Texas JP sued over order to spank teenager

BROWNSVILLE -- A Los Fresnos couple has sued a Cameron County justice of the peace, saying he ordered the husband to spank his 14-year-old stepdaughter in the JP's courtroom.

The suit filed by Mary Vasquez and her husband, Daniel Zurita, states that Justice of the Peace Gustavo "Gus" Garza told Zurita that the teenager would be found guilty of a criminal offense and fined $500 for truancy unless Zurita spanked her in open court.

The suit describes the paddle provided by Garza as large and heavy and fashioned from a thick piece of lumber.

"The word 'club' could be fairly used as a substitute for the word 'paddle' here as it appears to be something which may have been cut from a [2-by-4] piece of lumber," attorney Mark Sossi wrote in the family's petition. "The paddles provided by the judge are of such heft and weight that an individual striking an animal with one might be reasonably reported for cruelty to an animal."

The Brownsville Herald reported that Garza declined to comment on whether he has people spanked in his courtroom. He also said he had not seen the lawsuit.

The family's suit asserts that Garza told Zurita to strike his stepdaughter repeatedly on the buttocks in open court.

Zurita said he didn't think he had a choice but to follow the order. When he was through, the judge told him he had not struck the girl hard enough, Zurita said in an affidavit.

Vasquez said she had seen the judge order other public spankings.

"It is unconscionable that a Texas judge would order a parent, much less a stepparent, be required to strike a child with such a thing in a Texas courtroom," the family's attorney wrote in a footnote on the petition.

"It is equally unconscionable that an argument could be made that such an order would fall within the lawful authority of any Texas judge."