Dallas City Wire

Dallas County Judge Andrea Plumlee at one point owed nearly $400,000 in tax liens, but she expects those who are before her in court to pay their own payments when owed, critics allege.

The tax liens totaled $388,296.69 from 1998 through 2005. They listed Plumlee and her spouse, Donny Jenkins, for their residence in Rowlett on Waterview Parkway. From 1998 and 1999, Plumlee owed $6,944.12 and $8,082.86. From then the liens become larger, hitting $20,809.95 in 2000 and a high of $74,289.82 in 2002, according to the court records.

Several years ago, Plumlee jailed a woman who had chosen to pay her child's tuition payment for private school over making a mortgage payment after she and her husband had agreed the house was not worth it, according to a previous Dallas City Wire story.

“Judge Plumlee did put my client in jail for non-payments of mortgage which is blatantly against the law," the attorney said, as previously reported by Dallas City Wire. "There is not debtors’ prison in the state of Texas. She had a bias against my client, who was an attractive black female, married to an attractive black male.”

The attorney in that case said Plumlee does things to send a message when they don't technically follow the law, even though sometimes they're reversed.

“She was given the impression when you put on the black robe you become a quasi-god of some sort, not really bound by the law," the lawyer said, as previously reported by Dallas City Wire. "I think that case taught her a lot – you have restraints of what you can and cannot do; it was a learning situation for her.” 

Since becoming a judge nearly a decade ago, Plumlee has racked up a number of reversals on the appellate level, according to the Southeast Texas Record.

In one case, Plumlee entered a default judgment against Jesus Villa despite a court record showing that he had not been notified of a default judgment hearing. The Fifth Court of Appeals, which oversaw the Villa's appeal, found that in entering the default divorce decree, Plumlee violated Villa's due process rights, the Record reported.

In another case, the appellate court found that Plumlee abused her discretion by ordering genetic testing after the statute of limitations had expired, the Record reported.

Plumlee is a Family District Court judge in Dallas. She graduated from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1993 and has a bachelor's degree in real estate finance from North Texas State University, according to her website bio. 

Plumlee previously had her own practice, Plumlee & Associates, which focused on family law and child welfare litigation. She was also a partner at Wattley & Plumlee. 

Plumlee made the news earlier this year when, though not up for re-election this year, someone sent postcards to Dallas County residents saying that Plumlee was abusing her judicial power and violating the law.

"In Judge Andrea Plumlee's courtroom, the law doesn't protect fathers" the postcards stated. "Judge Andrea Plumlee. Unfair. Unfit. Unethical."