Naked City

In another of his regular attempts to get his name in the papers, 105th District Judge Manuel Banales of Corpus Christi has proposed changing state law to allow public branding of "sex offenders" even outside his jurisdiction. In 2001, Banales garnered headlines when he ordered 15 sex offenders on probation to place signs at their homes and on their vehicles declaring their criminal status. Now he's asked Corpus Christi legislators to amend state law to allow his order to persist should any of the offenders move out of Nueces Co.

According to a report in Monday's Caller-Times, Democratic legislators Sen.-elect Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa and Rep. Jaime Capelo responded to Banales' request, saying they would file bills to close the "loophole" Banales says confines public notice only to the county where the offense occurred. The judge said he had only recently discovered the limitation, adding, "That's why it pays to read the law every now and then." He somehow neglected to mention that the probationers would have to apply to him for permission to move at all, and that his publicity-seeking policy constitutes collective punishments of entire families as well as an official invitation to vigilantism.

In May, the Court of Criminal Appeals said the 13th Court of Appeals had abused its discretion by ruling in favor of a probationer who had contested Banales order. After his client decided to drop the case, the man's attorney commented, "He just wants to do his probation and not be in the limelight. Everyone who has a sign is too scared to take the case on appeal. They just want to be left alone."