Texas Judge Is Too-Often Rude, Another Judge & Lawyer Complain
Another judge and a Texas lawyer have both complained to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct that 44th District Judge Carlos Cortez of Dallas is often rude to colleagues on the bench.
Cortez “berates, belittles and ridicules his fellow judges both to the public and to other judges,” attorney Randy Johnston of Dallas contends in a May 13 letter of complaint, reports Texas Lawyer.
Judge Marty Lowy of the 101st District also complained to the commission about Cortez about a month later, contending that he has engaged in “abusive behavior towards his colleagues” that is documented in “numerous” e-mails.
As detailed in a previous ABAJournal.com post, Cortez also reportedly was involved in an in-chambers shoving match with another district judge, Eric Moyé, earlier this year.
Cortez declined to comment to the legal publication. But in a three-page written statement, his attorneys tell Texas Lawyer that he is not and has never been under investigation by the commission and has appropriately expressed valid concerns about colleagues in private and confidential communications. Cortez works well with his colleagues on his bench and is respected by them, as evidenced by their frequent requests to him to speak on their behalf on matters of public concern, his lawyers say.
“He’s one of the brightest young men I know and has the potential for good. And people look up to him. And this conduct is very disappointing,” states Johnston.
