AUSTIN - El Paso attorney Theresa Caballero's law license is headed for probation after she won a motion in the Eighth Court of Appeals.
A divided appellate panel on Wednesday granted Caballero's request for a writ of mandamus, which orders a judge to sign a disciplinary order he had refused to sign. The court ordered a visiting judge to sign an agreement putting Caballero's license on probation for nine months and charged her $1,000 in fees.
Two members of the three-justice panel ruled that the judge, George D. Gilles of Midland, did not have the discretion to reject a 2012 punishment agreement between Caballero and the State Bar of Texas' Commission for Lawyer Discipline.
Caballero and her co-counsel, Stuart Leeds, faced punishment stemming from their behavior in a 2011 trial in which their client, 448th District Judge Regina Arditti, was acquitted of bribery.
Caballero was accusing the judge, Steven Smith of College Station, of racism even before the trial started. In 2012, Caballero and Leeds were convicted of criminal contempt after a weeklong long trial of charges Smith filed against them.
During the Arditti trial, Caballero improperly accused the judge and the prosecutor of being in cahoots and she intentionally impeded the trial, the judge in the contempt case ruled. Caballero was fined $900, but the judge probated the fine.
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El Paso lawyer Theresa Caballero wins in disciplinary matter before appeals court
I don't understand this story.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know more too.
ReplyDeleteShe represented a judge who was accused of bribery. The judge was acquitted, most likely by a jury.
ReplyDeleteShe accused the trial judge of racism. As all lawyers know, there are no bad judges, and no racist judges. The Code of Professional Responsibility says so. All lawyers must believe and repeat this fundamental truth. There are no bad judges.
The non-racist, non-bad judge filed disciplinary charges against her and her co-counsel. The state Bar took these charges very seriously, because as we know the judge is always right, and there are no bad judges.
The Bar settled for a slap on the wrist and probation. The co-counsel's order was entered. The original judge in the disciplinary case recused himself, so a substitute judge was appointed. He refused to sign the order for the slap on the wrist and probation for the lawyer.
She filed a mandamus to a higher court. A mandamus says that official must do a certain act, in this case sign the order.
The higher court granted the mandamus. So now the lower court substitute judge is required to sign the order for the slap on the wrist and probation.
Of course, the judge was not wrong to refuse to sign the order, because judges are never, ever wrong. Nor are they ever racist, not even one judge, nary a judge in the whole country.
I guess he just looked at the higher court's order and changed his mind.
Let's remember that this was all fall-out from a judge who was trying to wreak vengeance on two lawyers who were OBLIGATED to represent their client to the best of their abilities, a client who was ACQUITTED. If only the judge had taken just as much trouble to ensure that he WAS right in the first place as to punish these lawyers for doing their JOB.
Thank you for summing it up. Attorney Theresa Caballero was also licensed in Md. Upon having her license placed on probation in Texas, she had to forward the non-racist judge’s complaint to the Md state bar for their review. Md reviewed the non-racist judge’s complaint and the non-racist Texas State bar action and took no action against her Md license. She stayed in good standing in Md.
DeleteRacism is endemic among too many citizens and this fault is continuously being addressed or ignored or reinforced in all sections of our communities, be they political, faith driven, social, or parts of the economy. To claim that judges are not bigoted based on the ridiculous tenet that they are inherently free from the accusation of racism just because they are judges denies their victims the right of defense. The denial of the rights of every American to defend him or herself in court is the epitome of unfairness. Judges are not perfect people because as humans are not perfect then they as humans cannot claim perfection and thus the liability of unfairness due to racism.
ReplyDeleteWe need lawyers who are protectors of our rights like Ms Caballero. This is a person of courage and conviction. In effect: a lawyer's lawyer!