Tamaulipas' Judicial Administration Body removed Judge Mónica Iliana Pérez Chapa after she fined a lawyer over a million pesos for highlighting her legal knowledge gaps. The penalty arose in November hearings and was overturned by a federal amparo. The judge was temporarily reassigned to traditional courts.
Tamaulipas' Judicial Administration Body removed Mónica Iliana Pérez Chapa from her role as oral trial judge following a dispute over a fine imposed on lawyer Aglaeth Yesenia González Cruz. The penalty totaled 1,249,000 pesos, equal to 5,000 days of minimum wage, for noting the judge's unfamiliarity with procedures in the new accusatory penal system.
Issues began on November 4 during a hearing against one of González's clients, among three former public servants she represents for serious crimes. The lawyer secured freedom for two by proving fiscal evidence invalid. In that session, the judge failed to properly identify parties and suspended proceedings. When resumed on November 13, errors repeated, prompting González to request her replacement with a judge possessing stronger technical-legal knowledge.
"The judge did not individualize either me or the accused; she seemed to forget we were in the hearing room," González recounted. She added: "If this happened to me, a legal professional, imagine what could happen to any other person." The Federal Judicial Power granted the litigant an amparo, safeguarding her professional practice and due process, and notified the state Finance Secretariat.
The removal aims to ensure adherence to the new penal system, though Pérez Chapa, selected in prior elections under judicial reform, was reassigned for two months to traditional trials as a temporary measure. González has not received official notice. Additionally, the judge fined lawyer Luis Eduardo Dávila Domínguez 836,000 pesos for questioning protocols in another case. Mexico's Confederation of Colleges and Associations of Lawyers supported González, praising her efforts against arbitrary fines that silence litigants.