A Dallas County grand jury has no billed a judge accused of family violence assault, the district attorney's office says.
Judge Carlos Cortez was arrested in the early-morning hours of Dec. 28, 2013, after police said he got into an argument with his girlfriend of 13 months. According to a police report, the woman claimed they had been drinking alcohol for several hours and that the couple began fighting over a child's medication.
The woman said Cortez grabbed her by her throat several times, dragged her by her hair to a balcony and leaned her over the edge while verbally threatening to kill her. The woman, identified in the report, displayed several marks on her neck to officers before being examined and treated that morning.
On Thursday, the Dallas County District Attorney's office said a Dallas County grand jury said the evidence presented did not support the charge and declined to indict the judge.
In a motion filed Dec. 30, 2013, Cortez said his girlfriend was trying to kill herself and he tried to pull her away from the balcony and asked a judge to throw out an emergency protective order granted against him on Dec. 29.
Should the grand jury have chosen to indict Cortez on the charge, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison for the third-degree felony if convicted.
Cortez has presided over the 44th State Civil District Court in Dallas County since 2006. Earlier this year, Cortez, a Democrat, filed for re-election in the 2014 race, according to the TCJL PAC.
