Click this link to view the full article.
February 10, 2026
Courthouse Weddings Under Judge Bob Wolfe Draw Scrutiny at Backlogged Clay Road Justice Court
​
by Katy and Fort Bend Christian Magazines
​
​HARRIS COUNTY, TX — On a weekday afternoon inside the Justice of the Peace courthouse on Clay Road, residents lined the hallways waiting for access to court business. Some awaited eviction hearings, others would handle traffic matters or debt claims. These kinds of cases dictate whether people keep their homes or jobs, or whether they can clear legal obligations that hang over daily life.
​
Just feet away, large posters mounted along the same hallway advertised wedding ceremonies.
​​
Directional signs pointed visitors toward a specific suite. A lobby television monitor displayed an advertisement promoting courthouse weddings, complete with amenities and a contact number. Inside a courtroom, floral arrangements were positioned near the bench, transforming the space into a ceremonial venue.
The images were taken during regular business hours on Friday, Jan. 16, by Jeff Williams, the former Justice of the Peace for Harris County Precinct 5, Place 2, who held the seat until retiring in 2023.
​
“This past January, I had the occasion to visit the courthouse again. I was shocked and dismayed to find several unseemly large posters up and down the hallways, as well as an ad shown on the lobby TV monitor, where the current Judge Wolfe is advertising for and soliciting weddings,” Williams said.
​
The former judge said the issue was not that weddings occur in justice courts, which is a long-standing and lawful practice, but the degree to which they appeared to be prioritized over court business.
​
“The problem is when it appears that weddings are more important to the judge than performing the work for the community that they were elected and now paid with taxpayer dollars to do,” Williams said. “This makes the Judiciary look bad, as if their main reason for being there is to line their pockets with wedding cash.”
​
Williams described the scope of the wedding promotion as unprecedented during his tenure.
​
“Subtly letting the public know you perform weddings is fine, however, to have four large approximately 4×5-ft posters up and down the hallways and an antique car parked directly in front of the main entrance with ‘just married’ painted on it, is over the top,” he said. “It gives the appearance of impropriety and a lack of professionalism on the part of the judge. The ads even offer to provide music, flowers and photos. Inside the courtroom were placed two large sprays of flowers!”
When Williams was the sitting judge, he said, court operations always took precedence.
​
“I had some time carved out for weddings, but if a court matter took longer than expected, the wedding would be reset, not the court case,” he said. “I believe the voters and citizens must be made aware of this situation at the ‘People’s Court.’”
​
Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, Place 2 is among the busiest JP courts in Texas, handling tens of thousands of filings each year. Its docket includes evictions, traffic citations, debt claims and small-claims disputes, matters governed by statutory timelines and often involving people with limited flexibility to miss work, secure childcare, or return for repeated court dates.
​
Concerns about courthouse weddings are not limited to appearances. A courthouse official familiar with daily court operations, who worked under both Williams and current Judge Bob Wolfe, described a substantial shift in scheduling practices after Wolfe took office.
​
According to the official, Fridays were designated exclusively for weddings, and court staff were instructed not to place cases on the docket for that day.
​
During the rest of the week, the official said, court proceedings, including eviction dockets and jury trials, were at times recessed so that weddings could be conducted. The official requested anonymity due to concern about professional retaliation.
​
The official said wedding services were actively promoted within the courthouse, with signage placed in public hallways and waiting areas, a description consistent with photographs taken Jan. 16 showing court patrons waiting beneath wedding advertisements.
​
Judge Bob Wolfe disputes that weddings interfere with court operations. In written responses to Katy Christian Magazine, Wolfe said ceremonies are conducted during lunch breaks, after court hearings, and on Saturdays.
​
“I will have a walk-in wedding during my lunch break and after court hearing during the week. I also set weddings for Saturdays,” Wolfe wrote.
​
Wolfe denied that court proceedings are delayed or rescheduled to accommodate weddings.
​
“Absolutely not, I have never interpreted a court hearing to do a wedding,” Wolfe wrote. “I did have 2 weddings that I postponed until after the court hearing, and they waited until all the eviction dockets were cleared.”
​
Wolfe said courthouse signage advertising weddings is permitted and confirmed that judges are allowed to retain wedding fees.
​
“Each Judge sets their own rate and is allowed to keep the funds,” Wolfe wrote.
​
However, Wolfe’s responses did not address why weddings were advertised with large-format signage throughout public courthouse hallways, why courtroom space was decorated for ceremonies during business hours, or whether Fridays were reserved exclusively for weddings, as described by a courthouse official and reflected in photographs taken that day.
​
Court performance data show a large number of active pending cases in Precinct 5-2. Wolfe disputes that backlog reflects inefficiency, saying the time to reach hearings has improved.
​
What the data do not explain is whether the court’s operational capacity is affected by dedicating courtroom time, staff attention, and public space to wedding ceremonies in one of the highest-volume JP courts in the state.
​
Public reviews of Wolfe’s court echo some of the concerns raised in interviews and photographs. Online reviews describe long waits, repeated resets and confusion over scheduling, with several reviewers alleging that court business was delayed or disrupted on days when weddings were being conducted.
​
While online reviews are anecdotal, they describe recurring complaints about access, communication and court scheduling that mirror issues documented elsewhere in this reporting.
Separate from courthouse weddings, Wolfe’s outside legal work has also drawn scrutiny.
​
Wolfe confirmed that while serving as a sitting Justice of the Peace, he represented a respondent in a Galveston County civil asset forfeiture case.
​
“Yes,” Wolfe wrote when asked whether he personally represented the respondent.
​
Court records show Wolfe filed an Original Answer on June 16, 2025, as “Attorney for Liz Nieber” in a forfeiture action in which prosecutors allege more than $800,000 in seized assets were connected to aggravated promotion of prostitution and organized criminal activity.
​
An Original Answer is the formal legal filing in which an attorney appears on behalf of a party in a case and responds to the claims brought against that party. The allegations are contained in the state’s forfeiture notice; no conviction has been reported in the civil matter.
Wolfe said he stepped into the case after another attorney suffered a medical emergency and disputed the prosecution’s characterization of the matter.
​
Wolfe did not address whether representing clients in active forfeiture litigation tied to alleged criminal enterprises, while presiding over a busy JP court, raises appearance-of-impropriety concerns similar to those raised by courthouse weddings conducted and promoted during business hours.
​
Wolfe also provided campaign materials and a recent Harris County auditor’s compliance letter showing no irregularities in court fee collections during a limited financial review period.
​
Wolfe said he believes criticism of his conduct is politically motivated.
​
The practices described in this reporting, including photographs taken during business hours, on-the-record testimony from Wolfe’s predecessor, courthouse operational accounts, and court filings bearing Wolfe’s signature, were independently verified by Katy Christian Magazine.
​
The issues raised, including courthouse weddings promoted and conducted during business hours, court scheduling practices in a high-volume court, and a sitting judge’s involvement in outside legal representation, raise questions about priorities, professionalism and public trust at the Clay Road courthouse.
​
What remains unresolved is whether the use of public space, court time and judicial authority at the Clay Road courthouse reflects the purpose of a taxpayer-funded court, particularly for residents who appear as ordered, wait for hours, and depend on timely rulings that directly impact their lives.