Judges will fight Willacy indictments

A motion has been filed to quash an indictment against one of two Cameron County state/">state/">state district judges accused of abusing their power while on the bench.

State District Judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez are among a handful of officials named in a Willacy County indictments handed down earlier this week.

A Willacy County grand jury indicted the judges on allegations of abuse of power.

"I feel that the indictment handed down against Judge Leal is nothing more than a political vendetta at its worst," said defense attorney Luis Saenz, who is representing Leal. "This is nothing more than retaliation by a lame duck DA (district attorney) whose mental competency I would question."

Saenz filed a motion to quash the indictment against Leal Tuesday afternoon.

Although Lopez has also reportedly hired an attorney to represent her, the name of her attorney is unknown. Lopez could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Leal's motion is expected to be heard by Judge J. Manuel Bañeles, who presides over the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region, which also includes Cameron and Willacy counties, Saenz said.

Bañales was expected to be in Willacy County today to hear motions pertaining to the case.

Early Tuesday it was believed that because of the indictments Leal and Lopez could not sit on the bench due to the pending criminal charges. However, after consulting with the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct the judges learned later in the afternoon that they could preside over their courts, Saenz said.

Both judges are expected to be in court today, said senior Cameron County State District Judge Benjamin Euresti Jr.

The confusion led Euresti to look for other judges to hear Leal's and Lopez's cases on Tuesday morning. Leal was to preside over a murder trial.

The move was a precautionary measure, officials said.

Euresti contacted retired Judge Menton Murray Jr. to preside over Leal's murder case since a jury had already been seated.

Lopez was able to get 357th State District Judge Leonel Alejandro to hear her cases for the day.

"I was certainly surprised and shocked," said Euresti when he heard about the indictments, adding that he had not witnessed such an incident to "this degree."

Euresti said the pending legal issues against Leal and Lopez may slow down court proceedings. Should the judges be suspended from the bench at a later date, their courts would not shut down because other judges would hear the cases, he added.

The judges can only be removed from the bench if they receive a written letter from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct requesting such action, Euresti was told.

Euresti believes either a visiting judge or special prosecutor would have to be appointed to hear and prosecute the cases in Willacy County since Lopez is the sitting judge for that county.

"There would be conflicts there. The DA (Juan Guerra) could not go before Judge Lopez because this has happened," Euresti said.