HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A rookie Harris County Criminal Court judge elected during the "blue wave" of Democrat election winners is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Houston Police Department, Channel 2 has learned.
A spokesperson for HPD confirmed the agency's Major Offenders squad is now investigating an allegation that an assault occurred in Judge Lee Wilson's courtroom.
Wilson was elected to the bench last November. He is the judge for Harris County Criminal Court No. 10.
"We've been made aware of an allegation of assault against Judge Wilson and as required by judicial canon we are filing a report to the state commission on judicial conduct," Judge Darrell Jordan, presiding judge of Harris County Criminal Courts at Law, said in a statement to Channel 2.
Sources tell KPRC-TV the judge is accused of assaulting an attorney's legal assistant after Wilson was not pleased with where she was sitting in his courtroom.
The alleged victim in the case has not been publicly identified.
"We expect judges to be fair, courteous and professional in their temperament. To have a judge put his hands on another person in court is outrageous and unacceptable. Any other person would be sitting in jail if they did what the judge did to my client," the plaintiff's attorney, Thuy Le, said.
Attempts to reach Wilson by phone and email late Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Channel 2 legal analyst Brian Wice said that if criminally charged, the type of charge, will play a large role in Wilson's future.
"Whether or not he violated the class A misdemeanor of official oppression, that's a much bigger deal," Wice said.
Class A misdemeanor convictions can carry penalties of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Wilson had not been charged with or convicted of any crime as of Friday.