Palacios is inadvertently hurting the democratic process by ruling in cases involving students and families who cannot vote to remove her from office because they live and vote in other precincts, Guerra said Monday.
The attorney general's reply, in the way of many legal decisions, hinged on the meaning and placement of the word "any" in the state's education code, Guerra said Monday. He called the decision wrong and said he was contacting the office to discuss it.
Palacios' office referred questions to her attorney, Dan Rios, who said Palacios was pleased to be vindicated and would continue to administer her truancy court program the way she always has.
Rios said he did not know whether Palacios would attempt to recover the $491,000 Department of Justice grant originally earmarked for her court. County commissioners earlier this month decided to distribute the grant evenly among JP courts, allowing each to hire one or two new staff members to oversee truancy cases.
"I speak for attorneys and for the people of Hidalgo County when I say I hope Mr. Guerra gets over his hang-up about Judge Palacios," Rios said.
Is the city of edinburg ready to bring back Dan Rios and his $40,000 a month fee?
