Bexar County Court at Law Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez was indicted Thursday on felony and misdemeanor charges tied to a courtroom dispute in which a defense attorney was handcuffed and confined in the jury box.
Speedlin Gonzalez turned herself in and was booked into the Bexar County Jail on January 29. She serves as judge of Bexar County Court at Law No. 13.
Speedlin Gonzalez faces one count of unlawful restraint by a judicial officer, a felony, and one count of official oppression, a misdemeanor. Each charge carries a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.
The charges stem from a conflict with defense attorney Elizabeth Russell during a motion to revoke probation hearing. During the hearing, the defendant pleaded “true” to one of the allegations when Russell requested time to confer with her client, whom a source familiar with the incident described as functioning below average intellectually, KSAT reported.
Prosecutors allege Speedlin Gonzalez ordered the attorney to be handcuffed and confined in the jury box, unlawfully restricting her movement and interfering substantially with her liberty.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales recused his office from the case in September 2025, as KSAT reported. Then District Attorney Brian Cromeens, who oversees DeWitt and Goliad counties, was assigned special prosecutor October 1.
Speedlin Gonzalez first took office in 2018, and her term expires in December 2026. She is running for reelection in the Democratic primary against attorney Alicia Perez.
Speedlin Gonzalez has previously drawn national attention over disputes involving courtroom decor and judicial conduct.
In 2020, the judge said she was ordered to remove a rainbow pride flag and other pride-themed items from her courtroom following a complaint filed with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct, according to NBC News.
At the time, Speedlin Gonzalez said she felt she was being “targeted” and argued the directive unfairly singled her out, while the commission cited provisions of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct governing courtroom decorum and impartiality.
Texas Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez who was just arrested for handcuffing an attorney, was in a battle over her pride flags. She claims she was “targeted” for being asked to remove all her lgbtq merch from around the courtroom.
These DEI judges are a national embarrassment. https://t.co/7kMoUBu5Eh pic.twitter.com/vKpTMtQBeY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 30, 2026
In 2022, Speedlin-Gonzalez paid a $2,475 civil penalty after TSA agents found a loaded handgun in her luggage at San Antonio International Airport, according to KSAT. At the time, she dismissed it as an oversight.
In 2020, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a warning against Speedlin-Gonzalez, as the San Antonio Current reported. She allegedly made at least eight posts on Facebook, congratulating attorneys who won verdicts in her courtroom.
