Dallas Judge exonerated for choking girlfriend over balcony

[talisman]

Ill agree to a certain extent. I briefly dated a chick that was into acid, coke, x, etc. It was always an interesting time to hang out with her, although not always fun. I got my kicks watching the stupid shit she and her friends did while fucked up, and never did partake in an of it. They called my their party DD. So it is possible that he doesnt partake, but not likely.

Yeah, that might have been a bit too much of a definitive statement, you're right. Same story when I was young, but someone that old, in that position makes it much more dubious.

[GrayStangGT]

Looks like she hit the door pretty hard when he slammed on the brakes lol.

[Gear_Jammer]

He has many more allegations against him than just this one. Lots of drugs/prostitute linkings that he has been dumping campaign money into to keep covered up. At least that's the story I get from people who are in the legal business

This my take on some, if not all, of the issues, gossip, etc. surrounding Judge Cortez. I've been in his court plenty of times, and while they haven't all been pleasant experiences, I like and respect him and the way he handles his court. As a bit of background, the Dallas courthouses have traditionally been predominantly Rep. In 2005 the Dem party made a huge push that changed that. That ushered in a new group of Dem judges, some good and some not so good (Rep, Dem or whatever, that's what happens when people vote straight tickets and a "party" takes over, so I'm not slamming the Dems). The problem was that many of the new Dallas judges seemed to be more touchy-feely on the law as opposed to going by the book IMHO. Judge Cortez wasn't and still isn't like that. If you're wrong and the law is against your argument/position, he has absolutely no problem with cutting you off at the knees and does not mince words about it (See short example below. I've been on both sides of that, and while it doesn't feel too good to be on the losing end, it's nice to see a judge that's willing to do it. Personally, I think Judge Cortez can be a little too cocky at times, but his intelligence and willingness to do what needs to be done far outweigh his personality. He doesn't care whether you're the biggest name attorney in Texas or a first year baby attorney - right is right in his court. For that reason, he's pissed off a lot of well known and connected people (attorneys & non-attorneys) over the years, which at times, has come back to create some problems for him, hence some of the "question-marks" he has over his head. Does he act like the stereotypical boring stodgy old judge? No, but those of you that have seen or met me know I don't quite fit the mold for the traditional looking/acting attorney, so couldn't care less whether he goes to concerts, clubs, etc. I would prefer to see news stories about a judge doing something helpful or beneficial to the City of Dallas, but I think some of the powerful and connected people he's upset have put a huge target over his head. Clearly, he may have made some bad decisions with the people he dates, hangs out with, etc., but who hasn't? He's young, single and successful and just because he's a judge doesn't mean he has to be boring and not have a fun personal life like anyone else his age, as long as it's not illegal and doesn't effect his ability to be a good judge.

Short example - I had a crazy case that ended up in his court about a year after he took the bench. I got a default judgment for my client against a defendant that was a con-artist deadbeat. The case was previously in another court, but got transferred to his court a little while after the judgment had been rendered.The defendant represented himself (pro-se), but he'd been through the process enough times that he knew how to play the system a little. The guy filed a Motion for New Trial and the hearing was set in Judge Cortez's associate judge's court. His associate judge is good, but she got confused by a few of the defendant's games so Judge Cortez ended up hearing it. The defendant did a decent job of presenting his motion for new trial at the hearing, but was lying through his teeth on some major facts. When it was my turn I explained to Judge Cortez what had really happened and pointed out all of the defendant's lies. Judge Cortez totally went off on the guy for about 10 minutes to the point to where Judge Cortez was almost red-faced, then ruled in my favor and told the defendant he better be very careful the next time he comes into his court in a pretty harsh tone. I think that was the first time any judge had ever seen through the defendant's lies and called him out and it was priceless!