Court Deems Two TYC Firings Unconstitutional

2009-04-16 20:40:26 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Law, News)

A federal judge rules that two TYC firings were unconstitutional

A federal judge rules that the termination of two employees at the state juvenile detention center were improperly handled.

Wired PR News – A federal judge’s recent ruling on the termination of two long-term employees of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) may have consequences for reform measures initially designed to deal with the agency’s sex abuse scandal. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, San Antonio District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled that the state wrongly terminated two TYC employees, Patricia Logterman and Corinne Alvarez-Sanders, and the state implemented measure that allowed the agency to fire employees without cause is not constitutional.

As noted by the Dallas Morning News report, over 100 people were fired, and hundreds more left TYC amid controversy surrounding claims that several employees had taken part in the sexual and physical abuse of inmates. The judge ruled that the reform measure signed by Texas governor Rick Perry in 2007 in an effort to clean up the agency was unjustly applied to workers who had been hired as “for cause employees.”

The agency is said to state that those fired were provided hearings for termination as policies outlined for the agency stipulate. Further hearings are set to be heard on the matter.