Legal Drama

Dallas judge who claimed he saved girlfriend's life during alleged assault won't be charged

State District Judge Carlos Cortez will not be charged with family violence for his actions in a dispute with his girlfriend on December 28, 2013. A Dallas County grand jury no-billed the felony assault charge against Cortez on February 20. Because grand jury proceedings are private, no further information was available.

Cortez, 44, was arrested on December 28 when his 26-year-old girlfriend told police that Cortez had strangled her, leaned her over the edge of a balcony and threatened to kill her. The alleged assault occurred around 1 am, after Cortez and his girlfriend had been drinking for several hours.

Following his arrest, Cortez's attorney, Andy Korn, issued a statement saying that the allegations were false. "If necessary, it will be shown in the proper forum that Judge Cortez actually saved her life," Korn wrote.

Cortez, who has been on the bench since 2006, is up for reelection in March 2014. Cortez's personal life has previously been under suspicion following a mysterious lawsuit alleged to contain sordid tales of prostitutes and drug use.

In a sworn affidavit, Cortez's girlfriend stated that their 13-month relationship was rife with physical abuse. "I have been reluctant and fearful of reporting the abuse due to Carlos' political status as a judge," the woman wrote. "Carlos repeatedly warned me that disclosing his abuse and threats would not be heard because of his status and position."

Attorney Pete Schulte, who also represents Cortez, announced the no-bill news on Twitter.

My client, Judge Carlos Cortez, was just NO BILLED by a Dallas Co. grand jury on the allegation that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend on 12-28

— Peter Schulte (@PeteSchulteTX)

February 20, 2014

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Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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