Texas District Judge Barbara Walther Should Be Impeached for Her Role in the FLDS Fiasco

Judge Barbara Walther Violated Her Oath to Protect and Defend the Constitution and Should Be Removed from Office

Now that a Texas appellate court and the Texas Supreme Court have stated unequivocally that Texas 51st District Judge, Barbara Walther, was wrong in ordering the removal of more than 400 children from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints' (FLDS) Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, it is time to consider whether or not Judge Walther should be impeached and removed from the bench.

I believe that she should be impeached and removed from the bench and have initiated an online petition calling for her impeachment. Here are my reasons why I think she should be impeached and removed from the bench.

1. Texas District Judge Barbara Walther should be impeached and removed from the bench because she violated the constitutional rights of more than 400 FLDS children and their parents.

No one has summarized the unconstitutional actions of Judge Walther better than the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. In a message posted on their website, announcing their filing of an amicus brief, they stated:

"The ACLU brief filed today raises a number of concerns about the lack of procedural safeguards employed by the state. First, the ACLU argues that the state failed to provide parents a fair, individualized custody hearing at the highly unusual and frequently chaotic mass proceeding held before a district court on April 17 and 18, 2008. Second, the ACLU asserts that Texas custody law must be applied fairly, impartially, and without bias to the mothers. Finally, the ACLU argument focuses on a parent's right to care for her child, a right both state and federal courts have found to be more "precious" than property rights."

In a statement issued earlier on May 2, 2008, the ACLU of Texas had this to say about the actions of the State of Texas, most of which were ordered or approved by Judge Walther:

"Based upon news reports and other available information, the ACLU has serious concerns that the state's actions so far have not adequately protected the fundamental rights at stake. Specifically, the ACLU is concerned that: