Daily Mail
Spiky-haired lesbian judge who owns rainbow gun slammed over outrageous courtroom remark to female defendant
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
By JOE HUTCHISON, US NEWS REPORTER
Published: 10:51 EST, 15 January 2026 | Updated: 11:32 EST, 15 January 2026
A lesbian judge was condemned after telling a female defendant who'd suffered a pregnancy scare to buy a vibrator because it would cause her 'less trouble', former staffers said.
Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez oversees Reflejo Court, which is a trauma-informed treatment program which hopes to help first-time domestic violence offenders deal with the root causes of their issues rather than jail time.
Despite the nature of the program, Gonzalez - who was once fined for bringing a loaded rainbow-painted gun through an airport - has become increasingly erratic in the last year and started attacking defendants, former workers have claimed.
Cynthia Garcia, who provided therapy to court participants, told KSAT that Gonzalez' behavior shifted dramatically in the last year.
This included Gonzalez, who is a member of San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame, allegedly telling a female defendant to 'invest in batteries' and buy a vibrator, telling the woman it would be 'less trouble', Garcia said.
In another outburst, Garcia claimed that Gonzalez gave another dressing down to an 18-year-old homeless man after sexual content was found on his phone.
According to Garcia, she called the teenager a 'f****** poser' in open court, which left him 'shaking'.
In July of last year an email from Garcia listed her concerns about a defendant, which prompted an abrasive response from Gonzalez.
She replied that staff should 'stay in our respective lanes' before telling those on the email chain to seek therapy if they thought she was singling anyone out.
The next day Garcia was called into her manager's office and then told she was being removed from Reflejo Court.
She was employed by the nonprofit American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions at the time, but with her hours slashed after being removed she quit.
Speaking with KSAT, she said: '[Gonzalez] began lashing out at defendants in court. I couldn't believe some of the things that were being put on the record.'
On her being removed, she said: 'It was hurtful because I put my heart into my work. And just the betrayal from somebody I considered a friend.
'I was doing my work to the best of my ability and reaching the women, to really change and encourage them to use their voice, build up their confidence, learn to be independent and just really build up their strength.'
It wasn't just Garcia who noticed a massive shift in her behavior, with complex care manager Crystal Ochoa also left appalled at her change in demeanor.
She told the outlet: 'The behavior she gave was aggressive, when it did not need to be.
'It became very like "No, this is what I’m saying. I’m the judge. I’m going to do this, whether you all like it or no". It was just not appropriate.'
Like Garcia, she too was removed from the court with the facility she worked for then terminating her position for not completing case notes.
She told the outlet that this was not the actual reason for her dismissal, believing that her former employer, Center for Health Care Services, feared Gonzalez.
Ochoa said: 'I remember specifically one of my supervisors saying, "I don’t want to get into another phone call with this judge and it being like her yelling at me".
'How could you allow someone who is not even part of your agency remove someone when there is no cause?
'It’s her court. She can do as she pleases, but I don’t think she took into account the situations that these individuals were going through. And I think that was heartbreaking for a lot of them.'
In September of last year, Gonzalez issued a no-contact order which stopped the remainder of court staff from speaking with Garcia, Ochoa and two others.
Her email, obtained by the outlet, said: 'A breach of this directive will be grounds for removal from the team.'
It wasn't just care workers that were affected also, with Gonzalez ordering a defense attorney placed in cuffs and placed in the jury box in 2024, KSAT reported.
Attorney Elizabeth Russell and Gonzalez had a back and forth over a motion to throw out a probation hearing when Russell's client pleaded 'true' to an allegation.
She asked for time to speak with her client privately, before Gonzalez said: 'Stop. It’s on the record. Your argumentative ways are not going to work today.
'Stop. Stop, or I’ll hold you in contempt, Ms. Russell. I will hold you in contempt.'
Russell was then held in custody and put in the jury box, with Russell later filing a criminal complaint accusing her of oppression and unlawful restraint.
In a statement, Gonzalez said: 'At this time, I will not be disclosing information regarding any individual or non profit vendor involved.
'Out of respect for process, privacy, and the integrity of our partnerships, it is important that we allow the appropriate systems to function without speculation or distraction.
Judge Gonzalez previously hit the headlines in 2022 after being ordered to take down a Pride flag from her courtroom. The following year she won an appeal and the emblem was allowed to remain.
In October 2022, Gonzalez was fined almost $2,500 after she was caught bringing a loaded pistol with a rainbow paint job through San Antonio International Airport.
She said she had made an honest mistake and forgotten the weapon was in her bag.
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