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     In my 20 years experience in the courtroom, I never met a more unprincipled judge than Paul Onuska, and rarely one so rude. He is a disgrace to the bench.

     In the mid-nineties, I worked for a little over a year in the D.A.’s Office in Farmington. Prior to that job, I prosecuted for a number of years in Texas, as well as a couple of years in the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Zimbabwe. When I joined the San Juan County D.A.’s Office, several prosecutors warned me about Judge Onuska. They considered him very unfair to the State, and nasty to deal with in court. The warnings, I learned, were extremely accurate. Simply put, Paul Onuska is one of the worst judges I have ever met.

     Attorneys are encouraged by the bar to do “pro bono” work (“for good,” i.e. legal work for a charitable purpose, without compensation.) Although I am now back in Texas prosecuting for a multi-county D.A.’s Office, I still have friends in Farmington, I own property there, and I still care about the community. I also care about the administration of justice, and the rule of law. I have made the defeat of this mean-spirited, ignorant, and unprincipled man my pro bono publico project for this year.

     Since I doubt that God suspends the Eighth Commandment (“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”) for political campaigns, I have made every effort to insure the accuracy of these articles. Most of what is reported here is based on public record, which the reader can easily access for himself. If you see a factual error, please write me with the correction at P.O. BOX 952 Goliad, TX 77963. Moreover, I have written Judge Onuska a letter with a series of questions raised by these articles, and have invited him to respond (see: "Questions for Onuska"). So far, he has not.

     If you believe in the rule of law, and high standards for the judiciary, then join me in this campaign. Urge your friends, neighbors, workmates, and relatives to vote NO to Onuska’s retention Nov. 5. Urge them to read this website, and forward this website to them. And send a contribution to The Committee for Judicial Integrity (see “What to do”), a Political Action Committee registered with the N.M. Secretary of State.

     A successful campaign to oust a bad judge has beneficial effects far beyond the replacement of that judge. It lets all judges know that they are not potentates unfettered by the law or the normal conventions of civilized behavior. It reminds them that they hold a position of great honor, but are ultimately servants of the law, not its master.

     (Terry Breen graduated from the University of Houston School of Law in 1980. He spent two years as a public prosecutor in Zimbabwe after the civil war in that country ended, prosecuting assaults, riots, thefts, house breakings, and Witchcraft Suppression Act cases. He returned to Texas, and except for his year-plus with the San Juan Co. D.A.’s Office, he has prosecuted in Texas. He is currently a felony prosecutor for the 24th Judicial District, out of Cuero, Texas. Besides trying jury cases, he has written about 50 appellate briefs, as well as a handbook on search and seizure law for police officers working narcotics interdiction, which is used by the Texas D.P.S., as well as other departments.)

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