When the Judge Steps Aside: What Bobby Buckner’s Case Reveals

Justice is not just about verdicts—it’s about the integrity of the process. In Bobby Joe Buckner’s case, that integrity was so compromised that even the judge assigned to the case, Judge Matt Johnson, was later forced to recuse himself.

Here’s what happened: Judge Johnson was the official judge of record. But when the trial began, he was on vacation. In his absence, Judge Ralph Strother filled in and presided over the trial. Bobby’s fate was sealed not by the judge assigned to his case, but by a substitute — and soon after, Judge Johnson himself admitted he could not remain due to a conflict of interest and stepped aside.

That alone should set off alarm bells. How can any conviction stand when:

• The assigned judge abandons the bench,

• A substitute judge takes over a life-altering trial, and

• The original judge later steps away, acknowledging he should never have been involved at all?

This recusal doesn’t “fix” the trial — it poisons it retroactively. It confirms that Bobby never had the fair, impartial process the Constitution guarantees.

And the problems don’t end there:

• Dr. Sudhir Madisetty, the pediatrician who treated the alleged victim, was never called to testify. Margaret Lopez claimed he suspected abuse, but if that were true, Texas law (Sec. 261.101) required him to report it within 48 hours. No report was ever filed. That means Lopez’s testimony was false or misleading.

• Dr. Debra Brock, a childhood psychiatrist, testified that Ashley confided in her about many issues but never once about sexual abuse.

• School records showed Robert Anthony “Bobby” Lopez, the victim’s uncle, was restricted from picking Ashley up at school. He was later arrested on sexual assault charges and even listed on the Texas 10 Most Wanted list. Yet investigators ignored him, targeting Bobby Buckner instead.

Bobby has shouted his innocence from behind prison walls for over a decade. Each revelation — from mishandled evidence, to ignored suspects, to conflicts of interest on the bench — strengthens his case. The judge’s recusal is the clearest sign yet that Bobby was denied the impartial justice every citizen is promised.

The law demands that justice not only be done, but be seen to be done. In Bobby’s case, it was neither. If the assigned judge himself could not stand behind the trial, how can the verdict that followed be trusted to stand?

It is time to reopen Bobby Buckner’s case — not just for him, but for the principle that no man should sit in a cell convicted by a broken process.

⏳ Justice delayed is justice denied. Bobby’s freedom cannot wait any longer.

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📩 Contact & More Information: FreeBobby.org

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