Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez is caught up in criminal proceedings after she ordered that a defense attorney be handcuffed in court.
SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez was suspended without pay by a Texas commission one week after she was indicted on multiple charges related to a December 2024 incident in which she ordered that an attorney be handcuffed in court.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued the suspension Thursday, saying it will remain in effect until either the charges are dismissed, Speedlin-Gonzalez is acquitted or the commission issues a new order on the matter. The suspension is effective immediately.
Speedlin-Gonzalez, who presides over Bexar County Court at Law No. 13, was indicted Jan. 29 on official oppression and unlawful restraint by a peace officer/judge. According to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, should Speedlin-Gonzalez be convicted and decided not to appeal, she would be “automatically removed from office.”
The charges stem from a Dec. 17, 2024, probation hearing for a domestic violence suspect who allegedly violated his conditions of release. According to court transcripts, defense attorney Elizabeth Russell conferred with the defendant multiple times while he was being questioned by Speedlin-Gonzalez.
At one point, the judge said “attorneys are not allowed to coach answers for their clients” and said the defendant’s initial responses would remain on the record. Things escalated when court transcripts state Russell objected to the judge’s categorization of the events.
“Stop,” Speedlin-Gonzalez then said to Russell. “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.”
“Your Honor, I’m allowed to speak,” Russell responded.
“You are allowed to speak, but you’re not allowed to be argumentative and argue just for the sake of argument,” Speedlin-Gonzalez countered.
Speedlin-Gonzalez then requested for Russell to be taken into custody, just eight minutes into the hearing.
“Put her in the box,” she said. “We are not having this hearing this way.”
Russell later accuses Speedlin-Gonzalez of “bias and prejudice,” and the judge threatens to prevent her from “being able to practice in this courtroom” in the future, according to the court transcript. They fling one last threat of filing grievances against the other before the transcript concludes.
Speedlin-Gonzalez was assigned a $20,000 bond and was released after posting bail, per online records. Mark Stevens, who is representing the judge, previously told KENS 5 that “we will be doing whatever is necessary to ensure justice is done.”
The commission has suspended just seven judges across Texas since the start of 2025.