New evidence in the issuance of "waivers" to forgo the 72-hour waiting period between getting a marriage license and performance of the ceremony by JP 2-2 Erin Garcia Hernandez indicates that she knew that waivers for those in the military and couples already married to each other were legitimate.
Yet, she nonetheless issued waivers to couples who didn't comply with the legal requirements that would allow them to forgo the waiting period – and collected a $40 fee for the waivers and the standard $250 to $300 for performing the ceremony.
In fact, she performed at least 13 such marriages, often less than an hour after the couple had acquired their marriage license from the Cameron County Clerk's Office (see photo at left).In one curious case, the marriage ceremony is shown to have been performed by Garcia-Hernandez 11 minutes before the license was issued!
El Rrun-Rrun has found evidence that shows that – in violation of the Texas Family Code – the JP 2-2 office ignored the 72-hour waiting period and performed the ceremonies by granting waivers to persons who did not fit the legal requirements to acquire such a waiver. And statements by at least one couple indicate that they paid the JP 2-2 court $40 the "waiver" plus the $250 marriage fee to acquire and forgo the state-mandated waiting period.
And this blog has also found that some of the 270 marriages performed by Garcia-Hernandez as of October 15, some – as far back as December 2012 – were allowed legitimate waivers because they fit the requirements for military waivers or because the couple had been issued marriage licenses in the past and were already married to each other.
If Garcia-Hernandez knew about the rules for issuing waivers way back in 2012, then any claim that no one had told her about the 72-hour period is obviously not credible.
All she had to do was turn over the marriage license issued by the county clerk's office – and where she signed her name – and read the applicable Texas Family Code Sec. 2.202 cited on the other side which clearly states who can be granted a waiver and what court can do it. A Justice of the Peace court is not among them. It follows logically that any marriage performed based on these "waivers" might be deemed an illegal wedding.The Texas Family Code states that "An applicant may request a judge with a court of jurisdiction in family law cases, a justice of the supreme court, a judge of criminal appeals, a county judge, or a judge of a court of appeals for a written waiver permitting the marriage ceremony to take place during the 72-hour period immediately following the issuance of a marriage license."
Since we published the post yesterday depicting a JP 2-2-office manufactured waiver form, we have heard that Garcia-Hernandez had stormed into the county clerk's office demanding that the staff retrieve the documentation that includes the suspect "waiver" form and other copies of documentation related to the ceremonies based on the fraudulent forms.
She'd dearly love to have the copies of these marriage licenses returned:
*On February 8 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 9:55 a.m. Erin married them at 11 a.m. They were not military or had been living with each other. On April 17 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 11:09 a.m. Erin married them at 1:55 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.*On May 3 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 12:37 p.m. Erin married them at 1:15 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On May 9 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 1:52 a.m. Erin married them at 2:30 a.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On May 28 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 12:40 p.m. Erin married them at 1 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On June 10 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 2:42 p.m. Erin married them at 3:20 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*Also on June 10 she married another couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 9:40 a.m. Erin married them at 10:30 a.m. They were not military or had been living with each other
*On June 21 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 10:41 a.m. Erin performed the ceremony at 10:30 a.m. (?) the same day. They were not military or had been living with each other. (See the photo and compare the times the license was issued at top [June 21 at 10:41 a.m.] and the time Erin performed the ceremony and collected her cash [June 21 at 10:30 a.m.])*On July 1 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 10:25 a.m. Erin married them at 11 a.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*Also on July 2 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 3:41 p.m. July 1. Erin married them at 2:15 a.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On July 8 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 12:42 p.m. Erin married them at 2:15 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On July 26 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 1:34 p.m. Erin married them at 2:30 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
*On August 9 she married a couple who did not fit the waiver requirements. They had acquired their license to marry at 1:58 p.m. Erin married them at 2:23 p.m. They were not military or had been living with each other.
Ignorance of the law, it is said, is no excuse. Issuance of an office-manufactured waiver by a court with no legal authority to do so is obviously not a sign of ignorance. It was produced with the intent of selling a service to someone for personal gain by someone who surely knew better.
During her campaign for the office her slogan was "You deserve legal experience." To say now that she was ignorant of the law on these waivers begs belief.
15 comments:
AND SHE PERFORM MY WEDDING WITH ORCA!!
UUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYY
MACLOVIO OMALLEY
Vieja tranza, this is the legal representation she campaign on.
YOU DESERVE LEGAL EXPERIENCE
LOOOOLLL!! ERIN a CROCK OF SHIT!!!
Are you sure she is a lawyer, I thought she was a Notario? Ha,ha, the jokes on you. How about the gay marriages, are they legal? In that case, you only have to wait 15minutes to get married. The only problem is how can you tell the bride from the groom? The bride is the one with a beard.
Does that surprise anyone in Cameron County? "Miss Piggy" will do whatever she wants because her daddy is Ernie "Snake the Pig" Hernandez! This sounds like some kind of judicial violation and it sounds like the ones she married aren't married legally? But, just because its CC and illegal activity can be done since the Feds have folded and picked up camp with going after crooked politicians? Who has the "cojones" to file a judicial complaint on her?
Where do you get a licsense in the middle of the night.
Well done, Juan! This reads like an indictment. All you have to do now is hand it to our DA and your friend Luis V. Saenz while he's mugging for your camera. You've done all the work, all King Luis V has to do is indict. Well done, Juan. Well done indeed!
Juan, I hope that these documents do not go missing in the County Clerk's Office. If she has connections there...forget it...all of these documents and frandent wavier will go missing. Your story is wothless and nothing to back it up...I surely hope you did your homework and obtained these documents before you went public. She'll beat you to the finishing line....'THE COUNTY CLERLS OFFICE'.
Montoya, I know you have it out for the Hernandez family, and that's fine. BUT, the real issue with the weddings is how Linda Salazar has her COUNTY EMPLOYEES our scouting weddings for her. Linda Salazar hasnt been to work in weeks becuase she is building a pool at her house. The only time she shows up at work these days is to perform wedding ceremonies. And you should check into her marriage licenses. I KNOW FOR A FACT that Linda performs marriage ceremonies in less than the 72 hour waiting period and just dates them three days later. THAT is tampering with a government document.
La TRANZA es Linda Salazar!!!
Unless I miscounted, there are 13 counts here worth at least $3700. That amount is good for a "state jail felony," at least 6 months to 2 years in the slammer. And Salazar is building a pool? The wedding racket is incredible! How do we get so lucky here in Cameron county to have all these double dipping, selfserving politicians!
As a clergyman I performed over 400weddings over the almost 40 years I was in the active ministry. I never charged any free, but considered it a ministry of the church. Folks would give me an honorarium from time to time and I would donate it to the church in their name. I don't think any of the honorariums came to over $100 and often much less.
I do know some clergy charge for this service, but I always felt that was wrong. Marriage is too important to exploit it for personal gain.
I would like to say I am shocked that some of the lower level judges have converted this wonderful ministry into a racket, but I am not.
As the world turns, and i thought the mafia and italians were bad, guess those guys have never been to cameron county right?
Why just check Judge Garcia's waivers if ALL JP' s were signing the waivers? If you were a good investigative reporter, you would go and find out WHO in the County Clerks Office gave ALL the JP' s of Cameron County the consent to sign the waivers. Go back years. I'm POSITIVE you'll find many from Tony Torres, Oscar Tullos even Kip Hodge, again including all the other precincts in Cameron County. You obviously have it in for her. This will backfire on you.
Anonymous said...
Why just check Judge Garcia's waivers if ALL JP' s were signing the waivers? If you were a good investigative reporter, you would go and find out WHO in the County Clerks Office gave ALL the JP' s of Cameron County the consent to sign the waivers. Go back years. I'm POSITIVE you'll find many from Tony Torres, Oscar Tullos even Kip Hodge, again including all the other precincts in Cameron County. You obviously have it in for her.
If is unethical is wrong, and if is wrong is wrong.
Pinche Erin chueca como los padres.
the apple does not fall far from the tree?
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