Judge Harris Defends Munford Gun Grabbing

Judge Harris Defends Munford Gun Grabbing

By

James Scott Trimm

In a recent blog I revealed that Associate Judge Munford signed in 2009 “grabbing” Tarrant County gun owner and father Michael Keith Ives guns.  If you have not read James Munford: The Gun Grabbing Judge read it by clicking <here>.

It appears that the Munford Camp is now in serious damage control.  Munford’s old college buddy Judge Harris has made the very unusual step of injecting himself into this controversy.

Harris has rushed to support his old friend saying:

A blogger has recently posted some disturbing misinformation about Judge Jim Munford and his alleged "gun grabbing" in the court orders he routinely issues. The truth is that all orders containing standard injunctive language "as to persons" prohibit and person subject to that order from the possession of a firearm or amunition.  Not the rule of the judge, the subject of the Federal law (see 18 U.S.C. 922(g)).  If Judge Munford's rulings are to be attacked in such a specious detail, the blogger should fairly characterize every judge and associate judge that issue injunctions as to persons as "gun grabbers."  More specifically, every single judge or associate judge sitting in family or probate courts in the State of Texas.

I don't like that level of Federal involvement in State issues.  I have known Judge Munford since our college days at UTA and I know him to be a strident supporter of the 2nd Amendment.  The blogger's characterization of Judge Munford as a "gun grabber" is made with either a sad ignorance of the law or a malicious misrepresentation of the truth.  Or as some call it "fake news."

I have a challenge for Judge Harris, since he has seemed to have taken off his robe and entered the blogging world:  You say that my blog contained “misinformation,” you called it “malicious” and you called it “fake news.”  Please tell me exactly what statement in my blog was factually inaccurate?  Exactly what about is was “malicious”? 

I have a long record of standing up for gun rights.  In fact, as a member of the Tarrant County Republican Party Executive Committee, I introduced a resolution calling for Constitutional Carry.  I have blogged in support of gun rights for years.  I even went down to Austin and walked the halls of the Capital visiting State Representatives on behalf of State Representative Stickland, asking for them to support Constitutional Carry!  There is nothing malicious about my long standing support for gun rights in this blog and in the halls of the Texas House. 

In his statement Harris has revealed to us that this was not an isolated incident, but that his old college buddy issued gun grabbing orders “routinely.” 

Here is the relevant portion of the unconstitutional Federal Law cited by Harris as an excuse for Munford’s Gun Grabbing ways.  It unconstitutionally prohibits possession of a firearm to a person:

(8) who is subject to a court order that—

(A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;

(B) restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and

(C)

(i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or

(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; …

This Federal Law is flatly unconstitutional.  The word “or” at the end of  8,C,i  means that the provision in 8,C,ii does not require a “finding that such person represents a credible threat” and thus this unconstitutional law violates both the second amendment as well as the due process clause of the fourth amendment.  This law unconstitutionally allows a judge to grab guns without due process of Law. 

That said, there is nothing about this law that required Munford to add his “gun grabbing” provision into his order.  This blogger obtained a court order which Associate Judge Munford signed in 2009 “grabbing” Tarrant County gun owner and father Michael Keith Ives guns:

“…the Father is not to have in his possession or control a firearm and he is placed on notice that he is not to have in his possession any firearm until such time as the injunction is resolved.  The firearms may be delivered to a third party for storage such as the paternal grandparent.”

Ives’ only crime was being both a father, and a gun owner.  He was not accused of threatening anyone, or doing anything inappropriate with his guns, yet Gun Grabbing Munford was effectively stripping Ives of his second amendment rights!

There is nothing about the Federal Law cited by Judge Harris (quoted above) that required Munford, or any other judge, to insert this kind of gun grabbing provision into a court order. 

This is made obvious by the fact that Munford was later effectively reversed by District Court Judge Berger who removed the provision from the order (and then only after the NRA began backing Ives).  If Federal law required Munford’s gun grabbing provision to be in the order, then how on earth did Berger magically take it out? 

The fact is that the Federal law cited by Harris does not require Judges to insert gun grabbing language into their orders at all!  In fact a judge encountering an unconstitutional law should follow their oath by refusing to enforce that law, and finding it unconstitutional.  The last thing a judge should do is instead incorporate it into their court orders!  By doing so Munford added his own unconstitutional order on top of an unconstitutional Federal law.

Harris claims he does not like “that level of Federal involvement in State issues” yet he cites this clearly unconstitutional Federal Law as if it trumps the Second Amendment and due process clause of the Fourth Amendment!  No Federal Law trumps the Second Amendment. 

This Federal Law needs to stand alone and be found unconstitutional.  It does not need to be supported by being used as an excuse for Munford to insert his own unconstitutional gun grabbing provisions into his orders.

The fact that Harris has stuck his neck out with this baseless argument to support his old college buddy’s “routine” Gun Grabbing ways is a huge sign that the Munford camp is in serious trouble.  Munford cannot deny Munford’s Gun Grabbing ways, and is now digging their heels in, in a desperate attempt to rationalize them. 

It is no surprise that the Munford Camp is appealing to an unconstititutional  Federal Law to justify his Gun Grabbing orders.  Munford was endorsed early on by Protective Parents of Texas, a group which has begin a campaign to Federalize Texas Family Law!

Just say no to Federalization of Texas Family Law!

Just say no to James Munford, the Gun Grabbing Judge of Tarrant County!

Related:

James Munford: The Gun Grabbing Judge

PPT Pals Circle Wagons for Munford


TFM to Fight Federalization of Texas Family Law


Munford: Liberal Rulings on Child Discipline—Anti-Spanking Judge