Arcelia Treviño, judge of the 386th District Court, is the perfect example of why we need to do away with partisan judicial elections.
Treviño rode a Democratic sweep in 2016, defeating an experienced, well-respected juvenile court judge with a national reputation. Treviño had big shoes to fill. But it’s been three years and she has made little attempt to learn the job or even show up for work on a regular basis.
Treviño’s lack of experience in juvenile justice matters was immediately evident when she had to call court staff for directions on her first day.
In the last three years, she has gained a reputation for chronic absenteeism, canceling court hearings at the last minute after parents have taken off from work to attend. When she does show up, critics have said, she brushes off carefully crafted plea bargains hammered out between prosecutors and defense lawyers.
All told, taxpayers will have paid over $1 million in salaries for this court by the end of Treviño’s term. That’s $158,000 a year for the judge and an annual salary of just over $105,000 for the services of a court reporter, although there is infrequent court activity.
What does Treviño do during her absences from the court? In an interview more than a year ago, she said she spends time out in the community, but there is little documented evidence of that. Trevino has a big presence on Facebook and has the distinction of being the member of the Bexar County judiciary with the most glamour-shot selfies. She updates those photos often, most recently the day she missed a candidate recommendation meeting with the Express-News Editorial Board.
Fortunately, the work in this court has not suffered too terribly because others have taken up the slack. Much of the heavy lifting has fallen on Pat Garza, the appointed associate judge whose work in the 386th predates Treviño. He is an outstanding lawyer, does a remarkable job and has earned the respect of the lawyers who practice in this court.
The same cannot be said for Treviño. It’s unconscionable that she is asking voters to keep her on the public dole for another four years.
The Express-New Editorial Board has never met with Treviño to discuss why she wants the 386th bench. She said she had a conflict when she was scheduled for an endorsement meeting in 2016, and again she missed the candidate meeting this year.
The board tried to accommodate her schedule this time around, but she declined.
“I am sorry for not attending the endorsement interview; aside from scheduling conflict being the obstacle, I feel strongly against judicial candidates swinging mud against their opposition and I opt not to participate in such an arena,” Treviño said in a text.
Treviño is being opposed by Jackie Valdés, a prosecutor who specializes in juvenile law, in the Democratic primary. In a recent meeting with the Editorial Board, Valdés, who has firsthand knowledge about the operation of this court, raised serious work ethic issues regarding Treviño. It was not the first time we had heard these concerns — and they deserve a response.
I reached out to Treviño last week. She agreed to meet in person and even offered a tour of the juvenile detention center.
When I arrived in her chambers Tuesday, she explained we would tour the center first and said she was glad I was writing about the detention center. A column on the detention center was never my intent; I was there to talk about her candidacy and told her so. She began shaking her head, saying no. She wanted to talk about the juvenile system and children, not her campaign.
I proceeded to ask about her court absences, the workload she has foisted on Garza and the canceled court hearings. I questioned her about her failure to appear at a continuing education workshop where she was scheduled to present, and her absence at the juvenile justice center during a visit by a group of monitors as a part of a federal grant for one of her specialty courts.
She said she was not going to discuss any of that, and instead pulled out a copy of the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department’s annual report. She opened it to a page bookmarked with a Post-it note that featured a half-page article about the 386th court and her photo.
As she walked around her desk to hand it to me, Treviño said she was not going to address the “meritless” accusations about her court. She walked back behind her desk and said: “You can leave now.”
Within an hour she had unfriended me on Facebook.
gpadilla@express-news.net
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