Judge Alex Kim’s juvenile court videos won him YouTube fame. They also endangered kids

Judge Alex Kim insisted the 12-year-old boy reveal the names of two adults who gave him guns and marijuana while the child’s criminal hearing was broadcast live on YouTube, with thousands of people tuning in from across the country.

“I’m requiring a full confession on this,” Kim told the boy in a Tarrant County juvenile court hearing in 2020.

Kim also told the boy that if he didn’t give up the names, he would be taken off the list for probation and would be sent to a state detention facility. And if Kim later found out that the boy had lied, the judge threatened to revoke probation.

After much coaxing, the boy mumbled the names to Kim. Some of the 7,000 anonymous viewers posted comments on the video’s public chat, calling the boy a snitch.

“They gone kick his door in,” one viewer said.

After the hearing’s broadcast, men who were connected with the two people the boy named showed up at the child’s house where his grandfather lived. No one was hurt.

The episode is one of a dozen instances where local attorneys and juvenile justice advocates have questioned how Kim runs Tarrant County’s 323rd Juvenile Court, which he has overseen since winning his first election in 2018. It also illustrates Kim’s unorthodox methods from the bench — sometimes akin to reality TV — which had gotten little attention before this summer, when persistent overcrowding at the juvenile detention center led to more scrutiny of his court.

All judges used livestreaming when the pandemic halted in-person gatherings, but Kim continued to use it long after courthouses reopened. And unlike other judges, he left his juvenile hearing videos on his YouTube channel, where they racked up more than 1 million views and made him into a sort of judicial celebrity in online forums, including one where racism appears rampant.

Kim has said repeatedly that he is the final authority in his courtroom, and he cannot take suggestions or recommendations from outsiders or other county judges. But the problems that have contributed to overcrowding in juvenile detention are putting public pressure on Tarrant County leaders to do something about it.

The county commissioners hired a consultant this summer to see why more children and teens were in detention despite fewer children being referred for criminal cases. The report’s findings were damning. It suggested racism in the disproportionate numbers of detained Black and Hispanic youth, and juvenile judges failing to hold most of their scheduled hearings. The report also pointed to Kim’s handling of youth discipline and the amount of time the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office takes to file cases.

In written responses to Star-Telegram questions, Kim said the consultant’s report still doesn’t provide all the answers to the overcrowding issue. While the referral numbers are lower, the types of cases his court is getting are more violent crimes, he said, “so it shouldn’t surprise people when detention numbers go up, as a percentage of cases referred.”

Kim has been a lightning rod of controversy since his election.

He was caught having a cigar and poker night in his office at the Scott D. Moore Juvenile Justice Center in 2019. The same year, he told a sex trafficking victim that she went “more or less willingly along with the opportunity that the traffickers provided” for her.

The next year, Kim was criticized for reversing a longtime practice of appointing advocates in Child Protective Services cases. County Judge Glen Whitley said he had heard concerns that Kim placed children back with their families against the recommendations of CPS workers. After a meeting in February 2020, CPS cases were moved out of Kim’s courtroom.

In 2021, Kim told the mother of a Black teenager who was accused of possessing a gun and being in a stolen car that the boy’s trouble was predictable because he’s into rap music, something many criticized as being racist.

While he has his critics, Kim had gained a fan base of people across the country after the pandemic forced judges to hold virtual hearings.

Unlike other judges in adult courts across Texas, Kim’s hearings at times had the hallmarks of tough-on-crime daytime court shows — and viewers ate up the courtroom drama. Kim enabled a chatroom during the online hearings, which allowed anonymous viewers to cheer on the judge’s decisions in real time. The chat has also been ripe for racist comments that go unchecked. From time to time, Kim and an associate judge who also handles juvenile cases stayed behind after detention hearings to answer anonymous people’s questions, said Greg Westfall, a Tarrant County lawyer who has been critical of Kim’s methods. Kim didn’t respond to the Star-Telegram’s questions about this practice.

In Tarrant County, Kim has gained support from those in conservative circles for his tough-on-crime decisions and anti-abortion views. His Facebook pages often show people posting selfies with Kim at Republican gatherings, such as county judge candidate Tim O’Hare’s recent campaign event that featured former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch. In 2020, when the justice board was secretly meeting to decide whether to remove CPS cases from Kim’s courtroom, dozens of Kim’s supporters showed up wearing their version of his signature red bow tie.

County commissioners are expected to meet with the Tarrant County Juvenile Board, an advisory board made up of judges, to discuss how to deal with overcrowding.

But even more stunning than the overcrowding, Westfall said, is Kim’s lack of knowledge of criminal code and certain behaviors that Kim has displayed in his courtroom. It’s something that Westfall said he hopes the commissioners and Juvenile Board will recognize and address.

Westfall and attorney Stephanie Patten filed a complaint against Kim with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in April. The complaint accused Kim of using his official office to promote his campaign, mainly through his controversial YouTube channel. The complaint was later dismissed.

Kim defends 323rd District Court

Kim presides over Tarrant County’s 323rd District Court and the general operations of the Lynn W. Ross Juvenile Detention Center. The judge is elected every four years through a partisan race. He’s the utmost authority over what happens in the juvenile courtrooms.

Before running for judge in 2018, Kim worked as an attorney at his own practice. He graduated from college in 2006 and has been a licensed attorney for 15 years. He won his first election against Democrat James Teel, who had previously served as an associate judge in the 323rd District Court. Kim is up for reelection in November, running against juvenile defense attorney Frank Adler.

The court has two associate judges: Andy Porter and Cynthia Terry. Their positions are appointed, and they answer to Kim.

The report on overcrowding placed some blame on Porter and Terry for not hearing enough cases.

One associate court had 744 juvenile court hearings set, but 61% were “passed, canceled or reset.” Another court had 431 cases scheduled, but 67% of those had been passed, canceled or reset. Staff members at the detention center referred to that judge as a “ghost” court because it so seldom was in session.

Though the report didn’t identify the “ghost” judge, sources in the juvenile system told the Star-Telegram that it was in reference to Terry’s court. Terry is running unopposed this fall to be the 325th District Court judge. Porter is running for the Criminal District Court No. 4 bench.

After reading the consultant’s report, Whitley floated the idea of defunding the two associate courts since the judges rarely hear meetings. The judges who make up the Juvenile Board didn’t initially seem to support the idea and questioned Whitley about why he wanted to make a drastic decision so quickly. Whitley said the county has until Sept. 13 to approve its budget.

In response to Star-Telegram questions, Kim said: “I trust Judge Whitley will see that the 323rd District Court has been the most efficient court throughout the COVID pandemic, as the only District Court in Tarrant County with over a 100% case clearance rate during that time. We also have the lowest backlog index in Tarrant County.”

Kim said the term “ghost court” is absurd.

A source within the juvenile system, who asked for anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the judges have started to show up for work every day in recent weeks.

YouTube hearings

The hearing for the 12-year-old boy was held a week before Christmas in 2020. Because he was under 14, the Texas Family Code says that any proceedings related to the child should have been closed to the public unless the judge “finds that the interests of the child or the interests of the public would be better served by opening the hearing to the public.”

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviewed a recorded broadcast of the hearing and did not find that Kim explained why he chose for the boy’s hearing to be public. Westfall said judges are supposed to make specific findings about their decisions to open hearings for children that young, though not doing that likely doesn’t violate any rules.

In a different detention hearing regarding the same 12-year-old, which was also livestreamed, Kim revoked the child’s access to his mother because she hadn’t shown up.

“She’s asking to have phone calls with you, but if she doesn’t appear for these detention hearings, doesn’t appear on Zoom, like she has done nothing for you, OK?” Kim told the boy. “And so, I’m not gonna let her make phone calls when she doesn’t have the respect for me, or the care or love for you to actually come in Zoom, and just log in from her phone.”

“I need my mom,” the boy responded, crying. “You kinda making me more stressed out.”

Kim told the boy that as a child, you’re supposed to be disappointed.

“We can see that your mom is not helping your situation,” he said. “She is making your life worse. And until she can get her act together, then she doesn’t need to be around you.”

If the mother could explain to the court why she missed her child’s hearings, Kim said during the hearing, he would reinstate her access to her son.

The 12-year-old was accused of shooting and injuring a 14-year-old boy, who was also repeatedly named during the hearing. Kim has been known to be especially harsh on children who are accused of gun crimes. He often refuses to let them out of detention before trial, citing danger to themselves and the community.

“When kids have guns, that’s kind of when they stop being kids,” Kim said during a hearing earlier this year.

Westfall said he and other attorneys took issue with the videos being left online because of their exploitative nature.

“The videos themselves, they show the entire world stuff that’s from the worst parts of their lives,” he said. “Nowadays it’s routine to do a Google search on a job applicant’s names, and these videos will exist forever because anyone could grab and aggregate them. Juvenile hearings are supposed to be sealed for a reason, and this defeats that.”

Kyev Tatum, a pastor and advocate for underprivileged people, spoke during the Tarrant County commissioners meeting last week while the now 14-year-old’s grandfather stood behind him.

“Those hearings,” Tatum said, “have been able to garner millions of viewers around the country.”

The Star-Telegram asked Kim if he believes requiring children to give confessions in court could put them in danger or interfere with active law enforcement investigations.

“Of course, but the law requires the child to disclose that information,” he responded by email. “This is an issue to ask the Texas Legislature, not the Judge who must follow the law.”

Kim didn’t respond about people showing up to the grandfather’s house. He didn’t comment on whether he thinks it’s appropriate to get confessions during online hearings.

Because the video wasn’t deleted until April 2021, it was one of more than 500 videos that attracted 1.7 million views and 11,300 subscribers to Kim’s YouTube channel, eventually earning $9,000 in ad revenue. The county commissioners, who said they were unaware that juvenile hearings were generating revenue, voted unanimously this summer to return the money to Google, which owns YouTube.

‘Hi, I’m Alex Kim’

If county leaders were unaware of Kim’s vast livestream audience, he wasn’t.

Kim addressed his viewers through a video on May 24, 2021.

“Hi, I’m Alex Kim,” he started. “I am Judge of a 323rd District Court at Tarrant County and frankly quite amazed and taken aback by how many people have subscribed and watched daily of these court YouTube proceedings, particularly in the detention hearings.”

Kim then launched into a recap of how COVID-19 shutdowns forced courts to hold sessions via various livestream services. And while they no longer have to do that, Kim said he would continue broadcasting his in an attempt to remain transparent.

“We are not using Zoom, but I have set up a camera for the court for the public because it feels, I seem to believe that the court has an interest in what happens in the 323rd District Court and that the best interests of the public right now are better served by broadcasting these proceedings,” he said. “There is no requirement for me to do so. This is simply me trying to do what I think is best and what the community would like to see from the 323rd District Court.”

Kim said in a hearing that he stopped Zoom hearings in spring 2021. An email that was obtained by the Star-Telegram shows that all hearings, with the exception of detention hearings, were moved to in-person. In May 2022, Kim signed an order saying that all court hearings will return to pre-COVID protocols, according to a copy of the order that was sent to the newspaper.

When Kim stopped the Zoom hearings in 2021, he moved the camera inside his courtroom to face himself. When people watched a hearing in real time, they were also able to participate in an anonymous chat that was on the right side of the video. Despite the Office of Court Administration directing judges to disable the comments, Kim didn’t disable the chat. Three days after his 2021 address, viewers commented that they didn’t like the angle of the camera or the sound quality.

During the next hearing, those issues were fixed and viewers thanked Kim.

The Star-Telegram asked for clarification from Kim on whether he still streams in-person hearings on YouTube. He didn’t respond.

Westfall and other sources within the juvenile system (who asked to remain anonymous due to fears of losing their jobs) have raised concerns about Kim allowing comments to influence his actions on the bench in real time.

Kim didn’t answer when a Star-Telegram reporter asked if he allowed comments to influence his actions.

Asked why he allowed viewer comments, Kim said, “The Judicial Canons prohibit Judges from explaining any decision.”

The Star-Telegram obtained a copy of the judicial canons that Kim refers to. It confirms that judges cannot publicly comment about pending cases. However it also says, “This section does not prohibit judges from making public statements in the course of their official duties or from explaining for public information the procedures of the court.”

Kim has also promoted his hearings on his Facebook pages, which have thousands of friends and likes. One picture from a recent campaign event shows people gathering around a TV that is broadcasting Kim’s hearings, which could violate campaign law, Westfall said.

“He came to possess that material through his position as a judge, he would not have obtained that had he not been in that position,” he said. “You’re not allowed to use resources you obtained merely because of your office to facilitate money for a campaign. You cannot take campaign photos in your courtroom, you can’t send campaign emails from your work email, you can’t have people sign your re-election petition in your courthouse.”

’You know the deal, lock them up!’

The chat has allowed anonymous people from across the world to weigh in on Kim’s decisions and the behaviors juveniles or their parents displayed in court. The comments often encouraged the judge to keep the kids locked up.

Dead beat mom who was raised the same

You know the deal, lock them up!

Others have left racist comments and used derogatory terms in reference to Black people.

Ya honor, I had to rob the old man, I needed street cred

Remember: When they talk about “lives” that “matter” these are the people they’re talking about

If Derek Chauvin (the ex-Minneapolis officer who killed George Floyd, a Black Man, by kneeling on his neck) is guilty I say all these kids deserve 10 years in the hole

The hearings eventually made their way to an online forum called IP2. Westfall, the attorney, described the forum as a place where white supremacy festers. It’s filled with videos and stories of Black Americans about whom people make racist comments. During some of Kim’s hearings, people could be seen leaving comments that said “IP2 always wins.”

The forum links directly to Kim’s YouTube page. Members can set up notifications for when Kim goes live.

Kim told the Star-Telegram he wasn’t aware that the forum existed.

Concerns about racism in the courtroom were previously discussed when the county commissioners received the consultant’s 21-page report about overcrowding. The consultant noted that of the youth detained on June 27, a sample day that he examined, 107 juveniles were people of color, and nine were white.

“The racial disparity in the entire criminal justice system is disturbing,” Kim told the Star-Telegram.

Commissioners Roy Brooks and Devan Allen were taken aback by that data during an Aug. 16 commissioners meeting.

“It is difficult to imagine that it is accidental that over 90% of the long term incarcerations in our juvenile detention center are either African-American or Hispanic, and that only 7% of those incarcerated long term are white,” Brooks said. “There is something systematically wrong at our juvenile detention center … It’s hard to understand how it’s not racist, and I don’t use that term lightly.”

Sending juveniles to adult court

The consultant hired by county leaders to compile the overcrowding report, Carey Cockerell, found that 35 juveniles who were 17 years old were sent to the Tarrant County Jail as part of their detention stays. For the most part, it was because of their behavior either in the juvenile center or during hearings, Cockerell’s report said.

Cockerell served as Tarrant County’s director of juvenile services for 20 years before serving as a state commissioner in Texas and Kentucky.

Kim sent one of the teens to the adult jail after the teen cussed at Kim during a hearing, an attorney said.

One of the teenagers was sent to the jail after his detention hearing in May 2021 on a still pending charge. Kim said the teenager had gotten in trouble while at the center for flashing gang signs, being verbally abusive to staff and not following directions.

“You’re not getting out,” Kim said during the livestreamed hearing. “I’m going to transfer him to the Tarrant County Jail on his 17th birthday, which I think is just next week.”

One viewer responded in the comments: “Oh he’s going hard.”

Another person commented that based on the name of the boy, who was Black, he should be detained.

That teenager now has an adult record despite not being criminally charged as an adult, Westfall said, because he was transferred to the jail and put into its system.

Cockerell also learned that the teenagers, once accepted at Tarrant County Jail, were put into general population with adults, which violates federal and local laws.

The Star-Telegram asked a spokesman for the jail, which is run by the Sheriff’s Office, why it accepted the teens and why they were placed with adults. He referred questions back to Kim. In response, Kim told the Star-Telegram, “the Canons of Judicial Conduct prohibit Judges from explaining their decisions.”

Having juveniles mixed with adults violates the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA. Jails and detention centers, including ones that hold juveniles, receive PREA audits every three years. The last time Tarrant County’s juvenile detention center was audited was in November 2019.

It passed.

Brett Merfish, director of youth justice at Texas Appleseed, a group that advocates for juveniles in the criminal justice system, said after Cockerell’s report was released that “there’s a reason that the juvenile system exists, because we recognize that kids aren’t adults and we need to treat them differently. They are more susceptible to trauma, and we also know that when young people are exposed to the adult system, it makes them 34% more likely to recidivate.”

Merfish also said, “Detention is designed to be a short term confinement. It’s concerning that the length of time young people are seeing in detention is increasing because we know a lot of times kids who stay longer in the system are put more at risk.”

In response to Merfish’s comments, Kim said he agrees with the philosophy.

“But there is no ‘one size fits all’ policy when it comes to Juvenile Justice,” he told the Star-Telegram. “Every child is unique and every case fact pattern is unique.”

The jail is up for its next PREA audit this year.