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From Courtroom to Clickbait: Choose displays…
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From Courtroom to Clickbait: Choose displays on viral video livestreams in his court docket
By Danielle Braff
September 3, 2025, 10:17 am CDT
What was as soon as a quiet nook of Texas’ justice system has grow to be a viral spectacle, because of a mysterious YouTube account that reposts his court docket’s livestreams. At this time, Texas Choose David Fleischer is an unintentional web star. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Carrying small spherical glasses, a floral go well with and a bow tie, Choose David Fleischer brings a splash of character to an in any other case solemn Harris County Legal courtroom.
What was as soon as a quiet nook of Texas’ justice system has grow to be a viral spectacle, because of a mysterious YouTube account that reposts his court docket’s livestreams. At this time, Fleischer is an unintentional web star.
Shortly after he began livestreaming throughout the pandemic, the web took discover. The movies, which regularly begin with the choose uttering his catch phrase “let’s go nerds,” have been edited into compilations by somebody known as Victoria and posted onto her YouTube account.
With over 600,000 views as of this writing, essentially the most watched clip was posted 9 months in the past and contains a drunk driving trial the place the protection cross-examines a police officer and secures a dismissal from the choose primarily based on these solutions.
Different broadly seen clips embody one the place a defendant curses on the choose and one the place the choose yells at a defendant for allegedly bringing a Whizzinator to faux a drug take a look at and one the place Fleischer jumps out of his seat to beg defendants to return to highschool, to get their GEDs and to by no means ever attain for the gun.
“That’s concerning the worst factor that you are able to do,” he exclaims as an legal professional describes a threatening office state of affairs.
Fleischer takes specific offense to DUI instances, which he says are rampant within the space. He usually imposes curfews on the defendants, and he urges them to return to highschool, so that they don’t must stay the felony life-style sooner or later.
If it seems like he’s reprimanding his personal kids, that’s intentional, Fleischer explains. A father of 4—ages 3 to 14—Fleischer says he realizes how fortunate he was, and nonetheless is, to have such a supportive household. As a young person, he says, he was “hell on wheels,” however his mother and father calmly and repeatedly reined him in and helped him keep centered on his future. He additionally realizes that many others aren’t so lucky, and his objective is to be the dad or mum they by no means had.
“I like serving to folks,” he says. “I attempt to do the identical factor that my mother and father did to me for each individual, as a result of some folks by no means had parental figures.”
Fleischer by no means strove to be a viral star, and he rejects the thought of being known as an “influencer,” regardless of the tons of of 1000’s of views his movies obtain on YouTube.
However he didn’t thoughts all his viewers—particularly those that tuned into his DUI instances—not less than not initially.
“We lead the nation in DUIs and fatalities,” Fleischer says. “The thought is that on YouTube, everyone sees it. They will see after they’re out, and so they’ve had three glasses of wine, ‘I higher not try this.’”
His kids, particularly his teen—are actually getting an schooling. Typically, Fleischer says, his 14-year-old son will textual content him from class as a result of he and his buddies are watching it, although they’re not alleged to be on YouTube throughout college. On the identical time, he’s happy that they get to see what occurs when folks violate bond circumstances, after they drive below the affect and after they fail drug checks.
“The worth is the schooling that these children see,” he says. “They see the consequence of criminality.”
The issue, nevertheless, is that his YouTube movies “went off the deep finish,” he says. The movies turned overrun with hateful feedback and on-line bullying—none of which Fleischer reads. In April, he stopped livestreaming altogether, which additionally ended the nameless reposting by his mysterious YouTuber.
Fairly than educating viewers, he says, the streaming led many individuals making enjoyable of the defendants. That’s not what he had supposed.
There have been additionally the disapproving glances from colleagues who didn’t approve of Fleischer’s sudden fame. Some judges, Fleischer says, wouldn’t even have a look at him as a result of they hated his movies a lot.
Nonetheless others are hoping he returns to the tiny display. This contains his nameless YouTuber, who responded to an electronic mail however declined to share a reputation past “Victoria.”
“He’s by far the preferred choose on YouTube, and I feel the web,” Victoria wrote in her electronic mail. “He’s somebody who cares about folks loads whereas additionally taking no BS from folks.”
Previous to changing into a choose in 2019, Fleischer was a protection legal professional for about 20 years. The turning level got here when Donald Trump began getting concerned in politics, making the hair on the again of Fleischer’s neck rise up. Fleischer was very involved that life in the US may take a flip for the more severe, however he additionally realized that he would possibly be capable to make a constructive distinction.
He says he took a 40%-50% pay minimize to grow to be a choose in Texas, a state he says is thought for paying judges lower than most different states.
However Fleischer says it’s his obligation to offer again, which is why he takes the time to elucidate his judgments to the court docket—even when he loses his mood, which occurs greater than often.
“I’m warning you now to not drive in any respect, and I’m providing you with a curfew,” he advised one alleged DUI defendant. “One false transfer, and I offers you a public hazard and make your bond $150,000, and I don’t care who’s kicking, screaming and crying. My solely concern is public security.”
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