Grand Jury Opts Not To Indict Dallas County Judge For Assault
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A Dallas County grand jury has decided not to indict a state district judge on a felony charge of assault following a domestic disturbance with his girlfriend.
Jurors made the decision Thursday in a case involving Judge Carlos Cortez.
He was arrested December 28 on allegations he choked the 26-year-old woman, leaned her over the edge of the balcony at his apartment and threatened to kill her.
--- Dallas County Judge In Court For Assault Case
A police report filed after the incident said the two had been drinking and were fighting about the location of a child's medication when that argument escalated. Authorities said a child witnessed the entire incident.
The official charge was assault family violence, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
In a motion filed two days later, Cortez said the woman was trying to kill herself and he tried to pull her away from the balcony.
Cortez, 44, asked a judge to throw out an emergency protective order granted after the incident.
In a prepared statement to the media Cortez said "I am thankful that in this instance, justice was served, however, I am aware of others in our community who have been falsely accused who have spent decades in prison for crimes that they did not commit. It is unfortunate that my political opponent in my up-coming Democratic primary election has used something so horrific in an attempt to have Democrats vote for her. It is shocking that someone running for a judicial bench would be telling Democrats to vote based on what they read on the internet. A good judge applies the law to the facts of the case and does not judge someone based on a Google search, as my opponent has directed Democrats in Dallas County to do. My opponent, Bonnie Goldstein, owes my fellow Democrats in Dallas County an apology."
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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