Author’s note: This post reproduces public documents verbatim that contains language that may be offensive to some readers.
Yesterday I shared with you a dossier on Luis Aguilar who is seeking reelection as judge of the 243th District Court. As much as I wanted to comment on Luis Aguilar, I forced myself to keep the dossiers separate from my commentary. Aguilar previously held the judgeship of the 120th District Court. He lost to Maria Salas-Mendoza (45%) in a three-way race between them and Jesus R. Herrera (22%) on March 7, 2006.
How someone like Luis Aguilar can be elected a judge is beyond me. However, his election with the support of the El Paso Times masquerading as a newspaper may explain why El Paso’s leadership is so corrupt-laden.
In 2005, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a Public Sanction to Luis Aguilar. The Public Reprimand (CJC No. 04-0058-DI), dated December 21, 2004 stated the following Findings of Fact. According to the affidavits attached to the finding,
“Aguilar made derogatory remarks and gestures of a sexual nature about women, including female judges, prosecutors, probation officers, and others with whom the judge deals in his official capacity”. According to the write-up most of the comments were made in the “judge’s chambers or offices, but in the presence of court staff”.
The reprimand adds that witnesses reported Aguilar using terms as “hot tamale”, “fucking bitch”, “fat pig”, “fucking lazy” and “stupid bitch” even referring “to one female judge as being ‘in heat’”.
The reprimand details a March 28, 2003 incident between himself and Assistant District Attorney Laura Franco Gregory. According to the reprimand, Luis Aguilar berated Gregory in public and added that Aguilar “was so out of control and full of rage” that Gregory “believed” he “was going to hit her”.
The Commission concluded that Luis Aguilar’s
“persistent use of derogatory, demeaning, and sexual remarks toward women, including female judges, prosecutors, probation officers, and others”, “lacked the patience, dignity and courtesy required of a judicial officer”.
Clearly, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct found sufficient and compelling evidence to publicly reprimand one of its own.
As I pointed out above, Luis Aguilar lost his seat in the 120th District Court in 2006. A few years later, Luis Aguilar once again surfaced and ran for the 243rd District Court bench against Bill Hicks. El Paso voters elected him with 60% of the vote. In 2012, Aguilar beat Richard Contreras to retain the office.
During the 2012 election against Richard Contreras, Luis Aguilar was endorsed by the El Paso Police Department, The Sheriff’s Department, the El Paso Fire Department, the Westside Democrats and the El Paso Times masquerading as a newspaper.
Consider what the editorial board of the El Paso Times wrote;
“In his previous stint on the bench, Luis Aguilar was loud and sometimes crass”.
And, with that they endorsed him for office.
Reprehensible doesn’t even begin to define the paper’s endorsement and as bad as that was the fact remains that the electorate of the city continues to elect this individual into office. As long as people like Luis Aguilar are endorsed by the local paper and elected by the electorate El Paso will continue to remain stagnated in its own pool of corruption.
The corruption here lies within thought that a candidate with the qualification such as Judge Aguilar’s opponent is the right one for the position. In a “normal city” a person with those qualifications would not even be considered for the position. I heard the campaigning and all I heard were comments such as we women have to stick together, vote for me I’m his opponent, he hates women and treats women bad…I never heard her say vote for me! I am more qualified and here are my qualification. I guess those are the comments you may want to start off with from a challenger if your looking to clean local politics.I hope I never have to hires an attorney or be represented by the state but if I do, I would expect them to represent me on time and they better be prepared. Who would not want that from their attorney.
He might be qualified does him no good when he’s bias impartial,has a problem with Hispanics that do not speak English he’s a judge,I seen him talk down to a juror because she didn’t speak English it wasn’t her fault she was summoned for jury duty,it’s not just about women he’s all around full of himself,we don’t need judges in our courts we as taxpayers pay his salary I believe it’s a waste of taxpayers money.
My brother Ruben Ramirez and I, Rosela Ramirez Rosen grew up with Luis Aguilar. In 1998, my brother hired Luis Aguilar to represent him in an Unlawful Termination Claim against the El Paso Electric Company. During the process of trying to get my brother reinstated back to work, my brother was diagnosed with Terminal Kidney Cancer and became disabled. My brother’s unlawful termination case went to Arbitration and a $70,000.00 settlement was offered from the El Paso Electric Company. My brother didn’t take the settlement because he was waiting for his lawyer Attorney Luis Aguilar to show up to the Arbitration Hearing. Luis Aguilar never showed up. Two days later he called my brother and was demanding my brother to pay him his 33% of his unearned attorney’s fees. My brother told him that he didn’t have the 70k. My brother set a meeting with him, and told him that his wife and sister would meet with him because he was having chemo treatments. My sister-in-law Irma Ramirez and I went to a meeting at his office. We went to tell Attorney Aguilar that my brother never took the $70,000.00. As soon as we got off the elevator, I was served. Attorney Aguilar sued my brother Ruben Ramirez for 33% of his unearned attorney fees, we had also paid him $2,500.00 retainer fee. My sister-in-law Irma and I were my brother’s Financial and Medical Powers of Attorney. Attorney Aguilar thought I had the $70,000.00. I kept telling that money hungry vulture crooked lawyer Attorney Aguilar that my brother never accepted the offer-settlement because he was waiting for his lawyer and friend Luis Aguilar at the Arbitration Hearing and he never showed up to represent him. My brother Ruben was in a wheel chair, and I was not allowed to be in the Arbitration room, I had to wait outside. Several weeks after the Arbitration, Luis Aguilar dismissed the lawsuit after we had filed a counter law suit. Attorney Strahan never charged us a fee to counter sue Aguilar. Ten months later my brother died of kidney cancer on the 4th of April 2000. My brother Ruben Ramirez never settled with the El Paso Electric Company because they reneged on the settlement offer. I filed a State Bar Grievance against Luis Aguilar. The State Bar of Texas dismissed the grievance-complaint against Luis Aguilar. I filed the grievance before my brother died. I followed all the State Bar Grievance procedures and the Bar never investigated the grievance. The State Bar dismissed it on the 10th of December 2000, the day that George W. Bush finally got the White House. What Luis Aguilar did was considered Major Professional Misconduct, he should have been disbarred. The Bar covered it up, probably because they were covering up for the El Paso Electric Company. The El Paso Electric Company has a lot of power here in El Paso, they are Crooked and Corrupt. Luis Aguilar sued his own dying client for a settlement that was never accepted from the El Paso Electric Company. Luis Aguilar is a mean despicable heartless crooked lawyer. How can Attorney Aguilar sue his own dying friend client for 33% of an unearned attorney’s fee when he never even showed up to the Arbitration Hearing on the 13th of May 1999. I always wondered what ever happened to the $70,000.00 that the El Paso Electric Company was going to give my brother? Silva Gomez and Luis Aguilar were real good friends. Silva was one of the attorney’s representing the El Paso Electric Company. The State Bar of Texas is Crooked and Corrupt too they should have disbarred Luis Aguilar. Had The State Bar of Texas done their job, Luis Aguilar would have never been able to run for Judge the first time when he out seated Judge Dinsmoor in the 120th District. Every time I see Luis Aguilar on the TV News or if I ever hear his name, I want to throw up. I saw a big news paper add today, he is saying thank you El Paso for voting for me but I lost. I am glad he lost, and I hope that no one ever hires him for legal representation.