Deputies in Galveston arrested a Harris County district court judge on New Year’s Eve following a domestic violence allegation, according to authorities.
Frank Aguilar, the elected jurist in the 228th District Court, was arrested by Galveston County Sheriff’s Office around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the 9600 block of Teichman Road on a misdemeanor assault charge involving family violence, police records show.
Court records pertaining to Aguilar’s arrest were not available Tuesday. Aguilar declined to comment but said he does not yet have a lawyer.
As court resumed at Harris County criminal courthouse following the holiday weekend, Aguilar did not return to work. The docket resumed Tuesday morning with an associate judge on the bench.
Susan Brown, who oversees the 11th Administrative Judicial Region of Texas, said Aguilar was expected to be out for the rest of the week pending a decision by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Amanda Cain, a spokesperson for the Administration Office of the District Courts, said Aguilar’s ability to preside over the bench is not “automatically impacted” by the allegations.
“Only the State Commission on Judicial Conduct could take action that would affect Judge Aguilar’s ability to preside while the Galveston case is pending,” Cain said. “Judge Aguilar has independently chosen to have associate judges and other district court judges handle his docket this week.”
Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and as noted the State Commission on Judicial Conduct gets to make the official call about whether or not Judge Aguilar can stay on the bench while this case plays out. We have had elected officials continue to serve in their capacity after being arrested for something (you know who I’m referring to here), so it’s appropriate to let the process commence and see where it goes. You yourself are free to make whatever assessments you want. We’ll see if there’s more news on this forthcoming.