Sylvia Lopez Beaver is not a lawyer, but she’s the municipal court judge for the City of Waxahachie.
Somehow, this doesn’t warrant even a question from Waxahachie City Council members for the glaring conflict of interest that it is.
Or the fact she uses taxpayer funds from Ellis Countians to arraign people arrested by Waxahachie police in the county jail.
On a first-time drinking while intoxicated offense, for example, Beaver has set bonds as high as $35,000. That’s not a typo.
The U.S. Constitution prohibits excessive bail. Beaver is being used by the Waxahachie police to set bail bonds stratosphere-high.
Busted for pot possession? Defense lawyers in our county have reported bond amounts to be even more than a first-time DWI offender.
And Beaver’s getting away with selling out the Waxahachie "corporation court" for what reason? Because her title gives her that power?
Because the Waxahachie police show total disregard for the Constitution? Because the city council refuses to show leadership?
Cities big and small have municipal courts. City charters in towns of more than 5,000 call them "corporation courts" because cities are municipal corporations.
They need "profits" in the form of taxes and revenue to survive. Waxahachie’s judge was found to be in violation of the Texas Constitution’s mandates for an oath of office a few years ago thanks to reporting in this paper.
Since being appointed in 1997, Beaver had at the time of the improper oath debacle collected for the city $4.7 million.
What are the odds a judgment would be entered had a mortgage lender not had his license but sold you products anyway?
The same standard applies here, but even more importantly, we have clear and prima facie evidence that our federal Constitution’s prohibition on excessive bail and bonds is being ignored and violated.
Part of being a great leader is making unpopular statements among a popular crowd. Part of our role as an advocate for Defending Truth and Freedom is exposing Constitutional violations, and Beaver’s excessive bail is definitely a gross violation of the Constitution.
Mayor Ron Wilkinson and councilmen Chuck Beatty, Buck Jordan, Joe Jenkins and John Wray were elected and only they can appoint or decide not to re-appoint their judge. It’s time to take the municipal court off the market and stop selling it to the highest bidder.
