William Adams, Texas judge suspended over "videotaped beating," reinstated

(CBS/AP) DALLAS - A Texas judge who was suspended over a videotaped beating of his daughter that was posted online has been reinstated by the state Supreme Court.

Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams was suspended with pay in November 2011 while the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct investigated. The commission issued a public warning to Adams on Sept. 6.

In its one-page order Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court approved an agreement between Adams and the commission lifting the suspension. As part of the arrangement, Adams waived his right to appeal the warning, which is essentially a public reprimand with no other consequences.

The action allows Adams to return to his judicial duties in the Gulf Coast town of Rockport, Texas, immediately.

Adams' older daughter, Hillary Adams, uploaded the 2004 video to YouTube just over a year ago. The video shows William Adams repeatedly whipping his then-16-year-old daughter with a belt for illegally downloading music.

The nearly eight-minute video viewed millions of times shows the judge lashing Hillary in the legs more than a dozen times and growing increasingly irate while she screams and refuses to turn over on a bed to be beaten.

"Lay down or I'll spank you in your (expletive) face," Adams screams as Hillary wails and pleads for him to stop.

Adams' former wife and Hillary's mother, Hallie Adams, expressed disappointment in the decisions of the state commission and Supreme Court.

"Hillary and I are both really sad today," she said. "I had really hoped the judicial review process would work. I had really wanted to see the public protected."

The Aransas County district attorney said at the time the online video created a national sensation in 2011 that too much time had passed - seven years - to bring criminal charges against the judge.

Adams doesn't come up for re-election until 2014. However, county commissioners voted earlier this year to cut his 2013 salary by 1.6 percent to $144,000. Other elected county officials received a 2 percent cost-of-living increase.

Also, Adams may no longer preside over the physical domestic abuse cases that previously comprised much of his court docket.

Complete coverage of the Judge  William Adams "video beating" case on Crimesider