Timeline of Judge Rudy Delgado’s legal problems
September 2002: 93rd state District Judge Rudy Delgado is arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, and evading arrest, a felony, after a police officer sees him driving on the wrong side of Monte Cristo Road in Edinburg.
December 2002: A grand jury finds there is not enough evidence to indict Delgado on the evading arrest charge.
September 2004: Delgado files a lawsuit against the city of Edinburg and the Edinburg Police Department claiming that the city and the department conspired to arrest him.
November 2004: The civil lawsuit is moved to federal court.
January 2005: A visiting judge dismisses the DWI charge against Delgado, saying that Delgado’s constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated.
February 2005: An Hidalgo County grand jury indicts Delgado on felony charges of evading arrest and misuse of official information stemming from accusations that he fled from an Edinburg police officer during the 2002 drunken driving arrest and then illegally obtained his arrest report.
February 2005: The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct suspends Delgado with pay pending the outcome of the felony charges.
June 2006: A federal judge drops the city of Edinburg and two Edinburg police officers from Delgado’s lawsuit. The arresting officer, Edgar Rivas, who has become a U.S. Border Patrol agent, remains a defendant in the civil case.
April 2007: A visiting judge denies the prosecution’s request to remove Judge Bobby Flores of the 139th state District Court from hearing the criminal case.
June 7, 2007: A visiting judge dismisses the felony charges against Delgado.
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Monitor staff writer Jennifer L. Berghom compiled this timeline from Monitor archives.
