By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
McAllen, TX.— Judge Jaime Tijerina officially announced his campaign for judge of the 92nd District Court of Hidalgo County on Thursday July 24, 2014 at the Nuevo Santander Gallery.
Judge Tijerina currently serves on the bench after his appointment to the 92nd District Court by Governor Rick Perry in October of 2013; he has served for approximately ten months as such. Formerly an attorney in private practice, he has committed his career to public service including his current service in the United States Army Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel.
His Campaign Kick-Off brought together supporters from across the county and according to him this effort is looking to an election that will restore both trust and confidence in the judicial system and in the county’s leadership.
Judge Tijerina told Texas Border Business that he wants to be elected given his experience as a prosecutor and as a judge for 20 years. “Since I’ve taken the bench I have really come to like the work. Public services is in my blood. I have been serving this community, the county and this country for 25 years; as an Army officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, as a prosecutor, and as judge,” he said.
Judge Tijerina was born in September 12, 1963 in San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Cruz “Cruzito” Tijerina, former Federal Magistrate Judge in McAllen, Texas. Judge Tijerina has lived the majority of his adult life in the Rio Grande Valley.
What challenges have you encountered as a District judge? “One of the biggest challenges is that we are courts of general jurisdiction which means that we handle criminal, civil, family, juvenile, and tax cases and every kind of case that the district court in the state of Texas can handle.” He points out that, “One of the biggest problems is that we go through the criminal docket everyday disposing of cases and the criminals keep coming, defendants keep coming and there is no end in sight to crime in Hidalgo County.”
He said that the problem is that the majority of those cases are related to drugs and alcohol. “They are either of possession cases or violence cases because they were drunk. Until we solve the drug and alcohol problem, we will not solve the criminal problem in Hidalgo County.”
Do you have any ideas on how to better the system? “I am a supporter of having the courts designated as either civil courts, family courts or criminal courts but I am not sure that that idea will get any traction with the other judges in Hidalgo County. I would happily flip a coin and decide whether my court was either a criminal court or civil court.”
Judge Tijerina also added that by specializing the courts you can streamline the courts and the judges would only have to concentrate in one area of the law instead of all of them. “We will become better if we specialized the courts,” he said.
The Hidalgo County is the seventh largest county in the state and according to him all the other large counties are specializing their courts.
Judge Tijerina has attracted many supporters including the mayor of Mission Norberto “Beto” Salinas who also was present during the ceremonial announcement.
Mayor Salinas said, “I am happy that Judge Tijerina had a good turned out today which is a sign of a good turn out on Election Day.”
He continued to say, “We are going to work hard for Jaime, you can count on me in Mission and a little bit on the west side,” he finalized.
Judge Tijerina said, “Integrity, courage, accountability and duty are some of the core values I hold on to in my role as a public servant. I hope to continue working to uphold the law and render justice and provide responsible leadership for Hidalgo County,” said Judge Tijerina. TBB
