Judge Kelli Johnson of Harris County arrested and charged with DWI – Houston Public Media

Judge Kelli Johnson, twice elected presiding judge of the Harris County Criminal Court, was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The 52-year-old Democrat, who ran unopposed in the March primary, was previously arrested in mid-April on suspicion of driving under the influence by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which said Johnson passed a field sobriety test at the time and was ultimately issued a speeding citation. She also took personal leave earlier this year, according to Amanda Cain, spokeswoman for the Harris County Administrative Office of the District Courts.

Cain also said Wednesday that the 178th already has visiting judges^vol District Court “at least for the rest of the week.” She declined to provide further information about Johnson’s previous absences.

“We just can’t talk about her personal stuff,” Cain said. “We’re focused on keeping 178^t fully functional.”

Johnson’s defense attorney, Christopher Tritico, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, where Johnson worked as an assistant district attorney for 17 years before becoming a judge, said the office would not prosecute DWI cases and declined to comment further on the case.

Another Democratic state District Court judge in Harris County, Judge Frank Aguilar, was suspended from the bench in February by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct because he was charged with domestic assault following an incident in late December at his Galveston County home. Johnson could also face suspension because the commission’s website lists drunk driving as an extrajudicial offense that would constitute a judicial misdemeanor.

Jacqueline Habersham, the commission’s executive director, did not immediately respond to a Wednesday email seeking comment.

Johnson was the first openly gay woman elected judge in Harris County, according to her biography on the court’s website. She was first elected in 2016, reelected in 2020 and has presided over several high-profile cases, including the murder trial of Antonio “AJ” Armstrong Jr., who was convicted last year of murdering his parents as a teenager in 2016 . two previous trials ended in hung juries.

Johnson was stopped in the Jersey Village area on the night of April 12 by a Harris County Sheriff’s Office patrol supervisor, who said Wednesday that the officer “smelled what he believed to be an alcoholic beverage on her breath.” Johnson was then given a field sobriety test and “there were insufficient indications to determine whether she was under the influence of alcohol or otherwise impaired,” according to a sheriff’s office spokesman, who said she was subsequently released.

Court records show Johnson was arrested on a DWI charge around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday. She was released from prison on bail on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in court on July 2.

As part of the court’s bail conditions, Johnson is prohibited from consuming alcohol or over-the-counter drugs. She is also prohibited from driving a motor vehicle without an alcohol monitoring device.