EDINBURG — The judge of Hidalgo County’s 370th state District Court received a formal admonishment from the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct last month for allowing one attorney to pay himself more than $1 million from a receivership account, and favoring another defense attorney in appointments to represent indigent defendants, a news release from the state commission said.
Noe Gonzalez, the judge of the 370th state District Court, appointed attorney David Calvillo as the receiver over the community property of Antun and Maria Domit, who were divorcing.
The commission condemned Gonzalez, finding he “failed to comply with the law, failed to demonstrate professional competence with the law, and demonstrated incompetence in performing the duties of the office, when he entered a receivership order in the Domit Divorce Case.”
The commission also found the judge violated the Texas Fair Defense Act and the Hidalgo County Indigent Defense Plan by appointing attorney Jeanne Holmes to such a high percentage of indigent defense positions.
Gonzalez’s attorney, Edmundo Ramirez, released a statement highlighting the lack of any illegal activity on the judge’s part.
“It is important for the general public to understand that the Commission did not make a finding that Judge Gonzalez has done anything illegal or unethical,” the release said.
In the statement, Gonzalez himself said he disagreed with, but accepted, the penalty.
The Domits’ community property included the Ocean Tower luxury apartment building on South Padre Island and other business ventures, the commission release said. The Ocean Tower project was scuttled after structural and construction defects, and the Domits’ development company sued for damages, eventually receiving about $3.5 million in a settlement.
From those dollars, Calvillo paid himself $1.2 million “without any court oversight,” the release stated.
But Ramirez wrote that wasn’t entirely true — either party could have brought objections to the receivership arrangement to the judge’s attention.
“The Commission fails to acknowledge that there was an agreed procedure created by the parties to object and bring to the courts (sic) attention if there were any concerns with a request or action taken by the receiver,” he wrote. “Not a single objection was ever filed.”
Attempts to reach both Domits were unsuccessful Thursday.
Gonzalez acknowledged to the commission the Domit divorce was the first time he had appointed a receiver, “and that it was his only experience in this area of the law,” the commission said.
Another charge the commission levied against Gonzalez was that he disproportionately favored attorney Holmes to represent indigent defendants. Among 192 attorneys, Holmes represented about 22 percent of indigent defendants in Gonzalez’s court between 2008 and 2013. The top three most common indigent defense attorneys in the 370th state District Court received 38 percent of all appointments.
Judge Gonzalez approved payment vouchers totaling about $475,000 in those six years, the commission said.
Holmes could not be reached for comment.
Ramirez blamed the over-reliance on Holmes and other attorneys “partially” on Hidalgo County’s policy that defendants be arraigned within 24 hours of their arrest.
The commission ordered Gonzalez to obtain four hours of instruction with a “mentor judge” in the next 60 days.
Attribution:
State district court judge sanctioned
Jacob Fischler
September 4, 2014
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/state-district-court-judge-sanctioned/article_adf323bc-344b-11e4-ba2f-0017a43b2370.html
Noe Gonzalez, the judge of the 370th state District Court, appointed attorney David Calvillo as the receiver over the community property of Antun and Maria Domit, who were divorcing.
The commission condemned Gonzalez, finding he “failed to comply with the law, failed to demonstrate professional competence with the law, and demonstrated incompetence in performing the duties of the office, when he entered a receivership order in the Domit Divorce Case.”
The commission also found the judge violated the Texas Fair Defense Act and the Hidalgo County Indigent Defense Plan by appointing attorney Jeanne Holmes to such a high percentage of indigent defense positions.
Gonzalez’s attorney, Edmundo Ramirez, released a statement highlighting the lack of any illegal activity on the judge’s part.
“It is important for the general public to understand that the Commission did not make a finding that Judge Gonzalez has done anything illegal or unethical,” the release said.
In the statement, Gonzalez himself said he disagreed with, but accepted, the penalty.
The Domits’ community property included the Ocean Tower luxury apartment building on South Padre Island and other business ventures, the commission release said. The Ocean Tower project was scuttled after structural and construction defects, and the Domits’ development company sued for damages, eventually receiving about $3.5 million in a settlement.
From those dollars, Calvillo paid himself $1.2 million “without any court oversight,” the release stated.
But Ramirez wrote that wasn’t entirely true — either party could have brought objections to the receivership arrangement to the judge’s attention.
“The Commission fails to acknowledge that there was an agreed procedure created by the parties to object and bring to the courts (sic) attention if there were any concerns with a request or action taken by the receiver,” he wrote. “Not a single objection was ever filed.”
Attempts to reach both Domits were unsuccessful Thursday.
Gonzalez acknowledged to the commission the Domit divorce was the first time he had appointed a receiver, “and that it was his only experience in this area of the law,” the commission said.
Another charge the commission levied against Gonzalez was that he disproportionately favored attorney Holmes to represent indigent defendants. Among 192 attorneys, Holmes represented about 22 percent of indigent defendants in Gonzalez’s court between 2008 and 2013. The top three most common indigent defense attorneys in the 370th state District Court received 38 percent of all appointments.
Judge Gonzalez approved payment vouchers totaling about $475,000 in those six years, the commission said.
Holmes could not be reached for comment.
Ramirez blamed the over-reliance on Holmes and other attorneys “partially” on Hidalgo County’s policy that defendants be arraigned within 24 hours of their arrest.
The commission ordered Gonzalez to obtain four hours of instruction with a “mentor judge” in the next 60 days.
Attribution:
State district court judge sanctioned
Jacob Fischler
September 4, 2014
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/state-district-court-judge-sanctioned/article_adf323bc-344b-11e4-ba2f-0017a43b2370.html
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