Thread: Former attorney general: Trump right to question judge’s fairness

June 04, 2016, 12:55 pm
Former attorney general: Trump right to question judge’s fairness

By Mark Hensch

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says Donald Trump is right to challenge the fairness a judge overseeing lawsuits against him.

“An independent judiciary is extremely important. But that value is not the only one in play here,” Gonzales wrote in a Saturday op-ed for The Washington Post.

"Equally important, if not more important from my perspective as a former judge and U.S. attorney general, is a litigant’s right to a fair trial,” he continued.

“The protection of that right is a primary reason why our Constitution provides for an independent judiciary. If judges and the trials over which they preside are not perceived as impartial, the public will quickly lose interest in the rule of law upon which our nation is based.”

Trump on Thursday said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s Hispanic ethnicity is “an absolute conflict” in three civil fraud lawsuits against the billionaire.

He said Curiel’s “Mexican heritage” makes him partial because of Trump’s calls for a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico.

Gonzales on Saturday said Trump has reason beyond just race to doubt Curiel, who is American, will treat him fairly.

“As someone whose own ancestors came to the United States from Mexico, I know ethnicity alone cannot pose a conflict of interests. But there may be other factors to consider in determining whether Trump’s concerns about getting an impartial trial are reasonable.”

Gonzales said Curiel is a member of La Raza Lawyers of San Diego, which Trump aides say is affiliated with a national group vociferously opposing Trump, National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that NCLR is unaffiliated with La Raza Lawyers of San Diego. It added Curiel is not a member of NCLR.

Curiel has also appointed the Robbins Geller law firm to plaintiffs, he added, noting Geller is a donor to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.

“These circumstances, while not necessarily conclusive, at least raise a legitimate question to be considered,” said Gonzales, who was attorney general for former President George W. Bush.

“If [Trump’s] criticism is solely based on Curiel’s race, that is something voters will take into account in deciding whether he is fit to be president. If, however, Trump is acting from a sincere motivation to protect his constitutional right to fair trial, his willingness to exercise his rights as an American citizen and raising the issue even in the face of severe criticism is surely also something for voters to consider.”

Curiel is overseeing three lawsuits which allege Trump University defrauded students and saddled them with debt.

Trump has repeatedly touted positive reviews from other participants, saying courts will ultimately vindicate the for-profit real estate program.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...udges-fairness

La Raza Lawyers of San Diego

http://sdlrla.com/

501 C 4 or another fake 501 C 3?

Can't tell from the website.

Should federal judges or any judge for that matter be involved with promoting and advocating by race or ethnicity because of their Mexican heritage? Why should someone be eligible for a scholarship or a job or an appointment or endorsed for political elections and so forth because of their Hispanic origin or their Mexican heritage?

La Raza means "race". Why would a federal judge be part of something like that?

When you are part of an ethnic promotion or advocacy haven't you lost your impartiality to those not of your race or heritage?

And aren't some or most of these people illegal aliens or anchor babies? How could a judge be impartial in a trial whose primary defendant is a candidate for President and wants to stop anchor baby citizenship, deport illegal aliens, and build a wall to stop the illegal activity pouring over our southern border?

Perhaps the greatest and most important question in all this is why was someone appointed as a federal judge who supports advocacy, promotion, funding, elections, jobs and opportunity based on race or heritage which translates to support for anchor baby citizenship, amnesty for illegal aliens, and open borders with Mexico?