A
Texas
judge
is
now
on
the
other
side
of
the
bench.
Judge
Rosie
Speedlin
Gonzalez
has
been
indicted
on
charges
of
unlawful
restraint
by
a
judicial
officer
and
misdemeanor
official
oppression,
stemming
from
a
2024
courtroom
incident
involving
defense
attorney
Elizabeth
Russell.
According
to
reports,
Russell
was
representing
a
client
at
a
hearing
on
a
motion
to
revoke
probation.
After
the
defendant
pleaded
“true”
to
one
allegation,
Russell
asked
for
a
moment
to
confer
with
her
client,
and
that
request
set
Speedlin
Gonzalez
off.
The
judge
shut
that
down
immediately,
telling
Russell
that
attorneys
are
not
allowed
to
“coach”
their
clients.
When
Russell
objected
after
the
judge
moved
forward
with
the
plea,
things
got
worse…
fast.
“Stop.
It’s
on
the
record.
Your
argumentative
ways
are
not
going
to
work
today,”
Speedlin
Gonzalez
said,
according
to
the
transcript.
“Stop,
or
I’ll
hold
you
in
contempt,
Ms.
Russell.
I
will
hold
you
in
contempt.”
The
judge
accused
Russell
of
arguing
“just
for
the
sake
of
argument”
before
ordering
deputies
to
take
her
into
custody.
“Take
her
into
custody
and
put
her
in
the
box,”
the
judge
said.
Speedlin
Gonzalez
then
went
further,
chastising
Russell
in
language
that
reads
super
personal.
“You
will
not
run
around
these
courtrooms,
especially
[courtroom]
13,
and
think
that
you
can
just
conduct
yourself
in
the
way
you’ve
been
conducting
yourself
for
at
least
the
last
six
years,”
the
judge
said.
Russell
corrected
her
that
she
had
only
been
licensed
for
five
years.
Which,
I
mean…
sure,
but
sometime
discretion
is
the
better
part
of
valor.
The
indictment
landed
just
two
weeks
after
a
KSAT
Investigates
report
laid
out
a
pattern
of
alleged
behavior
from
the
judge,
painting
a
picture
of
a
courtroom
increasingly
governed
by
volatility.
Especially
as
Speedlin
Gonzalez’s
courtroom
is
a
Reflejo
Court,
a
trauma-informed
treatment
program
designed
to
help
offenders
address
the
root
causes
of
their
behavior.
Cynthia
Garcia,
a
former
group
facilitator
who
provided
therapy
to
participants
in
Reflejo
Court,
told
KSAT
that
Speedlin
Gonzalez’s
demeanor
changed
dramatically
in
recent
years.
“She
began
lashing
out
at
defendants
in
court,”
Garcia
said.
“I
couldn’t
believe
some
of
the
things
that
were
being
put
on
the
record.”
Garcia
described
multiple
problematic
incidents.
In
one
Reflejo
docket
appearance,
a
female
defendant
who
experienced
a
pregnancy
scare
was
allegedly
told
by
Speedlin
Gonzalez
to
invest
in
batteries.
“And
get
basically
a
vibrator.
Less
trouble.
And
that
is
what
blew
my
mind
the
first
time,”
said
Garcia.
That’s
advice
you
expect
to
get
in
the
group
chat,
not
in
a
courtroom.
In
another
incident,
Garcia
said
an
18-year-old
participant
who
was
homeless
and
living
in
a
group
setting,
was
berated
in
open
court
after
staff
found
sexual
content
on
his
phone.
The
judge
allegedly
called
him
a
“f—ing
poser,”
leaving
the
young
man
visibly
shaken.
“It
was
ugly,”
Garcia
said.
“It
was
ugly.”
Crystal
Ochoa,
a
former
complex
care
manager
for
the
Center
for
Health
Care
Services
(CHCS),
said,
“The
behavior
she
gave
was
aggressive,
when
it
did
not
need
to
be.
It
became
very
like
‘No,
this
is
what
I’m
saying.
I’m
the
judge.
I’m
going
to
do
this,
whether
you
all
like
it
or
not.
It
just
was
not
appropriate,
especially
it
being
a
trauma-informed
type
of
setting.”
Both
Garcia
and
Ochoa
say
the
judge’s
influence
and/or
fear
of
retaliation
from
the
judge
led
to
their
departures
from
their
respective
organizations.
Speedlin
Gonzalez
told
KSAT,
“At
this
time,
I
will
not
be
disclosing
information
regarding
any
individual
or
non
profit
vendor
involved.
Out
of
respect
for
process,
privacy,
and
the
integrity
of
our
partnerships,
it
is
important
that
we
allow
the
appropriate
systems
to
function
without
speculation
or
distraction.”
On
Thursday,
Speedlin
Gonzalez
turned
herself
in
and
appeared
in
court
for
an
initial
appearance
where
the
judge’s
bond
was
set
at
$20,000.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
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so
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Feel
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