Gonzalo P. Curiel

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Gonzalo P. Curiel (2016)

Gonzalo Paul Curiel (born 1953 in East Chicago , Indiana ) is an American federal judge for the Southern California District Court .

Education and professional career

Curiel was born in East Chicago in 1953, the youngest of four children of Salvador and Francisca Curiel. His parents immigrated from Mexico in 1946 and only attended elementary school there. After attending a Catholic school, the Bishop Noll Institute , he began studying music at Indiana University Bloomington and then switched to law, which he graduated from Indiana University Mason School of Law in 1979 with a Juris Doctor degree. After that he worked for 10 years in various law firms and then for 17 years for the federal prosecutor in California , including as Deputy Attorney General. As head of the drug-related crime department, he persecuted the Tijuana cartel and received death threats that forced him to live under guard for a year on a US Navy base in San Diego and elsewhere. In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger named him a judge for the San Diego District Court. In 2011, Barack Obama nominated him as a federal judge in Southern California, and the responsible United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary confirmed the appointment in September 2012.

Investigation against the "Trump University"

In February 2014, Curiel admitted two class actions by former Trump University students who alleged that Trump had deceived the nature and content of the training. He claimed that the university was accredited - which was not the case - and that it had guaranteed training by experts and a one-year internship, but that these commitments were not kept. One of the lawsuits, Cohen v. Trump , called the "university" a criminal organization under the RICO Act of 1970 . On May 27, 2016, Curiel granted a Washington Post request for some public interest indictment documents to be published. After winning the presidential election , Trump offered $ 25 million in compensation, of which 21 million would go to the Curiel-approved plaintiffs in San Diego, who accepted Trump's offer.

During his primary campaign and in the presidential campaign, Donald Trump attacked Curiel again because of his "Mexican origins". In an interview with the " Wall Street Journal " he referred to Curiel's "Mexican heritage"; because he, Trump, wants to build a wall on the Mexican border, there is a clear conflict of interest here. At an election campaign event in San Diego, he described Curiel as a "Mexican", "Donald Trump hater" and "shame" - in the original: "hater of Donald Trump," "disgrace," - and demanded that he resign because of bias:

“What happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine, "

“What happened is that the judge is, I think, Mexican, which is great. I think that's good "

- Donald Trump : Matt Ford: Trump Attacks a 'Mexican' US Federal Judge , The Atlantic , May 28, 2016

Trump's remarks met with severe criticism from lawyers and politicians from the two major American parties. ABC television chief lawyer Dan Abrams called the allegations "offensive to any self-respecting lawyer who believes in the integrity of our legal system." Russ Wheeler, who worked for the Federal Judicial Center for thirty years , referred to similar attacks against a federal judge by the 1964 and 1968 failed presidential candidate George Wallace , who was a staunch supporter of racial segregation . Charles Gardner Geyh, a law professor at the University of Indiana, emphasized that Trump's criticism was not based on a specific decision by Curiel, but on his descent from Mexican parents and his appointment by Obama. This is a new quality of judge scolding. Meredith Kelly, spokeswoman for the Democratic Election Committee for Congress, and Republican Senator Ben Sasse , called his statements racist.

"Public Service Announcement: Saying someone can't do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of 'racism,'"

"The claim that someone cannot do a particular job because of his or her race is the literal definition of racism"

- Ben Sasse : Laurie Kellman: More in GOP scold Trump: Stop talking about judge , The Northwest Indiana Times, June 6, 2016

Even Marco Rubio , Paul Ryan , John Kasich and Jeff Flake distanced themselves from Trump's remarks. Nevertheless, Trump stuck to his rejection of Curiel based on his parentage. "I'm just trying to find out why I'm being treated so unfairly by a judge," he told Fox News to explain what he said .

Personal

Curiel is an accomplished jazz guitarist . His wife is a probation officer and he has a daughter. He is a member of the international student association Kappa Alpha Psi , which was founded in 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington expressly as a student association with no access restrictions based on nationality, skin color or religion.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Who Is Judge Gonzalo Curiel, The Man Trump Attacked For His Mexican Ancestry? , Nina Totenberg, NPR , June 7, 2016
  2. ↑ a b E.C. native at center of Trump controversy , Elvia Malagon, The Northwest Indiana Times, June 3, 2016
  3. ↑ Senate Hearing 112-72, Part 7, Serial No. J-112-4 , Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing, 2012
  4. ↑ The Donald trumped in federal court here. His Trump University claims attacked by ex-students , Don Bauder, San Diego Reader, March 1, 2014
  5. ↑ a b c Why Is Donald Trump So Angry at Judge Gonzalo Curiel? , Matt Ford, The Atlantic, June 3, 2016
  6. ↑ Donald Trump agrees to $ 25-million settlement in lawsuits against Trump University , Kristina Davis, Los Angeles Times , November 18, 2016
  7. ↑ Trump blames legal woes on 'Spanish' judge , Robert King, Fox News, February 27, 2016
  8. ↑ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/trump-judge-gonzalo-curiel/484790/
  9. ↑ Legal Experts Worry After Trump Attacks Judge for Alleged Bias, Judge's Brother Calls Trump a 'Blowhard' , Shushannah Walshe, Meghan Keneally, ABC News , June 3, 2016
  10. ↑ [1]
  11. ↑ UPDATE: Ryan: Trump made 'textbook definition of a racist comment' , Erica Werner, Mary Clare Jalonick, The Northwest Indiana Times, June 7, 2016
  12. ↑ More in GOP scold Trump: Stop talking about judge , Laurie Kellman, The Northwest Indiana Times, June 6, 2016
  13. ↑ The Grand Polemarch's Statement On Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel ( December 25, 2016 memento on the Internet Archive ), Thomas L. Battles, Jr., Grand Polemarch, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.
personal data
SURNAME Curiel, Gonzalo P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Curiel, Gonzalo Paul (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American federal judge
DATE OF BIRTH 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH East Chicago , Indiana