NPT Voter Guide 2008

District Court Questions

Biography

Name:   Luz E. Sandoval

Age:     52

Occupation:       Attorney

Website:

Residence (East Side, West Side, Northeast, Central, Lower Valley, County):  West Side

Relevant Experience (for print, will be edited 100 words max):

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Issues (for print, will be edited to 200 words or less)

0. What is the most important issue facing the court?

a. A court needs to be impartial, unbiased and not favor a particular litigant, individual or attorney that comes before that court.  A judge cannot afford to create associations with groups whether social, political or religious and appear to favor one person or group over another.  Indigent defendants who cannot afford counsel should be appointed a competent attorney rather than following the common practice to appoint an attorney who is not necessarily the best to represent the individual but one who because of those alliances is favored by the judge.

b.   Another issue is the notion of having a specialized court.  In my career as an attorney, I practice in the areas of family law, criminal law and personal injury.  All courts have concurrent jurisdiction and should be able to hear cases and not limit themselves to one area.  In fact the government code provides for the assignment of judges to hold district court, county court at law, or statutory probate court law, when necessary to dispose of accumulated business in the county.

0. Is the local system of oversight sufficient to protect the public from unfair judges? If so, why, and if not, how would you change it?

The system in place is sufficient.  Self-regulating by the Texas Ethics Commission is sufficient to protect the public rather than having a specialized agency.  Judges should be the ones to oversee other judges.

0. What experience do you have with the law that will make you a good judge?

I have 17 years experience in the areas of civil and criminal law.  My practice involves representing individuals in Texas, New Mexico and federal court.  Said experience involves the practice of family law, criminal law, personal injury and federal court.  I am knowledgeable of the law in the above-mentioned areas, the rules of civil procedure, criminal procedure and evidence which is essential when conducting trials.

0. How do District Courts differ from County Courts?

They differ in that District Court hear felony cases and County Courts hear misdemeanor cases.  The difference is the jurisdiction and the amount of damages.

0. What is your position on the trend at the state level to either consolidate the county and district courts or to allow them to hear similar cases?

I am not opposed to such a trend.  In fact I am all for it as discussed previously in my answer to question 1, subsection b.

0. In El Paso, it seems like lawyers and judges know each other, something perhaps similar to most communities. What are some of the situations under which you think a judge ought to recuse themselves? Are the rules clear enough and if not, how would you change them?

The rules are clear that judges must recuse themselves in cases where either of the parties may be connected with the judge, either by blood or marriage, or when the judge shall have counsel in the cases.  In reality although the rules are clear, judges should go one step further and should purposefully recuse themselves from hearing cases involving people with whom they associate.

0. Is there fair access to justice for everyone? How would you improve access; specifically, how would you support public defenders?

There isn’t fair access to justice for everyone.  A lot of people in jail have some kind of mental or social problem.  People are not evaluated and are placed in detention when they should be provided with mental help.  In order to improve access to the courts by these individuals, the court should appoint attorneys with the best abilities to the most complex cases.