(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Texas’s first openly gay judge was suspended without pay after being indicted in a criminal case involving allegations of courtroom abuse of power.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez on Thursday after a Bexar County grand jury indicted her on charges of official oppression and unlawful restraint involving defense attorney Elizabeth Russell.
The charges stem from a courtroom altercation in which Speedlin-Gonzalez allegedly ordered Russell handcuffed during a dispute. The incident occurred after Russell asked to speak with her client, who had pleaded “true” to one of the allegations.
Speedlin-Gonzalez told Russell she could not coach her client, prompting Russell to object to continuing the hearing, according to Texas Scorecard.
In response, Speedlin-Gonzalez scolded Russell, telling her she was “not allowed to be argumentative and argue just for the sake of argument.”
The judge then ordered a court officer to arrest Russell and “put her in the box.”
“You will not run around these courtrooms, especially 13, and think that you can just conduct yourself in the way you’ve been conducting yourself for at least the last six years, Ms. Russell,” said Speedlin-Gonzalez, according to the outlet.
Russell filed a criminal complaint against the judge after her release, leading to Speedlin-Gonzalez’s indictment on Jan. 29, 2026.
State Commission on Judicial Conduct Chairman Gary Steel wrote that the suspension takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the charges are dismissed, resolved or otherwise addressed by further order.
🚨BREAKING: Bexar County, Texas Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez, the first openly gay judge there, ARRESTED on a FELONY for ILLEGALLY handcuffing an attorney and LOCKING him in a jury box during a hearing!pic.twitter.com/QXdLplp3WX
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 30, 2026
