Magnolia Mayor Jimmy Thornton is set to fill the position of Judge in the city’s Municipal Court after the city council voted to put former Judge John Purvis on paid administrative leave following a November court audit.

Thornton will take over the position in accordance with an ordinance passed by the council during a March 9 meeting.

The ordinance effectively repeals a 1970 city ordinance that provided for filling the office of Judge by appointment, essentially eliminating the position altogether.

“It did away with the office,” City Administrator Ryan Kelley said of the ordinance.

“That would mean he (Thornton) would be judge until there’s another permanent or interim.”

Although, since the ordinance was passed, Kelley said the city has used an alternate judge to fill in for Purvis.

“We’ve been using our stand-in judge, he’s a man that Judge Purvis had used before,” Kelley said.

The city appoints a judge every two years after municipal elections and will likely pass another ordinance that will reinstate the position and call for a new judge to be appointed in May, Kelley said. Until then, Purvis will still be on paid leave,

“It’s clear that the council felt that the city didn’t need a full-time judge,” Kelley said.  “Far and above what the council felt about the judge’s performance.”

He added that 95 percent of municipal court judges in Texas work part time.

Purvis was put on leave after a Feb. 27 meeting during which an evaluation of his position was held in public rather than executive session, per his request.

Margaret Robbins of Hardin and Robbins Consultants spoke for most of the evaluation and relayed to the council and city staff the problems she found with court procedures and processes.

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