Justice of the Paddle
Officials won't appeal jurisdiction issue
Issue date: 6/17/08 Section: STATE
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) _ No appeal is planned to a state judge's ruling that he has jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit to end spankings in a Los Fresnos justice of the peace's courtroom, Cameron County officials said.
State District Judge Abel C. Limas issued the ruling. Los Fresnos Justice of the Peace Gustavo Garza was sued by three families who say Garza left them with no real option when he told them they must pay a fine for their children's transgressions or paddle them in open court.
County Chief Counsel Richard O. Burst said in a story for Tuesday's edition of The Brownsville Herald that the issue of jurisdiction can be appealed at any point, but that it is not being considered.
Limas asserted jurisdiction last week and issued an order directing Garza to stop spankings as an option for disciplining children in his courtroom until he resolves the case. Mary Vasquez and her husband Daniel Zurita of Los Fresnos brought the lawsuit against Garza.
Two other families from Los Fresnos have joined the suit, alleging that Garza compelled them to spank their children or face $500 fines and the threat of criminal conviction against the children. Limas will address the question of whether Garza is protected by judicial immunity in a hearing June 26.
Plaintiffs' attorney Mark E. Sossi argued that Garza is not entitled to immunity because, as he testified last week, he was not acting judicially or adjudicating any issue before him at the time. Sossi argued in an amended petition filed Monday that Garza compelled the parents to paddle their children for personal reasons.
"This is evidenced by his contention that ... he never formally ordered the paddlings as part of a sentence, court order or as a condition of deferred adjudication or community supervision," Sossi wrote in the amended petition.
Burst has argued that the spanking had been an alternative and that Garza had not ordered it.
"It was a choice," Burst told the court at an initial hearing.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
State District Judge Abel C. Limas issued the ruling. Los Fresnos Justice of the Peace Gustavo Garza was sued by three families who say Garza left them with no real option when he told them they must pay a fine for their children's transgressions or paddle them in open court.
County Chief Counsel Richard O. Burst said in a story for Tuesday's edition of The Brownsville Herald that the issue of jurisdiction can be appealed at any point, but that it is not being considered.
Limas asserted jurisdiction last week and issued an order directing Garza to stop spankings as an option for disciplining children in his courtroom until he resolves the case. Mary Vasquez and her husband Daniel Zurita of Los Fresnos brought the lawsuit against Garza.
Two other families from Los Fresnos have joined the suit, alleging that Garza compelled them to spank their children or face $500 fines and the threat of criminal conviction against the children. Limas will address the question of whether Garza is protected by judicial immunity in a hearing June 26.
Plaintiffs' attorney Mark E. Sossi argued that Garza is not entitled to immunity because, as he testified last week, he was not acting judicially or adjudicating any issue before him at the time. Sossi argued in an amended petition filed Monday that Garza compelled the parents to paddle their children for personal reasons.
"This is evidenced by his contention that ... he never formally ordered the paddlings as part of a sentence, court order or as a condition of deferred adjudication or community supervision," Sossi wrote in the amended petition.
Burst has argued that the spanking had been an alternative and that Garza had not ordered it.
"It was a choice," Burst told the court at an initial hearing.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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