A judge in Texas has been indicted more than a year after she allegedly ordered a defense attorney to be handcuffed in the courtroom and detained in the jury box during an argument.
Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, 60, oversees Reflejo Court, a trauma-informed treatment program designed to help first-time domestic violence offenders address the root causes of their behavior rather than face jail time.
Despite the nature of the program, former employees have alleged Gonzalez – who was once fined for bringing a loaded, rainbow-painted gun through an airport – has become increasingly erratic over the past year and has verbally attacked defendants.
On Thursday, Gonzalez turned herself in and made her initial court appearance, where she was charged with felony unlawful restraint by a judicial officer and misdemeanor official oppression, according to indictment records obtained by KSAT.
She was booked into Bexar County Jail and released after posting a $40,000 bond, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
The judge’s arrest comes just two weeks after the outlet reported an incident in late 2024 in which she allegedly kept defense attorney Elizabeth Russell handcuffed in the courtroom.
The two clashed during a motion to revoke probation hearing, with tensions escalating after Russell allegedly asked to speak privately with her client following the defendant’s plea of ‘true.’
A source close with the incident told KSAT that Russell’s client functions below average intellectually.
Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez (pictured), 60, was indicted on Thursday and charged with felony unlawful restraint by a judicial officer and misdemeanor official oppression
Former employees claim Gonzalez, who oversees trauma-focused Reflejo Court, has become increasingly erratic over the past year
Gonzalez’s arrest comes two weeks after KSAT reported an incident in late 2024 in which she allegedly kept defense attorney Elizabeth Russell handcuffed in the courtroom
The two clashed after Russell (pictured) allegedly asked to speak privately with her client
Gonzalez allegedly told Russell that attorneys cannot coach their clients and went ahead with the defendant’s plea, which Russell objected to.
According to a transcript obtained by the outlet, Gonzalez said: ‘Stop. It’s on the record. Your argumentative ways are not going to work today. Stop. Stop, or I’ll hold you in contempt, Ms Russell. I will hold you in contempt.’
She then told Russell that she was ‘not allowed to be argumentative and argue just for the sake of argument.
‘Take her into custody and put her in the box. We are not having this hearing this way,’ the judge said, according to the transcript.
‘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,’ she then told the attorney.
Russell noted that she had only been a licensed attorney for five years and later filed a criminal complaint against Gonzalez following the incident.
Russell’s complaint, obtained by KSAT, alleged official oppression and unlawful restraint by Gonzalez. The Bexar County District Attorney’s office stepped aside from the case in September.
Gonzalez told the outlet in an email that the 2024 recording with Russell ‘speaks for itself.’
In this week’s indictment, Gonzalez was accused of restricting Russell’s movements without her consent and ‘substantially interfering with her liberty’
In this week’s indictment, Gonzalez was accused of restricting the attorney’s movements without her consent and ‘substantially interfering with her liberty,’ according to the outlet.
As of Thursday evening, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct – which has recently suspended other judges facing criminal charges – had not taken action against Gonzalez.
Mark Stevens, Gonzalez’s attorney, maintained that she is innocent of the charges, according to Express News.
‘I have not seen the indictment, but she’s not guilty of a crime, and that will be clear as time passes,’ Stevens said.
‘Let’s just say we will vigorously defend the case and we’re glad we have a system of court that allows people to challenge accusations, and we intend to do that vigorously,’ he added.
The indictment arrives as Gonzalez seeks reelection in the March Democratic primary against challenger Alicia Perez.
Perez told KSAT that she wishes the judge well as she navigates the criminal justice system but remains ‘focused on my campaign and earning the trust of Bexar County voters.’
‘The state judicial commission has their role to play and that’s not part of my campaign,’ she said. ‘I defer to the authorities on how to proceed.’
In 2022, Gonzalez faced a $2,475 civil penalty after a loaded rainbow handgun was found in her carry-on luggage while traveling through San Antonio International Airport
In 2022, Gonzalez faced a $2,475 civil penalty after a loaded handgun was found in her carry-on luggage while traveling through San Antonio International Airport to catch an early morning flight to Miami for a speaking engagement.
TSA agents found the firearm loaded with a magazine inserted and a bullet chambered, according to the outlet.
Gonzalez, who called it an oversight, was allowed to give the gun to a family member and board her flight after being questioned by police.
New allegations also emerged earlier this month, with court therapist Cynthia Garcia telling KSAT that the judge’s behavior had become increasingly erratic.
One incident involved Gonzalez, a member of the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame, allegedly telling a female defendant to ‘invest in batteries’ and buy a vibrator, saying it would be ‘less trouble,’ Garcia said.
Speaking with the outlet, she said: ‘[Gonzalez] began lashing out at defendants in court. I couldn’t believe some of the things that were being put on the record.’
In another incident, Garcia claimed that Gonzalez reprimanded an 18-year-old homeless man after sexual content was found on his phone.
She claimed that the judge called the teenager a ‘f***ing poser’ in open court.
In July of last year an email from Garcia listed her concerns about a defendant, which prompted an abrasive response from Gonzalez.
Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez (pictured) has been accused of terrorizing the domestic violence court that she oversees in San Antonio, Texas
Gonzalez is pictured with one of her fellow judges in an undated photo. She is accused of letting her ego get out of control in her courtroom
She replied that staff should ‘stay in our respective lanes’ before telling those on the email chain to seek therapy if they thought she was singling anyone out.
The next day Garcia was called into her manager’s office and then told she was being removed from Reflejo Court.
She was employed by the nonprofit American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions at the time, but with her hours slashed after being removed she quit.
Speaking with KSAT, she said: ‘[Gonzalez] began lashing out at defendants in court. I couldn’t believe some of the things that were being put on the record.’
On her being removed, she said: ‘It was hurtful because I put my heart into my work. And just the betrayal from somebody I considered a friend.
‘I was doing my work to the best of my ability and reaching the women, to really change and encourage them to use their voice, build up their confidence, learn to be independent and just really build up their strength.’
It wasn’t just Garcia who noticed a massive shift in her behavior, with complex care manager Crystal Ochoa also left appalled at her change in demeanor.
She told the outlet: ‘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 no”. It was just not appropriate.’
Like Garcia, she too was removed from the court with the facility she worked for then terminating her position for not completing case notes.
She told the outlet that this was not the actual reason for her dismissal, believing that her former employer, Center for Health Care Services, feared Gonzalez.
Ochoa said: ‘I remember specifically one of my supervisors saying, “I don’t want to get into another phone call with this judge and it being like her yelling at me”.
‘How could you allow someone who is not even part of your agency remove someone when there is no cause?
Complex care manager Crystal Ochoa (pictured) told KSAT Gonzalez’s behavior ‘was not appropriate, especially it being a trauma-informed type of setting’
‘It’s her court. She can do as she pleases, but I don’t think she took into account the situations that these individuals were going through. And I think that was heartbreaking for a lot of them.’
In September of last year, Gonzalez issued a no-contact order which stopped the remainder of court staff from speaking with Garcia, Ochoa and two others.
Her email, obtained by the outlet, said: ‘A breach of this directive will be grounds for removal from the team.’
Gonzalez first drew attention in 2022 after being ordered to remove a Pride flag from her courtroom. In 2023, she successfully appealed, and the flag was permitted to stay.
