LareDOS asked a few questions of the candidates for Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 -- incumbent JP Oscar O. Martinez and challenger Jesus Dominguez. A transcript of those interviews follows:

Please give us your personal and educational background.

Oscar O. Martinez: I attended Ursuline Academy as a youngster and then St. Joseph's Academy. I graduated from Martin High School in 1959 and then attended Laredo Junior College. I worked as a bell boy at La Posada so that I could pay for my college classes. I went to Texas A&I in Kingsville and then moved to California where I worked for a year. In 1963, I joined the USAF Reserves with the 433rd Troop Carrier 922nd Wing Combat Support Group. After six years, I received an honorable discharge in 1969.
In 1965, I established Martinez Brothers Gulf Station at Lafayette and Santa Ursula. In 1970, I sold the business to go into real estate with the Salinas Realty Company, with which I was affiliated until 1977. At that time, H. J. Fasci and I began Border Realty, which is the family business operated by my son Oscar Omar, Jr.
In 1991 I was appointed judge for Precinct 4 when Andy Santos decided to run for Sheriff.
I make it a point to keep up with annual classes for licensure by the Texas Board of Realtors. I also attend regular classes of the South Texas Justice of the Peace Conference, which keeps me up with changes in the law. Those classes keep things in check, which powers you do have and which you don't have. This is where you learn about JPs who have been removed because they forgot for a moment that they are under the watchful eye of the State.
On a personal note, I married Thelma Gutierrez and we are the parents of three grown children, Gerry Abdallah, a teacher at Clark Middle School, Christie, a teacher at Henry Cuellar Elementary School, and Oscar Omar, Jr. Thelma is a counselor at Alexander High School and has been with United ISD for 31 years.
I've been a part of Del Mar since 1973, and certainly I've been a witness to its growth in the area of residences, businesses, and schools.
I was born in Laredo but my family is from Guerrero Viejo and Ramireño. Our ranch is in Ramireño.
I was recognized by LULAC with an award called Lo Mejor de Nuestro. That was for 31 years of service for the children of Webb County. I also was recognized for service above self from Rotary. I have the goodwill and friendship from my co-members at L.I.F.E. for trying to make things better for all the children who participate in the fair. Every child should be able to sell his or her project. I've been part of the effort to make sure that happens.
Jesus Dominguez: I was born in Laredo and graduated from St. Augustine High School in 1982. I completed a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a master's at St. Mary's University. I am a graduate of the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. I was licensed in May of 1997 and have since gained significant experience as a general practice lawyer in commercial, criminal, family, probate, and property (deeds, landlord/tenant, and closing) law. I was an adjunct instructor at Laredo Community College from September 1997 to August 1998. Prior to that I was with the Bexar County Community Supervision & Corrections Department.
My father was the late Jesus M. Dominguez, Sr., who owned a clothing store called Dominguez'. My mother is Eloisa Peña Dominguez. I have two brothers, Arturo, a U.S. customs broker, and Roberto, a rancher. I am married to Olinda Flores Dominguez. We have two children, Victoria, 10, and Andrea Montserrat, two. I was raised in Nuevo Laredo until I was 19 and went to college. I now live in Plantation. My bar affiliations include the Laredo Young Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the American Trail Lawyers Association, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the Webb County Bar Association
I am a member of the Knights of Columbus Council of Blessed Sacrament Church, a former coach of the St. Augustine Junior High Basketball Team, a former coach of the St. Augustine Freshman and Junior Varsity Basketball Team, and a former coach of the United Day Elementary 9-10 year old Girls Basketball Team. I have been part of the Volunteer Legal Clinic in conjunction with the Laredo Young Lawyers and Coastal Bend Legal Services.

Define the job of justice of the peace as you see it.

Martinez: We are there to see that there is no breach of peace within our community. We try to mediate more than judge the cases before us. Our job is to bring families together, settle debts and landlord disputes, and make things work out quickly and in the best interest of children.
We do magistration. We set bond. I'm known to set high bond, especially for dope traffickers who poison the youth of our community. I see their work daily. I'm very involved in the bond issue for the youth village. It's an effort Judge Garza and I got involved in in 1993. Children offenders don't need jail. They need something to make their lives productive and meaningful. They can be saved, but it has to be a community effort. Those children could go on to college. I am very much involved with educational issues.
There are children who appeared before me who people thought wouldn't move on with their lives. They did. They finished college. We owe it to them to exhaust all possibilities to help children. We should have a rehab facility in Webb County that provides the kind of counseling and resources that allows them to keep attending school. We can save them. I know it can be done. Sometimes it's just a matter of determining what the source of abuse is that makes them get off track. SCAN works with me this way. There are parents who do not care about the welfare of their own children. That's where we come in. The child is far more important than the parent. We ask SCAN to make determinations through an investigation if the parents are causing the child harm.
One of the best resources children in Laredo have is Roy García of the City's Community Development department. Through the Keep Laredo Clean program which enlists students to perform public works, and through counseling from law enforcement students at TAMIU, you can turn a child around. You help him or her become a better student by giving them the support they need emotionally and by giving them a means to repay their infraction. This has been a really rewarding program, very productive, and good for the community, too, when you consider that this year's community service project concerns sprucing up the fairgrounds at L.I.F.E.
Dominguez: A JP would need to have good listening skills and would be compassionate toward the application of law. Some individuals who are justices of the peace have only small claims court experience. I believe it is fundamentally important to have a broader application of the law. This court is presently an ad hoc court that gets advice from attorneys. It is rare that rulings are made at the moment or at the conclusion of the hearing. "I'll get back to you" is not a good conclusion. Re-setting cases is very frustrating and time-consuming for all parties, and it wastes the taxpayers money.
A Justice of the Peace listens to small claims cases of a jurisdictional value of $5,000 or less. The JP court handles traffic citations and/or class C misdemeanors (public intoxication, reckless driving, some assaults) and transportation code violations. A justice of the peace performs marriages, pronounces people dead at the scene of an accident or a homicide. A JP magistrates and sets bond on criminal defendants. In some property matters, the JP has exclusive jurisdiction over forcible entries and detainers and evictions in landlord/tenant causes. He also can set emergency protective orders in domestic violence situations. He sets fines for TxDOT traffic and vehicle violations, and hears cases involving city, county, and Department of Public Safety issues.

What are the basic differences between you and your opponent?

Martinez: He's says he is young and I am old. He believes I've been there too long.
I believe, however, that it is experience that sets us apart -- life's experiences and the experience of presiding over this court. I have become very good at what I do. I think this is an efficient court presided over by a concerned, compassionate individual.
This is a court of the people. There are JPs across the state and the country who are not attorneys, and they do very well. Of note are many in our own community. We are mediators. I have heard many high stakes cases involving contracts and leases. I have heard them all and settled many and I can say that I have made many more friends than enemies.
Dominguez: I am a lawyer. If you had to draw a distinction, that is most clearly it, which gives me the advantage of knowing the law and applying it.
Second, I do not have to go to any trainings as the incumbent presently has to in order to sit as a justice of the peace. This is a windfall for the county in savings. My education, a Master of Arts in political science, keeps me in tune in knowing the intricacies of administration of public government and knowing what is within the bounds of the office. There is no learning curve.
My experience is another difference between me and my opponent, my experience in dealing with at least 50 different judges within my career as an attorney. That I can practice in all the courts in the State of Texas that has given me the experience and knowledge that I would be able to bring to the justice of the peace court. I have a full knowledge of the legal system, of what constitutes evidence, substantive due process, and procedural due process. I am a young, progressive individual.

What is at stake in this race for Justice of the Peace Pct. 4?

Martinez: You'd be starting over. His would be a different court. We are very different. It's hard to believe that he would be a full-time judge. That would hinder the court. My court has an open door policy, no appointments necessary. I have been very vocal. I don't agree with the truck checkpoint being moved to the 18-mile marker. The checkpoint should be at the international bridges. If a truck is not fit at the checkpoint, what is it doing driving all over Webb County?
It's a funny race. What my opponent may have in money for this campaign, I have in friendships.
Dominguez: For most constituents an appearance in JP court is an individual's first contact with the judicial system. It should be a good encounter and one that mimics the other courts in uniformity and predictability of the law. When the law is not applied according to the law of the case, then people are dissatisfied and disgusted with the judicial system. In order for the judicial system to work, all the courts have to be harmonious and uniform. People are sometimes excluded from the system. Every individual in the precinct should feel that they have a court and take full advantage of it being there to serve. Everyone should be treated equally under the law. Special interests should have no place in the justice of the peace court or in any court. Cases shouldn't be dismissed capriciously.

What do you want the voters to consider when they decide between Oscar O. Martinez and Jesus Dominguez as their Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4?

Martinez: I want them to remember my honesty, my sincerity, and what I have done in this community -- that I promised them a new court and that I came through.
I want them to remember that I care about all the children and that I work hand in hand with the school district. I am always available. I have assembled a good staff. I'm a veteran who believes in and has great respect for the right to vote, the right to free speech. I salute Mr. Dominguez for running. A challenge is good.
And I want the voters of Precinct 4 to know that just as I have asked in the past, I am asking them for their vote today. I thank them in advance for their good judgement and their respect. I ask them for the opportunity to serve another four year term.
Dominguez: I want them to consider the total package that I am as a lawyer. And as a lawyer I will be able to treat everyone the same. Cases in my court will be moved effectively because I will be bringing in the latest in legal software for the management and control of the dockets. People are not going to be spending two or three hours in court waiting for cases to be heard, and people will not be waiting for rulings to be made at a later date. The wheels of justice don't have to grind slowly. As an experienced lawyer, I will not delay justice because when one delays justice, one denies justice.