EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Horizon City’s Municipal Court Judge Mario Gonzalez was publicly admonished on Aug. 14 as he engaged in conduct that violated several provisions of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, including his involvement in bail reform discussions, according to the public admonition document obtained by KTSM.
This comes after the commission’s meeting held on Aug. 6-7, where a review of the allegations against Gonzalez was concluded, and he appeared to provide his testimony.
Gonzalez, who also serves as municipal court judge for San Elizario and Clint, sets bail in municipal courts involving Class C offenses. He also practices law and represents clients in the surety bond industry, including bail bondman Pascual Olibas, according to the document.
Over the years, Gonzalez’s representation of Olibas has involved speaking publicly against certain bail reform measures, such as the issuance of personal recognizance bonds, which were included on local television shows, in comments to newspapers, and in presentations to the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court.
In 2020, the document states that Gonzalez gave an interview to a local news station about bail reform, in which he was identified by his judicial title and described as the municipal court judge for Horizon City.
In that interview, he publicly spoke against personal recognizance bonds, expressing his opinion that El Paso was “less safe” due to repeat offenders released on personal recognizance bonds committing additional crimes.
In 2022, Gonzalez attended a meeting organized by the El Paso Senate Bill Committee to discuss the county’s compliance with the bail reform measures required by Senate Bill 6, also known as the Damon Allen Act, where he was listed as representing municipal judges from Horizon and San Elizario, according to the document.
During the meeting, the document states that Gonzalez criticized the number of personal recognizance bonds issued by the judges of the El Paso County Jail Magistrate Court and the county’s efforts to comply with the requirements of SB6. He also supported Olibas’ argument that judges should refrain from acting on any bond matter for 8 hours to allow the bonding companies to communicate with defendants and bail them out.
In a complaint filed by former presiding judge of the El Paso Jail Magistrate Court, Jenny Hamilton, alleged that Gonzalez “used the weight of his current position as a municipal court judge to not only support the arguments of the bondsmen and to further interests of his retained clients, he was also leading the weight of his current position as a judge to influence the other lay persons who were in attendance at the meeting who may give greater credibility to his retained client’s request as it is coming from a judge.”
Furthermore, Hamilton said Gonzalez “used his position to bolster the credibility of the bail bond industry’s agenda by attempting to legitimize a position that potentially violated statutory and constitutional requirements of bail for incarcerated individuals.”
Another attendee, Patricia Lopez, added that Gonzalez made statements that were “openly critical of bail reform measures that have been taken by El Paso County, including the issuance of a high number of personal recognizance bonds that have affected the business of his clients.”
In Gonzalez’s written responses to the commission’s inquiries, he expressed regret that his “advocacy was mixed up with his position as a municipal judge” and said that in the future he will “take the necessary steps to ensure that any time he is acting as an attorney for sureties, there is no mistaking the capacity in which he is acting, so as not to create even the slightest perception of lack of impartiality.”
Gonzalez also reiterated that he was invited and attended the meeting in his capacity as an attorney, not as a judge.
According to the document, the commission determined that Gonzalez violated the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct by:
- Lending the prestige of his judicial office to advance the private interests of himself and/or his clients in the bail bond industry
- Engaging in extra-judicial activities that cast reasonable doubt on his capacity to act impartially as a judge and/or interfered with proper performance of judicial duties
- Engaging in financial and business dealings that tend to reflect adversely on his impartiality, interfere with the proper performance of his judicial duties, exploit his judicial position, and/or involve him in frequent transactions with lawyers or persons likely to come before the court on which he serves.
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