Confronting Crazy
A major legal victory for us in the fight with a judge who’s illegally trying to keep the state’s most expensive divorce battle a total secret. The ruling may have implications for other politically explosive divorce cases, including the one involving the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. If you’ve been following our battle for transparency, then you know we’ve been CONFRONTING CRAZY.
Confronting Crazy
The Watergate affair.
And the journalism that brought down President Nixon nearly fifty years ago.
“The Watergate affair triggered decades of tough investigative reporting in newspapers and TV stations across the country,” Wayne Dolcefino told the camera.
Gave a career to guys like me.
But in 2025, why is Richard Nixon suddenly back in the headlines?
“Why can’t the public see what’s going on?” Dolcefino asked.
Because of this judge.
“Why are you keeping secrets from us, Judge. You think that’s right? You think that’s what the taxpayers deserve? To keep secrets?” Dolcefino asked.
For two years, Judge Robert Kern has been ruling on the most expensive divorce case in Texas in absolute secrecy.
“I get to choose what I tell you about,” Jay Sears said.
Jay Sears, the co-founder of Texas real estate giant NewQuest Properties, has been trying to ditch Debra McLeod, his wife, after 43 years.
An army of lawyers has been trying to hide the true value of his company from her.
“I never seen such a thing,” Sears said.
And Judge Kern, who had been appointed to hear this case after the elected judge recused, he’s been helping the company keep its financial secrets.
Until a few months ago, the judge had even denied McLeod a jury trial, even his own lawyers knew that was a clear violation of the Texas Constitution.
“I feel very cheated with him,” Sonia Castillo said.
“And you think it was because you’re a woman?” Dolcefino asked.
Other women had warned us the elderly judge was biased against women.
“Kind of belittling, condescending. Just kind of the way he spoke to me,” Kelsey Hagendorf said.
Kern’s conduct in court was of a man in clear cognitive decline.
Hard of hearing.
Forgetting his own rulings, more than once.
“He actually looked like he was falling asleep a couple of times,” Hagendorf said.
And that’s when we started calling him the Crazy Judge.
“It just gets crazier and crazier. I don’t think he remembers what he’s ordered,” Debra McLeod said.
We went to court in Waller County back in April to try and bring a little sunshine to this illegal veil of secrecy.
Kern first ignored our lawyers in court as they tried to intervene in the divorce case, arguing bizarrely that he even lacked the jurisdiction to rule on a case in his own courtroom.
“Saying that he doesn’t have jurisdiction is completely out of the bounds of law and reality,” Nick Kacal said.
Then, without even notifying our lawyers, Kern signed an order at Sears’ request denying our motion to open up any of the court records.
We only found out about it a month later.
“It’s very clear the judge is not happy with those Dolcefino interventions into the case,” Kacal said.
“We had no luck trying to get an elected Waller County judge to do the right thing. To do their jobs,” Dolcefino told the camera.
So we asked the Fourteenth Court of Appeals to stop the judge, arguing he was infringing on the media’s right to court records.
“As it relates to public records, judicial records, of course, the media has and will always maintain a right of access to those records,” Nick Kacal said.
And we have their decision.
Judge Kern abused his discretion.
Quoting:
‘We hold that a media entity has a common law right to access court records in a divorce case.’
“The Court of Appeals, I think, sent a very clear message that this case should have never been brought to them in the first place,” Nick Kacal.
The appeals court did give Kern a history lesson in their ruling.
About those Watergate days, and a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case called Nixon versus Warner Communications.
When some of the co-conspirators in the Watergate break-in were tried and convicted in a public courtroom, 22 hours of smoking gun White House tape recordings were played.
When the trial was over, the media wanted to play the tapes for the public.
The president objected. He lost.
You would have thought Kern remembered Watergate — he was around.
“This ruling by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals may have an impact on other politically explosive divorce trials now starting in Texas,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“State senator Angela Paxton filed for divorce yesterday alleging that ken Paxton committed adultery”
An administrative judge in Collin County has now sealed all the court records in the divorce case involving Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Senator Angela Paxton.
But we already know that in a divorce case, the public’s right to inspect court records is not absolute.
You know we like to win the whole enchilada in our legal fights, but courts have to balance the access of media in a divorce case against people’s personal privacy.
“We all know sometimes divorce battles can be really ugly, with some disgusting details,” Dolcefino told the camera.
But in the Sears-McLeod case, it was all hidden. The court hid not only its orders, but even the existence of the case.
Refused to provide transcripts of hearings that played out in a taxpayer-funded courthouse.
“They’ve done a complete blackout of the case,” Kacal said.
After we started showing up, Kern did give McLeod her jury trial.
But when we showed up for jury selection, the courtroom was empty.
“So, we are here for the trial,” Dolcefino said.
“There is no trial,” the clerk said.
“Why?” Dolcefino said.
Lawyers for both sides in the divorce case have refused to talk with us from the very beginning.
But a courthouse source confirmed that both sides asked Judge Kern to step aside for a private special judge to hear the rest of the case, instead of a jury.
The case will continue to attract social media attention.
The Women Justice Network has been attacking Sears online, part of a fight to help women who are married to wealthy men and get taken advantage of in court.
“And we are watching to make sure that Mr. Sears’ political power in Waller County doesn’t have any effect on weighing down the scales of justice,” Dolcefino told the camera.
Part of an investigation into the huge real estate development deals the company has made in the county.
“Allow me to give my non-lawyery legal opinion on why both sides in this case wanted to get the hell away from Judge Kern,” Dolcefino told the camera.
McLeod knew the judge would continue to screw her in all his legal rulings.
“I get more confused with every hearing. I can’t follow it,” McLeod said.
And Sears’ lawyers, they knew Judge Kern’s rulings would almost guarantee successful appeals.
A courthouse source told us Kern resisted the idea of another judge taking over. But not because of the law.
But because he didn’t want me to think I had chased him off, that he had turned tail and ran.
How judicial of him. That’s, my friends, a crazy judge.
“And guess what! With the appeals court ruling in hand, we get to file for a new motion for a hearing in Waller County court, in front of guess who… Judge Kern,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“I don’t have a lot of faith that he’ll do a great job at balancing those interests,” Kacal said.
“This should be fun. And why don’t we ask Judge Kern to let a camera be in the courtroom so all of you can watch live when it happens?” Dolcefino told the camera.
“How problematic is that now? I mean, clearly the judge doesn’t like me,” Dolcefino said.
“It’s very clear,” Kacal said.
In advance of our next court hearing, I wanted to deliver a message to the judge. Just in case he continues to ignore the law and the history of Watergate.
“If he continues to make those procedural mishaps, we will need to return to the Court of Appeals,” Kacal said.
The Cobos Law Firm has led our legal fight to bring sunshine to the Waller County courthouse.
And to enlighten Judge Kern on the state of the law, and some history.
Our attorney Nick Kacal had worked for Dolcefino Media while in law school.
“It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s happy,” Kacal said.
Can’t you tell?
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