Dallas district judge arrested on assault charge, police report says
Update, Dec. 29 at 11:35 a.m. by Melissa Repko: The attorney of Judge Carlos Cortez released a prepared statement saying that the domestic violence allegations about his client are false.
Here is the full statement from attorney Andrew Korn:
“Judge Cortez has not been indicted or charged with any offense. Judge Cortez will speak specifically to the arrest in any official proceeding that may result. The allegations made by the complainant are false. If necessary, it will be shown in the proper forum that Judge Cortez actually saved her life. Judge Cortez will continue to serve the State of Texas and Dallas County like he has for the last seven years – as an award winning jurist who handles his court with courtesy and dignity to all who seek Justice.”
Update, 10:22 a.m.: Another police report gives a narrative of the arrest. It says that Cortez choked his 26-year-old girlfriend several times and, at one point, held her over the balcony of his Uptown apartment.
Police were called to the apartment on McKinney Avenue just after 2 a.m. Saturday for a report of a disturbance. Cortez and his girlfriend met officers in the lobby. The girlfriend told police that they had been in an argument “over the location of medication belonging to [a] juvenile male witness,” the report says.
Police separated Cortez and his girlfriend, and the girlfriend immediately showed police a series of red marks on her neck, the report says. She said that she and Cortez had been drinking alcohol for several hours and got into an an argument. She told police that Cortez walked up to her while she was sitting on a couch, grabbed her by the hair and throat and choked her, according to the report.
“[The girlfriend] stated that [Cortez] choked her several times over the course of 15 minutes and at one point dragged her by her hair over to the balcony, leaned her over the edge and choked her for approximately 15 seconds straight,” the report says.
The woman told police that he said he was going to kill her. All of this happened in front of a juvenile, the woman told police.
Original: A Dallas County state district judge who has been the focus of a long court battle to keep potentially damaging details of his personal life private was arrested Saturday morning on an assault charge.
Carlos Raul Cortez, 44, was detained at 2 a.m., according to a Dallas Police Department arrest report. The report doesn’t list any details, other than that the case involves assault, family violence and “strangulation.” There is no information about the victim or the circumstances of the case.
The charge against Cortez, a civil court judge, is a third degree felony, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Cortez, a Democrat, was first elected in 2006. He is up for re-election next year.
He filed a defamation suit against Dallas lawyer Randy Johnston in 2010 and has since spent more than $100,000 of campaign funds trying to keep some details of the suit sealed. The Dallas Morning News has previously reported that some of the documents seem to pertain to the use of drugs and prostitutes. Cortez denies them, the News reported.
KawamotoDragon.com
Here is the full statement from attorney Andrew Korn:
“Judge Cortez has not been indicted or charged with any offense. Judge Cortez will speak specifically to the arrest in any official proceeding that may result. The allegations made by the complainant are false. If necessary, it will be shown in the proper forum that Judge Cortez actually saved her life. Judge Cortez will continue to serve the State of Texas and Dallas County like he has for the last seven years – as an award winning jurist who handles his court with courtesy and dignity to all who seek Justice.”
Update, 10:22 a.m.: Another police report gives a narrative of the arrest. It says that Cortez choked his 26-year-old girlfriend several times and, at one point, held her over the balcony of his Uptown apartment.
Carlos Cortez
Police separated Cortez and his girlfriend, and the girlfriend immediately showed police a series of red marks on her neck, the report says. She said that she and Cortez had been drinking alcohol for several hours and got into an an argument. She told police that Cortez walked up to her while she was sitting on a couch, grabbed her by the hair and throat and choked her, according to the report.
“[The girlfriend] stated that [Cortez] choked her several times over the course of 15 minutes and at one point dragged her by her hair over to the balcony, leaned her over the edge and choked her for approximately 15 seconds straight,” the report says.
The woman told police that he said he was going to kill her. All of this happened in front of a juvenile, the woman told police.
Original: A Dallas County state district judge who has been the focus of a long court battle to keep potentially damaging details of his personal life private was arrested Saturday morning on an assault charge.
Carlos Raul Cortez, 44, was detained at 2 a.m., according to a Dallas Police Department arrest report. The report doesn’t list any details, other than that the case involves assault, family violence and “strangulation.” There is no information about the victim or the circumstances of the case.
The charge against Cortez, a civil court judge, is a third degree felony, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Cortez, a Democrat, was first elected in 2006. He is up for re-election next year.
He filed a defamation suit against Dallas lawyer Randy Johnston in 2010 and has since spent more than $100,000 of campaign funds trying to keep some details of the suit sealed. The Dallas Morning News has previously reported that some of the documents seem to pertain to the use of drugs and prostitutes. Cortez denies them, the News reported.
KawamotoDragon.com
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