in the bill presented by the body today was because the committee substitute that was voted out deleted that court. These are the facts.”
Harrison said when he spoke “Jeff Leach was so unhinged he went up and tried to get into my personal space to physically make me unable to give the address” to the point the Speaker of the House, Dustin Burrows had Leach removed from the podium by the Sergeant-at-Arms. Texas governor Greg Abbott will now be tasked with appointing a judge to sit in the seat until the next election at which time voters will decide.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
