By Juan Montoya
Does 404th District Court Judge Elia Cornejo's peeve against the Brownsville Independent School District rise to the level of a federal lawsuit?
In a hearing that lasted less than half an hour Wednesday, lawyers for both sides of the civil rights complaint involving the BISD and Cornejo-Lopez and her two children agreed with federal judge Andrew Hanen her request was "moot" and set a new court date for March while two sides exhaust remedies at the school district level.
For now, proving that the federal courts are the right venue for the lawsuit has yet to be established,
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As the hearing got under way, Cornejo-Lopez's attorney Gustavo Acevedo told the court that the two sides had "substantially agreed on some of the relevant issues" and that their motion for a temporary restraining order against the BISD was no longer necessary.
The linchpin to the lawsuit Cornejo-Lopez filed in federal court against the BISD and its administration alleged that the TRO was needed to stop the district from depriving her and her two children (students at BISD high schools) of their civil rights. Cornejo-Lopez had argued that the BISD had delayed and stretched out the grievance process and denied her right o petition for redress.
The district's counsel said the delays had been partly caused by the defendants when they requested that the district hire an investigator in the middle of the process.
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BISD lawyers said it would take approximately 45 days for the board of trustees to meet and set a date for the hearing.
Hanen asked both sides if that meant that the motion for the TRO and the injunctive relief that was being sought could be heard after the grievance hearing and both sides agreed that the motions and subpoenas for witnesses were moot.
Hanen set March 16 for Cornejo Lopez to file her amended complaint then if she was not satisfied and for the BISD counsel to answer on March 30. He set a March 27 date for a pre-trial conference before his court to determine whethe the federal complaint was necessary then.
Cornejo-Lopez has filed at least 13 grievances against teachers and administrators in the district, most of them over alleged violations of the rights of her two children. They range from racial discrimination, unequal treatment, and gender discrimination and retaliation by the district for filing complaints.
Defense counsel also asked the court to instruct the plaintiffs and their counsel that if there were any future subpeonas to be delivered to district administrators of witnesses, that they be filed with them and not to their workplace or residences.
"No one has to go seek them out at their homes...," said Eduardo G. Garza, of Esparza and Garza, LLP.
At this Hanen, said that he expected both sides to act professionally.
"I'm sure Mrs. Lopez doesn't want anybody to go seeking her (to serve her) in the state courthouse," Hane said. "You're all professionals and so are your clients, in fact, some of them have multiple degrees. I would hope you would treat each other with courtesy and respect."
In motions filed today in court, BISD attorneys said that the subpoenas to appear served on Zendejas, former Asst. Superintendent Carlos Guerra, and board Secretary Patricia Perez should be quashed because they posed an undue burden since the Zendejas and Perez were on holiday vacations and Guerra had retired.
Guerra and Perez were served on Thursday, Dec. 21 the last day of school before the Christmas holidays in the district's main offices with Cornejo-Lopez present. They claimed they could not produce any of the documents commanded by the subpoenas because the district was the custodian of the records.
In the case of Zendejas, she stated in her motion to quash that Cornejo-Lopez and a process server had knocked on her door late at night on Dec. 21 and not recognizing the vehicle (a white SUV) she had not answered.
Next morning, Friday, Dec. 22, the same white SUV was parked in her driveway and when as she walked out the door, the process server threw the summons in her car window while Cornejo-Lopez videotaped the encounter.
Does 404th District Court Judge Elia Cornejo's peeve against the Brownsville Independent School District rise to the level of a federal lawsuit?
In a hearing that lasted less than half an hour Wednesday, lawyers for both sides of the civil rights complaint involving the BISD and Cornejo-Lopez and her two children agreed with federal judge Andrew Hanen her request was "moot" and set a new court date for March while two sides exhaust remedies at the school district level.
For now, proving that the federal courts are the right venue for the lawsuit has yet to be established,
As the hearing got under way, Cornejo-Lopez's attorney Gustavo Acevedo told the court that the two sides had "substantially agreed on some of the relevant issues" and that their motion for a temporary restraining order against the BISD was no longer necessary.
The linchpin to the lawsuit Cornejo-Lopez filed in federal court against the BISD and its administration alleged that the TRO was needed to stop the district from depriving her and her two children (students at BISD high schools) of their civil rights. Cornejo-Lopez had argued that the BISD had delayed and stretched out the grievance process and denied her right o petition for redress.
The district's counsel said the delays had been partly caused by the defendants when they requested that the district hire an investigator in the middle of the process.
BISD lawyers said it would take approximately 45 days for the board of trustees to meet and set a date for the hearing.Hanen asked both sides if that meant that the motion for the TRO and the injunctive relief that was being sought could be heard after the grievance hearing and both sides agreed that the motions and subpoenas for witnesses were moot.
Hanen set March 16 for Cornejo Lopez to file her amended complaint then if she was not satisfied and for the BISD counsel to answer on March 30. He set a March 27 date for a pre-trial conference before his court to determine whethe the federal complaint was necessary then.
Cornejo-Lopez has filed at least 13 grievances against teachers and administrators in the district, most of them over alleged violations of the rights of her two children. They range from racial discrimination, unequal treatment, and gender discrimination and retaliation by the district for filing complaints.
Defense counsel also asked the court to instruct the plaintiffs and their counsel that if there were any future subpeonas to be delivered to district administrators of witnesses, that they be filed with them and not to their workplace or residences.
"No one has to go seek them out at their homes...," said Eduardo G. Garza, of Esparza and Garza, LLP.
At this Hanen, said that he expected both sides to act professionally.
"I'm sure Mrs. Lopez doesn't want anybody to go seeking her (to serve her) in the state courthouse," Hane said. "You're all professionals and so are your clients, in fact, some of them have multiple degrees. I would hope you would treat each other with courtesy and respect."
In motions filed today in court, BISD attorneys said that the subpoenas to appear served on Zendejas, former Asst. Superintendent Carlos Guerra, and board Secretary Patricia Perez should be quashed because they posed an undue burden since the Zendejas and Perez were on holiday vacations and Guerra had retired.
Guerra and Perez were served on Thursday, Dec. 21 the last day of school before the Christmas holidays in the district's main offices with Cornejo-Lopez present. They claimed they could not produce any of the documents commanded by the subpoenas because the district was the custodian of the records.
In the case of Zendejas, she stated in her motion to quash that Cornejo-Lopez and a process server had knocked on her door late at night on Dec. 21 and not recognizing the vehicle (a white SUV) she had not answered.
Next morning, Friday, Dec. 22, the same white SUV was parked in her driveway and when as she walked out the door, the process server threw the summons in her car window while Cornejo-Lopez videotaped the encounter.