Photo: Austin Police Department
A judge in Texas who presides over drunk driving cases has been arrested for the same crime, arrest records show.
Judge John Lipscombe was booked into Travis County Jail on Saturday after he got into an argument in a parking lot, according to KVUE, citing an affidavit.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday (May 7), police were called to the scene in the parking lot of the Homewood Suites on Stonelake Boulevard in north Austin where Lipscombe was trying to back into a parking space when he almost hit another man's car. Lipscombe and the man got into an argument. The judge then drove around the parking lot and parked in a handicap spot out front. Police said Lipscombe "appeared slow to answer questions and was overall disoriented," police said. Officials added Lipscombe was slurring his words and had a faint odor of alcohol.
The affidavit says the judge who has been on the bench for 11 years had "a couple of drinks at his house but not even to get messy." He added he was home from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Lipscombe was argumentative, according to the affidavit that says he refused a preliminary breath test. After a blood test was administered, the judge was charged with driving while intoxicated, according to KVUE.
The news outlet asked the judge's office if any of his drunken driving cases would be affected by the arrest. His office said, "Judge Lipscombe will not be making a statement at this time. We have a visiting judge covering his docket and other matters starting today and until he returns. At this time, we do not know when he will return."