(In)justice of the peace

This comes from KTSM-TV in El Paso…

A former Justice of the Peace in Culberson County is charged with money laundering and mail fraud.

The FBI arrested Oscar Espinoza, Sr. and during his initial court appearance in El Paso, bond was set at $10.000.

A grand jury indicted Espinoza on evidence that he cashed check and money orders totaling more than $1,000 and used the money for personal benefit.

Espinoza is scheduled for arraignment next week.

Third time’s the charm for municipal judge

This comes from the (Harlingen, TX) Valley Morning Star…

MERCEDES — State troopers arrested a Mercedes municipal judge on felony driving while intoxicated charges early Saturday morning.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped Mercedes Municipal Judge Rogelio Garcia about 2 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Dixieland Road and Lincoln Street near Valle Vista Mall, said Trooper Johnny Hernandez, a local agency spokesman.

Troopers allege Garcia, 48, was exceeding the speed limit in a Ford Fusion. He failed a standard field sobriety test and refused to provide a breath sample during the traffic stop and appeared “highly intoxicated,” Hernandez said.

Garcia was arrested for driving while intoxicated for the third time, jail officials said.

A state law enacted in September 2009 forces law enforcement officers to collect a suspect’s blood sample in felony cases, even if the person refuses to provide a breath test during the traffic stop.

The municipal judge “cooperated and gave blood,” Hernandez said. Troopers are awaiting those test results.

Garcia was booked and released at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito about 5:40 a.m. Saturday, records show. He posted a $5,000 bond, jail officials said.

Garcia was convicted of his second DWI charge in Hidalgo County Court-at-Law No. 4 in March 1996. He was sentenced to one year of probation and a $350 fine. In that case, he was arrested by DPS troopers in September 1995.

Garcia’s first DWI arrest came in February 1984 at the hands of Hidalgo County Sheriff’s deputies. He was convicted of those charges and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Garcia had served as Mercedes’ alternate municipal judge until he was appointed to the full-time position in January 2009 — after Jesse Contreras took control of the 449th state District Court.

Contreras was arrested on DWI charges in September 2008, during his term as Mercedes municipal judge. Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos still has not decided whether to prosecute that case.

Mercedes City Manager Richard Garcia — whose wife is the judge’s cousin — said he briefly spoke with Judge Garcia on Monday, who submitted a request for a leave of absence. Whether he will continue to receive his $3,000 monthly salary remains to be seen, the city manager said.

“At this point I really don’t know which way it’s going to go,” the city manager said. “He’s on contract, so it will be up to the mayor and the commission at some point to discuss that.”

Alternate Municipal Judge Juan Ramon Alvarez will assume full-time duties during Garcia’s absence, the city manager said.

Judge Garcia could not be reached Monday at his Mercedes office.

A third driving while intoxicated conviction — a third-degree felony — carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

“Can’t help you. Sorry,” said a man who answered the phone at Garcia’s house, saying he was his brother.

Why you’re not supposed to talk in the men’s restroom

Thanks to the AP for this bit of bathroom humor…

AUSTIN — A Central Texas man got a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court after criticizing a judge in a Caldwell County Courthouse men’s room.

State District Judge Jack Robison ordered 69-year-old Don Bandelman released after two days in jail after a state appeals court in Austin made inquiries into the matter.

The episode began June 23 when Robison granted temporary custody of Bandelman’s 13-year-old granddaughter to his son’s ex-wife, instead of his son. Court records reviewed by the Austin American-Statesman show Bandelman followed Robison into the men’s room and berated him as “a fool.” Robison then ordered Bandelman’s arrest.

Bandelman says he’ll complain to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. In 1991, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that insults aren’t sufficient for a contempt citation. (See Bandelman’s photo, more on this storyhere.)

Robison hadn’t returned a Tuesday call from The Associated Press.

Update: Tire deflating judge resigns

Thanks to our friends at the Washington Post…

A Charles County judge who acknowledged deflating a tire on a car parked near the courthouse in La Plata submitted a letter Thursday resigning as chief administrator of the Circuit Court.

“I am at a stage of my career where I feel that I can be of more use to the judiciary as a judge in the trenches than as someone with budget, planning, personnel and other management responsibilities,” Circuit Court Judge Robert C. Nalley wrote to Robert M. Bell, chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Nalley made no reference in the letter to this week’s controversy over the tire deflation. He admitted to his supervisor and a Southern Maryland newspaper that he let the air out of the rear right tire of a 2004 Toyota Corolla parked outside the courthouse Monday.

Reached in his chamber Thursday, Nalley said, “Thank you, sir. I really don’t have anything to say.” Nalley, 65, is not resigning from the bench.

La Plata Police Chief Cassin B. Gittings said Thursday that an investigation into the tire deflation was continuing. Two county sheriff’s jail officers witnessed the incident, and one recorded it with his cellphone camera, said two sources familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity because the probe is ongoing.

Bell could not be reached Thursday. William D. Missouri, chief administrative judge of Maryland’s 7th Circuit, which includes Charles, said Nalley’s resignation from his post as chief administrative judge won’t be effective until Bell accepts it. “I suspect [Bell] will accept the resignation and make it effective immediately,” Missouri said.

As chief administrative judge, Nalley was responsible for assigning cases to judges and overseeing the Circuit Court’s budget and personnel, and he largely decided which defendants were entitled to continuances on court dates.

“The county administrative judge runs the court,” Missouri said.

The owner of the car, Jean Washington, 51, said that a Charles sheriff’s deputy told her Monday that Nalley was deflating her tire. Washington rushed out and moved her car to another parking area, where another deputy told her that the rear right tire was flat.

Washington said she did not have a permit for the first parking spot.

But would he be so understanding if the robe were on the other foot?

This comes from the AP…

LA PLATA, Md. — A circuit court judge has acknowledged he deflated a tire on a car parked in a restricted area near his courthouse earlier this week. But he isn’t apologizing.

Charles County Judge Robert C. Nalley told station WUSA on Wednesday that he let out the air because leaving notes for those parked illegally isn’t effective.

The chief administrative judge for Maryland’s 7th Circuit said Nalley told him what he had done on Monday. Judge William D. Missouri suggested to The Washington Post that Nalley might be sanctioned.

The owner of the car, Jean Washington, works part-time at the courthouse in La Plata as part of a cleaning crew and said she didn’t know she couldn’t park in the restricted area. She said she never received any warnings.

Police are investigating the incident.

It wasn’t me, it was my evil twin

This comes courtesy of the Houston Chronicle…

A Harris County grand jury this week will review whether a state district judge caused nearly $3,000 in damages to his neighbor’s Range Rover by scratching the vehicle with a key after a surveillance camera captured his actions on video.

Judge Woody Densen, 69, could be charged with felony criminal mischief. Prosecutors have reviewed the video, which the neighbor gave to Houston police.

Densen previously told the neighbor he didn’t know who damaged the car. Densen has not yet been charged with any crime and he has declined to comment.

The judge’s attorney, Robert Pelton, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening.

Adam Kliebert, 40, a home builder who lives next door to Densen in the Rice Village neighborhood, said he installed surveillance equipment inside his townhouse in the 2300 block of Bolsover at Morningside last month and focused the cameras on his driveway because his Range Rover and his ex-girlfriend’s Mercedes had been damaged on several occasions.

Scratches on door

Kliebert contacted Houston police May 23 after his video cameras recorded a man he said was Densen walking behind the vehicle and apparently tampering with the car twice that morning. More lengthy scratches were found on the rear door of Kliebert’s 2006 Range Rover when he went outside to inspect it.

Although Densen’s actions are partially obscured on the surveillance footage, his arm can be seen making contact with the car, sometimes gliding or moving in a jerking motion along the vehicle’s rear door.

On one occasion, Densen looks back over his shoulder before pausing for several seconds directly behind the vehicle, looking down and dragging his arm along the rear of the car.

“I could understand if it was the neighborhood kid — some punk kid that lives around here — but a judge?” Kliebert said. “I knew who did it — I just didn’t have proof.

“I thought whoever was doing this was doing it at night. I didn’t think he would do it in broad daylight,” he said.

In a secretly videotaped conversation the next day, Densen told Kliebert he didn’t know who damaged the vehicle, but suggested the vandalism might have occurred because the SUV was partially blocking the sidewalk.

“On that car, I’m sure it’s probably going to cost you a bit to take (the scratches) out and get it painted,” Densen tells Kliebert on the video.

Felony crime

Because damages to the car total more than $1,500, Den- sen could face a state jail felony charge if he is prosecuted. He would likely be suspended from serving as a visiting judge in any courtroom if he is indicted.

If convicted, Densen could face 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000. He could also be disciplined by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Densen presided over criminal cases as judge of the 248th State District Court in Harris County from 1983 until he was defeated in a re-election bid in 1994.

He later served as a visiting judge in various criminal courtrooms for many years. He remains eligible for visiting judge assignments, although he has not accepted any since the summer of 2007, court records show.

This is not the first time someone has complained of Densen’s conduct. In 2007, a group of Harris County defense lawyers filed a complaint with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, alleging Densen accepted a guilty plea from a defendant whose lawyer was not present and jailed a woman who appeared in court without counsel just days after she had fired her attorney.

The state commission dismissed the grievance without taking any action.

Densen voluntarily stopped accepting visiting judge assignments after that complaint was filed, said Kelly Smith, general counsel for Harris County’s district court judges.

In 1999, the state commission publicly admonished Densen for using the prestige of the judicial office to advance his private interests because he distributed invitations to his own election fundraiser while sitting on the bench as a visiting judge.