[Judge] Benitez was confirmed despite overwhelming opposition from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates the qualifications of judicial nominees. A substantial majority of the committee rated Benitez “not qualified” and a minority rated him as “qualified.” In 2004 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the ABA committee investigator reported that, “Interviewees repeatedly told me that Judge Benitez displays inappropriate judicial temperament with lawyers, litigants, and judicial colleagues; that all too frequently, while on the bench, Judge Benitez is arrogant, pompous, condescending, impatient, short-tempered, rude, insulting, bullying, unnecessarily mean, and altogether lacking in people skills.” …
On May 1, 2024, the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit publicly disciplined Benitez for judicial misconduct because he had unlawfully ordered a teenage girl to be shackled during her father’s sentencing hearing: “First, the shackling of a spectator at a hearing who is not engaged in threatening or disorderly behavior exceeds the authority of a district judge. Second, creating a spectacle out of a minor child in the courtroom chills the desire of friends, family members, and members of the public to support loved ones at sentencing.”
Nominated in 2004 by George W. Bush. Youth tansgender suicide rates will skyrocket under this holding, but I guess that’s lockstep the GOP’s desires: more dead LGBT.
There should be more judges like that one.
Found the Republican who wants to see more gay kids die.
What these kids need is psychologic and psychiatric support not just letting them fall to follow the interests of the creepy agenda. Precisely to not let them die or radicalize and do worst things.
This is going to kill someone. School is often one of the few places kids and teens can come for help outside of parents. If your parents are transphobic, and a teacher finds out and tells them, that child is going to be killed.
Seems pretty on par with what conservatives want: more dead gay kids.
Basically. Cruelty against queer people is in vogue.
An absolute fucking monster that should be punished severely! ALL trans youth suicide should be levied against this judge as “accessory to murder”
The downvote is someone who would kill their kid if they said that they were trans.
Could also just be a misclick. I’ve done that a few times.
Hope this can be appealed, and what can be done "legally " to remove him from the bench?
Thanks, no-voters. Continuing to bat for the fences with all you accomplished.
On May 1, 2003, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to a new seat on the Southern District of California created by 116 Stat. 1758. Benitez was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 17, 2004, by a 98–1 vote.
Yeah, Kamala Harris getting voted in definitely would have solved this, and its all Trump’s fault. Dems are completely blameless here, despite all but one of them voting for this judge. It’s perfectly reasonable to be more upset at the people who didn’t vote for this than the people who affirmatively voted for it in your name.
edit: extra lol:
Benitez was confirmed despite overwhelming opposition from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates the qualifications of judicial nominees.
so dont even try to pretend they didn’t know this guy was a shit.
Dem cult members would kill gay and trans people if the party said to. They stand for NOTHING besides “Im not republican!” They would vote for Trump if he was a democrat currently.
See Newsome and dnc immediately attacking Trans people after Kamala lost
YEP. But we’re supposed to be killed so that white suburban liberals can feel good about their team “winning”.
Bbbuttt… ‘i didn’t vote for him…! I’m one of the good guys! (Didn’t vote for her, either.) Both suck! Equally!’
Thanks Hillary. Thanks Kamala. You were good candidates. Really inspired us to support you. Great job on stopping genocide, too. /s
Y’all liberals are insufferable
Edit: if you think voting for the Dems meaningfully moved us off this path you are deluded lmao
Just vote harder next time right?
We need to do more to protect lgbt kids from abusive parents
Fuck yeah we do. The UN classifies conversation therapy as torture. Yet, 21 percent of those who have undergone attempted conversion therapies have said their parents or caregivers tried to change their sexual orientation at home. So basically almost a quarter of LGBT kids are being subjected to torture by their parents.
Are teachers allowed to keep any secrets about students from their parents?
Wait, am I missing something? This just says they have the right, not any kind of requirement. So basically saying teachers have free speach. This doesn’t seem controversial to me. It’s a cornerstone of the constitution that the current administration is trying to take away. I would be upset if they were ordered to report it… but I am also against them being ordered not to. The majority of teachers I have met, want the best for the kids. And they would only want to even bring up the subject if they thought the kid needed help in some way, and that the parents could provide. Sure there are exceptions, but tieing the hands of the majority to enable punishment of a minority isn’t the answer. In reality, if a teacher tells a parent that thier kid is using different pronouns, and the parent gets very upset, the teacher is a mandatory reporter. So if any reasonable person would think the parent may in some way cause harm, which would include inducing suicide, they have to report it. So they are already incentivized to not say anything, and in many cases could be disciplined if they did. So even though this judge sounds like a jerk, overall, he has the right idea. Teachers shouldn’t be censored.
So basically saying teachers have free speach.
In some contexts, a person waives their right to free speech. Like, for example, when someone voluntarily undertakes the role of protecting kids from abuse through their employment. Further the first amendment isn’t a universal protection of all speech. The Supreme Court has long recognized reasonable restrictions on that right to speech: governments do not impeed your right to speech by preventing you from blocking a fire exit by speaking, your speech rights does not protect distributing child porn, etc.
The majority of teachers I have met, want the best for the kids.
The majority, but not all. Add a religiously fundamentalist teacher’s beliefs into it, and things can get scary.
Yes, but teaching is not one of those professions. Medical professionals actually the only ones I know of bound by law to not speak. Lawyers are “protected” by law, but not actually bound. If they do speak they can be disbarrred, but not jailed I believe. Teachers are mandatory reporters, which compells them to speak, but nothing in law says what they can’t say. And yes, there are some exceptions against free speach, but if you look at them, they generally are things that endanger multiple people at one time. Like shouting fire in a crowded theater. So those don’t apply here. Also, those cases it is clear that the restriction only prevents a downside. In this case, there could be upsides. A child who hasn’t told thier parents and is struggling with it, but who’s parents could be supportive. In that case, not being allowed to tell them could cause harm. So it isn’t cut and dry like the others.
As for the bad teachers, yes, I addressed that in the next sentence or two after the quote you gave.
Mandatory reporters means abuse. A kid wanting to be trans without telling their parents does not equal abuse. Of course you’re being disingenuous so fundamentalist Christain parents can send their kids to conversion therapy so they can eventually commit suicide and you have zero care about the well being of the child and want to push your conservative Christian bullshit. If you werent you’d realize how low the suicide rates go down when kids are able to openly trans
You should really read up. While it is state dependent, emotional abuse is cover under mandatory reporting in most state.
I get that you’re not too bright, didn’t read the article, and didn’t really read what I wrote, but… acting like nazis and telling teachers what they can and can’t say to parents isn’t the way to defeat the nazis.
