A Tarrant County felony court judge was arrested Saturday afternoon on suspicion of driving while intoxicated by Alvarado police patrolling Interstate 35W.
State District Judge Elizabeth Berry was booked into the Johnson County Jail about 4:25 p.m. Saturday on a probable cause warrant by Alvarado police, said sheriff’s Lt. Tim Jones.
Jones said the warrant indicated that Berry was arrested on northbound I-35W in Alvarado. She was booked, then released on a personal recognizance bond, he said.
The sheriff’s spokesman said he had no more information on the arrest. Alvarado Police Chief John Allen, the only person authorized to speak for his department, could not be reached for comment Monday night.
In a statement released through her attorney, Mark Daniel, Berry declined to discuss details of the DWI allegations.
"It is premature to discuss the accusation at this time," said Berry, who has presided over Criminal District Court No. 3 since 2003. "There are a number of factual and legal issues before I can make any statement.
"In the meantime, it’s my duty to preside over my court in an efficient manner and this matter will have no effect on my decisions."
Daniel said it is premature to discuss specifics including why police stopped Berry and whether she took a blood test.
"Judge Berry is a very highly respected judge," he said. "We are presently doing our own work and investigation. It is my belief that when all the dust settles this will likely be unfounded."
The Johnson County attorney’s office, which prosecutes misdemeanor DWI cases, probably won’t get the case for two weeks, a representative said.
In March, two African-American defense attorneys sought Berry’s removal from their clients’ cases. They cited a racist e-mail purportedly written by Berry to her court reporter about an African-American court reporter.
During a hearing conducted by a Dallas County judge, the Tarrant County district attorney’s office presented evidence that the e-mail was a fake and did not come from Berry’s computer. Attorney Lesa Pamplin then dropped her recusal motion. The Dallas judge also said there was no evidence that Berry had written the e-mail.
1 comment:
Wow, that just proves it is all about who you know, who you are, and if you have the money to defend yourself. How can she still be sitting on the bench, when she is a criminal herself!!! Her blood test thrown out because it was taken in an unsanitary environment?? What a crock! Two hours later and you are still double over the legal limit, you are guilty no matter where your blood is taken. What kind of justice system is this!!??? I had to testify two weeks ago in front of her, she is that most disrespectful, unprofessional person I have ever been around. She didn't even have the respect to look the attorney in the eye when he was doing his closing statement. How do we know she is in her right mind up there; not worried about her own case, or maybe she is intoxicated???
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