Harris County Judge Natalia Cornelio takes stand to fight public reprimand

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County District Judge Natalia "Nata" Cornelio took the stand in Austin on Tuesday at a rare hearing to fight a public reprimand, explaining her side of controversial decisions that landed her in trouble last year.

The reprimand, issued by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct last October, stems from Cornelio's handling of an appeal involving death row inmate Ronald Haskell, who was convicted in the 2014 murders of six members of his ex-wife's family. Prosecutors accused the judge of favoring the defense, leading to her removal from the case in January 2025.

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According to the commission's findings, Cornelio's actions "cast public discredit on the judiciary and the administration of justice." The panel cited a "secret" bench warrant she issued in July 2024, ordering Haskell's return to Harris County for a midnight court hearing that never took place. During that time, Haskell remained in the county jail for three weeks and received an MRI at a private clinic near the Texas Medical Center.

The reprimand also faulted Cornelio for agreeing, without a hearing, to keep Haskell's transport logs secret, concluding that the decision further deprived prosecutors of an opportunity to be heard.

Cornelio disagreed with the commission's determination and appealed.

The hearing, in front of a Special Court of Review comprised of three justices, began Tuesday morning in Austin with opening statements. The state, represented by attorneys with the Attorney General's Office, called Cornelio as its first witness.

The judge has acknowledged that the bench warrant contained inaccurate information about a nonexistent court appearance because, she said, her staff just used a standard form. She admitted that she "should have been more careful" and said she has since taken steps to prevent similar mistakes.

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Cornelio's attorney, Derek Hollingsworth, then worked to establish that she was not sympathetic to the defendant and was just following the law as best she knew at the time. Cornelio, who took the bench in 2020, had never been involved in a death row case before Haskell's.

Cornelio testified that she kept the Haskell filings "ex parte" or outside the knowledge of prosecutors to protect the defendant's privileged information. Her testimony wrapped up with a direct appeal to the justices.

"I hope you all are able to see in the evidence I was being very careful in this case, even if I made mistakes," Cornelio said. "I duly consider both sides -- the law, the facts, the evidence."

Cornelio's testimony was followed by that of Joshua Reiss, General Counsel for the Harris County District Attorney's Office, who formerly headed up the Post-Conviction Writs Division when all of this came to light in 2024. He repeatedly called Cornelio's actions "a fraud" in Haskell's favor and addressed the motion Cornelio granted the defense without a hearing.

"I felt that the judge's comment on the motion to quash reflected that she was not only putting her thumb on the scale for Ronald Haskell, but that she was putting her whole hand on it and pushing," Reiss testified.

A decision is not expected for weeks, and while the reprimand does not remove Cornelio from the bench, it will remain part of her public record, unless the court rules in her favor.

Cornelio, now serving her second term, was elected in October 2025 by her peers as the Harris County Administrative Judge, a leadership role overseeing fellow district judges.

Her current judicial term runs through 2028.

The hearing resumes on Wednesday morning.

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