HOUSTON – The new Assistant District Attorney Pro Tem Taylor Vanegas from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, issued his first motion in the DWI case against Judge Kelli Johnson.
A special prosecutor was assigned the case after the Harris County District Attorney’s Office recused itself.
In the motion, Vanegas stated the order to seal personal information prevents the state and the public from seeing the entirety of the Harris County District Clerk’s file.
Vanegas also argued in the motion, “The State remains unopposed to the redaction and protection of any personal identifying information of the defendant.”
He noted that he spoke with Judge Johnson’s attorney Chris Tritico, “who advises that he is unopposed and enters this motion jointly with the state.”
The presiding judge agreed and ordered that the seal of information placed last week be vacated, and that her personal information be redacted.
Judge Johnson was arrested for a DWI around the 11600 block of Hempstead Road in late June. Tritico told us Johnson was not intoxicated and a breath test came back at 0.0. He added, “This situation was not caused by an alcohol or drug abuse issue. The brief medical episode is being immediately addressed with her doctor.”
Since the arrest, the judge was taken to a mental health hospital by Houston Police Department officers on a ‘to be’ warrant.’ During a welfare check, Judge Johnson became combative when officers showed up, according to KPRC 2 Investigate sources in the Harris County Court System and the Houston Police Department.
The series of incidents involving Judge Johnson comes after her court reporter, Gail Rolen, filed a judicial complaint. Rolen told KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun Judge Johnson was “completely out of control and no one knows what to do but watch her self-destruct.”
It’s unclear if the judge was released from the mental hospital.
She is due back in court for a hearing on August 6th.
All of the cases within the 178th District Court are reassigned to other judges indefinitely.
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