EMORY, Texas (KLTV) — Former Rains County Judge Linda Wallace, 72, was arrested Wednesday morning just weeks after submitting her resignation. She faces charges of tampering with a witness, according to an indictment unsealed July 2.
Sheriff Michael Hopkins ordered Wallace’s arrest and set her bond at $10,000.
A grand jury indictment filed on June 30 alleges that Wallace coerced a prospective witness on May 28, 2025. The woman involved had previously worked under Wallace and was expected to testify in the case of State of Texas vs. Robert Jenkins Franklin, a Rains County justice of the peace.
According to the affidavit, Wallace pressured the woman to withhold her testimony in the criminal case against Franklin, who is facing two counts of official oppression.
Wallace formally submitted her resignation to the Rains County Commissioners Court on June 10.
Meanwhile, Judge Robert Franklin has been accused of multiple instances of abuse of power. One charge stems from a false affidavit he allegedly coerced a subordinate to sign in February 2025. Another involves a threat against a defendant in October 2023, where Franklin allegedly pressured the man to take a plea deal in a case outside his jurisdiction.
Franklin was also named in a federal lawsuit alleging he told a defendant, “Dead men can’t testify,” as a form of coercion.
On June 4, Franklin was suspended without pay by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
