Travis County Judge DWI. The Austin Police Department recently announced the arrest of John Lipscombe, a judge from Travis County, on alleged charges of driving while intoxicated.
According to the official arrest affidavit, Lipscombe’s arrest came after he was said to have gotten into a verbal altercation with another individual following Lipscombe attempting to back into a parking space and almost hitting another vehicle. The incident occurred at a parking lot in Northwest Austin.
Police were then called and dispatched to the area, where the responding officers made contact with Lipscombe and noticed that he appeared to be slow to answer their questions and was also disoriented. No field sobriety test was administered due to Lipscombe suffering from a broken right ankle; however, the responding officers did request that he perform three other tests, but Lipscombe refused. He then admitted to having consumed a couple of drinks at his home, claiming that he had two double shots of rum and coke throughout an hour-long period. Lipscombe was also said to be argumentative and when officers requested that he count backwards from 76 to 56, he kept counting to 51 and wasn’t able to recall any of the instructions that were given to him.
Prosecutors are said to still be deciding on exactly how to proceed with the case and are also waiting on more evidence, such as Lipscombe’s blood alcohol level.
Since 2011, Lipscombe has presided over Travis County Court at Law No. 3. He says he does not plan to resign following this incident; however, it remains unclear as to whether or not he will return to the bench. According to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Lipscombe can legally return to work and hear cases unless he ends up getting convicted. Additionally, County Attorney Delia Garza has stated that her office will not ask Lipscombe to step aside from handling cases involving drunk driving, which makes up 65% of Lipcombe’s overall cases.
Travis County Judge DWI. If Lipscombe does not come back to the bench, he will still be able to hold the office; however, the county will need to hire a visiting judge at a $2,950 weekly rate, potentially costing the county approximately $80,000 between now and the end of 2022, which is when Lipscombe’s current term expires. The county is currently paying a visiting judge to cover Lipscombe’s seat and, since the arrest, has spent about $5,000 for this.