And so it ends

After two-and-a-half acrimonious years on the second floor of the Galveston County Courthouse, the tenure of Christopher Dupuy on the bench in County Court 3 is finally over.

On Thursday, Mr. Dupuy entered into a plea bargain with the special prosecutor that will see him placed on deferred adjudication for two misdemeanor charges and resign from the bench.

Mr. Dupuy took the bench when the Republicans swept the 2010 general election in Galveston County despite the fact his license to practice law was suspended by the State Bar of Texas for unethical conduct as an attorney. His incompetence continued when he took the bench.

Mr. Dupuy lacked the necessary temperament to sit on the bench - he took any challenge to his rulings to be a personal challenge. He ran for the bench against the judge who was presiding over his divorce case and he used the tools of his office to assist his girlfriend while she was involved in litigation.

Now that Mr. Dupuy is off the bench, the cockroaches will begin scurrying across the kitchen floor. In the upcoming weeks and months lawyers will step up to announce they are running for the bench in County Court 3. But where have they been over the past two-and-a-half years? Not one of them had the courage to stand up and challenge Mr. Dupuy while he was on the bench. They will now pick over the bones.

Lari Elaine Laird was one of the few attorneys in Galveston County who had the courage to stand up and speak. For her efforts she found herself fighting contempt charges. It was her fight, however, that led to the slew of criminal charges being filed against Mr. Dupuy which led, in turn, to his resignation.