HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN! Young Min Burkett, a Municipal Court Judge in Corpus Christi has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, instead of being FIRED, when it was discovered that she is, in fact, no a U.S. citizen.
Lucy Rubio, The Mayor, made the following statement,
“The City Council has discovered that one of its municipal court judges, Young Min Burkett, does not meet the statutory requirements for status as a municipal court judge of the U.S. citizenship and status as a qualified voter. Ms. Burkett did not make any misrepresentations in seeking appointment. Instead, the City did not ask the question in the qualification process. Therefore, Ms. Burkett has been placed on unpaid leave for a period of 90 days to give her an opportunity to obtain her U.S. citizenship. The legal department has reviewed this matter and determined the past rulings of this judge are not invalidated by this status.”
As written by Brian Burns for KIII:
Rubio said Burkett, who has been a municipal court judge since her appointment two years ago, cannot serve as judge because of the requirement of citizenship.
Mayor Elect Joe McComb believes it is a paperwork error on the City’s part.
“The City made the mistake in not asking the right question,” McComb said. “I don’t think there’s any intention by anyboyd, City or applicant, and so you make a mistake, you admit it, you move on. And that’s what we’re doing.”
“Someone can come back and say, ‘You know what? I’m going to say I don’t agree with her decision, and I’m going to challenge it,’ and they have every right to challenge it,” Rubio said.
Municipal court judge placed on leave for not being U.S. citizen