May 7, 2009 (Above the Law delivered by Newstex ) --
Two civil court judges in the Lone Star State got physical in their benchslapping yesterday, reports the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog:It was a reported shoving match between Judge Carlos Cortez of the 44th Civil District Court and Judge Eric V. Moy? of the 14th Civil District Court. The fight occurred in Cortez's chambers in front of a witness -- a Dallas County sheriff's deputy, according to Roger Mandel, who is Cortez's attorney. "Judge Cortez was physically assaulted by Judge Moye in Judge Cortez's chambers," Mandel said. "Judge Moye's conduct is being investigated by the Sheriff's Department."
Moy? went after Cortez in Cortez's own chambers! That's so wrong. One tipster explains why Moy? might have had an advantage in the tangle:I'd take Moy? in the fight... [he] is a long-time student of Aikido (see this - he's also a top Amazon reviewer) and I think he still teaches at his dojo. In any event, the interesting question is what this would do (true or not) to Moy?'s alleged aspirations to the federal bench (he was nominated by Clinton back in the day and is rumored to have a continuing interest).Well, we now know Moye is mighty capable of the judicial smackdown, an important part of being a federal judge. But it looks like he's going to be the subject of a criminal investigation, which can't be good for his aspirations.
More on this, why the judges were mixing it up, and Judge Cortez's MySpace page, after the jump.
The Dallas Morning News reports that the matter has been handed over to the Texas Rangers -- the police agency not the Baseball team -- for a criminal investigation.
But Moy? says he didn't throw any aikido moves at Cortez:"I went to talk to him about a couple of e-mails he sent, and he was verbally abusive. I pointed my finger at him and he pushed it away. That's it," Moy? said.What caused the judges to come to blows verbal abuse and finger pointing?Moy? said the e-mails were related to court business and declined to elaborate.Hmmm.... not very juicy. We'll monitor Judge Cortez's MySpace page in the hopes that he writes something about it on his MySpace blog. Yes, Judge Carlos Cortez is on MySpace. He's straight, single, and, most importantly, a Libra. Such a good astrological sign for a judge.
Smackdown in the Dallas County courthouse: two judges go after each other [Crime Blog/Dallas Morning News]Texas Rangers to look at Dallas County courts building confrontation between Judges Cortez, Moy? [Dallas Morning News]
Related: - - - -Newstex ID: 34740725
