Complaint dismissed against judge in seminary ad

FORT WORTH, Texas — A complaint filed with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct has been dismissed involving a judge who appeared in advertisements for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, according to a seminary spokesman.

Tarrant County Judge R. Brent Keis, a master of arts in lay ministries student at the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary, appeared in his judicial robe in an April 2002 advertisement in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That advertisement, which contained only a photo of Keis, promoted the seminary’s study programs for laypeople.

Keis was informed by the judicial conduct commission in February 2003 that he had made a mistake by appearing robed in the advertisement. After the ads appeared in Houston and San Antonio papers in May, Keis was summoned to appear before the commission Oct. 8. That complaint was dismissed.

“Judge Keis was unaware that the ad had run in Houston and San Antonio, and I was asked by the judge that we not use the ad again,” seminary spokesman Greg Tomlin said. “He wanted to avoid further conflict. I hope that’s what the commission understood when they dismissed the complaint.”