quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
She was appointed and sworn in as a Judge, therefore, for the period of time she was sitting on the bench, she was a Judge.

Her lack of qualifications would have been a bar to her being appointed and sworn in, had it been caught at the time. Her lack of qualifications are now grounds for her removal from the bench, but it doesn't undo the fact that she was, in fact, already a Judge.

Her rulings will still be valid.

I'm not sure about this. It is a state law, according to the post above your, thanks SDY.

Why isn't that jurisdictional?

I recall decades ago, one of our title company competitors was using their salesmen to post Notices of Sale on properties being foreclosed. The Civil Code set out the requirements for posting, where, when, by whom, one requirement of which was posting was done by a US citizen. The poster swore an affidavit of posting which was evidence that state law had been complied with. It turned out one of the salesmen was a Canadian citizen, and they had to go back and redo all those sales.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
Anyone who thinks it is acceptable for a NON US citizen to be a judge is well, wrong. I don't care who's fault it was, hers, the state government, whomever.

Citizenship is suppose to mean something. It gets diluted more and more everyday. I don't care if she is a lawful permanent resident, she is not a citizen. She didn't put in the effort, the legwork, to become one. I don't care if she only decided small claims court under $100 dollars, you should have to be a citizen to do that.

So if it's ok for them to be judges, what's next? Being eligible to vote in the presidential election? Where does it stop? When does citizenship MEAN something???

I am lucky enough to be a US citizen by birth. I have great friends who earned that citizenship through service. She sure as hell didn't earn a judgeship. Let her put in the effort for citizenship. IF she wants it.

How the hell is it ok for someone to represent American justice if they can't even take the time to become a US citizen? Boggles my mind that people think this is ok. Not laying blame on any side, just that this is ok.

Thank you for posting this, I wholeheartedly agree.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
I am under the impression that citizenship was required for the CA Bar until fairly recently.

I recall being unhappy to learn that a previously illegal alien was to be admitted sans citizenship. Am I misremembering?

Jerry Shitstain Brown and his minions made sure to allow illegal aliens in the CA bar by passing a law in late 2013. You are not misremembering.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
So to break this down, a non-citizen was in a position to deprive citizens of their rights by sending them to prison?

No, municipal court judges in Texas cannot send people to jail, only fine only offenses and city ordinance violations, which cannot be jailable.

You need to be a county court judge to rule on a jailable misdemeanor and a district court judge to do felonies

What year is this? How does this even happen?

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
So to break this down, a non-citizen was in a position to deprive citizens of their rights by sending them to prison?

Municipal courts don't try felonies, so no she wasn't sentencing anyone to prison. AT WORST she could place them in the city (not county) jail...most commonly, municipal courts hand out fines for traffic offences, improper signage, failing to mow one's lawn, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
Dishonest? She didn't tell the truth, the whole truth.

They didn't ask her and it wasn't asked in the application

As a practicing attorney, she should know the rules. Knowing there is an error in the application process and not revealing it shows her character.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Investigate the department who hired her. Lets see all their I-9 forms.
Who signed hers?

Being a lawful permanent resident satisfies the I-9 requirements to work here for most jobs. Whoever is signing off on the I-9 is just verifying that the documents checked are real.

"For most jobs."

LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:


An I-9 form just verifies that someone is eligible to work. Non-citizens submit the I-9 forms, same as everyone else--they just mark a different box.

Her I-9 likely showed that she was a lawful permanent resident, but nobody cared until now.

"Likely" LOL. Let's not bother checking.

"Nobody cared until now" Because,caught. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

quote:

Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:

If you went to another country and ran across an ad for a municipal judge position, you would think it perfectly reasonable not to even consider that there might be some random municipal rule that requires that you have citizenship?

If I was a member in good standing of the Bar of that county, yes.

(c) A municipal judge must:
(1) be a resident of this state;
(2) be a citizen of the United States;
(3) be a licensed attorney in good standing; and
(4) have two or more years of experience in the practice of law in this state.

If (2) doesn't mean Jack Shit, why does (3)? Or, even, (4)?

^^^ Multiple choice?

For almost 98K, I pick #2 and will apply ASAP.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Excam_Man,

98k would likely be a downgrade in pay for most any lawyer who might be prominent enough to be considered for a judgeship. I don't think money is the draw.

Fuck her pay grade. Is she a US citizen?

Since people have no idea what it means to be a US citizen, let me remind you.

Being a citizen is earned, not given. I am lucky to have been borne free.

quote:

98k would likely be a downgrade in pay for most any lawyer who might be prominent enough to be considered for a judgeship

Not really. Many municipal judges in smaller towns are small practice individuals who use that money as a needed bump. Many of those positions are part time.

Wonder how many times said 'judge' has used that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" line?

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
Dishonest? She didn't tell the truth, the whole truth.

They didn't ask her and it wasn't asked in the application

As a practicing attorney, she should know the rules. Knowing there is an error in the application process and not revealing it shows her character.

^^ This.
How can she be qualified to judge if she was not even aware of the lawful requirements to obtain the position she applied for.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
Citizenship is suppose to mean something. It gets diluted more and more everyday.

This is spot on. There's a significant and meaningful difference between a citizen and a non-citizen, an immigrant and an illegal immigrant.

As a citizen I'm accountable to the laws whether I know them or not.

I would like judges to be legal US citizens. It was right to suspend this "judge". Any rulings null and void - I don't care how painful that is - if they were for jaywalking or spitting your gum out on the sidewalk. Whoever changed the application should be terminated for either 1. incompetence or 2. being a subversive. Most likely it is both. For some reason I do not think this was an unintentional omission.

So judge, before you rule on my case I would like to know - are you a US citizen, did you get your position by following the legal process and all the pesky rules and regulations? You know like the ones you are about to hold me accountable to.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

quote:

Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:

If you went to another country and ran across an ad for a municipal judge position, you would think it perfectly reasonable not to even consider that there might be some random municipal rule that requires that you have citizenship?

If I was a member in good standing of the Bar of that county, yes.

(c) A municipal judge must:
(1) be a resident of this state;
(2) be a citizen of the United States;
(3) be a licensed attorney in good standing; and
(4) have two or more years of experience in the practice of law in this state.

If (2) doesn't mean Jack Shit, why does (3)? Or, even, (4)?

Very good point here! What if nobody at the HR office decided to ask if she were licensed in the State of Texas to practice law, I mean she could have been licensed in South Korea and she thought it was okay, right? Would those of you saying that it's okay for her to be a non-citizen still think everything is okay?

To me, everything about this stinks like a pile of rotted fish. Who is to say this isn't a case of cronyism where the mayor looked the other way while a known law was broken? Someone knew of the requirement to be a voter yet somehow this little tidbit was "overlooked" and she went on to be a judge for 2 years collecting the better part of $200k.

Another thing that really doesn't pass the sniff test to me:
quoted from the USA Today story SDY posted "But U.S. citizenship is a requirement to be a municipal court judge, according to the city’s ordinance."

Some of you believe that a judge handing judgments to people not in compliance with city ordinances, didn't know about the requirement to be a U.S. citizen as stated in the city ordinance? I can't!

Regardless of whether or not her job duties includes trying felony cases or just speeding violations, a NON-CITIZEN is handing a judgement out against CITIZENS. In whose mind is that okay???

Aeteocles, if it comes out that she knowingly applied for the position which she was unqualified for, should the judgments be dismissed then? And punishment, what would be appropriate because as you asked earlier, what law did she break?

Honestly, I would like to see whether the city took any other applications (for this position and any others with the citizenship requirement) shortly before and directly after hers to see whether they included the necessary documentation showing they were eligible applicants!

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
So to break this down, a non-citizen was in a position to deprive citizens of their rights by sending them to prison?

Now that you put it that way...

^ Well, more like fine them for Jaywalking, but the absurdity is the same...

that a non-citizen was in a position of legal authority superior to a citizen, and made legal judgements upon them, here, on American soil, is fucking crazy. absolutely fucking crazy.

She either knew, or was absurdly naive, either of which disqualify her from the job.

Philosophically, at least.

I'm appalled, and whether or not she did a good job is wholly irrelevant.

I'm surprised it needs explaining or has support at all.