Judge James R. DePiazza

It was 21 years ago around this time that I made my official announcement to run for JP2. Many changes in the political sphere have happened, but my values, mores and ethics have not. As I prepare to end my time as an elected official, I have come to a cross-road and am forced to make a tough decision. I have witnessed our Country fall further into division, and I truly believe a divided country cannot stand. This division has become more than just Republican-Democrat, Left-Right, Conservative-Liberal divisions, it has infiltrated into the Republican party itself. All of it, in my opinion, is rooted in evil, an evil that has not just become pervasive in our county, but our state, country, and the world. I have chosen to distance myself from it all.

The Republican party in Texas has given me some awful choices to vote for, but the choice of voting for a Republican candidate that doesn’t share all of my values is easier than the progressive ideology that is pervasive in the Democrat party platform, where its candidates hold, pretty much, none of my values. The system is broken and it is the system that needs to be fixed. We need to get rid of the two-party system so that independent voters don’t have to choose between two extremes. My solution would be to run our elections in the manner that our local elections are run…All candidates are in one primary election that the entire electorate gets to participate in, with the two leading vote-getters facing off in the general election. Fair and simple!

You leaders of the factions in the Republican Party need to stop. You don’t understand the pressures you put on elected officials and candidates when you force us to choose a faction. You are creating a divide in the party that, if it continues, there will be as much division within the party as there is between the two major parties...we may already be there! I am not going to go further, in this post, on how it affected me, but seeing the direction the Republican party is going, I have a hard time being associated with it. There are many good people in the party that I consider dear friends, and hope to continue those friendships, yet I cannot continue to see myself support the rhetoric that exists within its culture.

I am officially announcing that I no longer consider myself a Republican, I am an independent-minded constitutional American who will no longer support ideologies and positions that are in contrast with my values, mores, and ethics. I am America First and if we don’t start focusing on our own problems, I do not believe we will have a country left to defend. This is the fault of both Republicans and Democrats, so stop pointing fingers! In the spirit of Ronald Reagan, “I am not leaving the Republican Party, the party left me." The main reason for this decision is the fact the Republican Party claims to be pro-life, yet supports the genocide that went on in Gaza and continues in Lebanon. Now the IDF has moved onto attacks on Catholics and other Christian communities in those regions, yet there is only silence from Republican leaders and continued support for what the Nation of Isreal is doing. That was the breaking point for me. I no longer want to be associated with an organization that supports such evil. I no longer see the Republican Party as pro-life. At best, it is anti-abortion, which is an admirable quality, but anti-abortion and pro-life are two different ideologies. Second, I cannot vote for all the Republican candidates the party has given me to choose from. Character and integrity matter the most to me and there is one office that the Democrat candidate has shown more of those traits than the Republican candidate. Hence, that is why I am now an Independent.

My hands are tied right now due to being a judicial officer, but come January 1, 2027, my voice will not be silenced any longer. Hard decisions need to be made by the American people, which the Republican and Democrat Parties have both shown that they do not have the capacity to fix the brokenness they have both created. Stay tuned…

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It's not just a day off of work, time for a barbecue, or the "official" beginning of summer, it's a day to honor and remember those who died so we can have and do such.

Take some time today to reflect and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

It was my intention to not publicly insert my self into the primary election for my replacement. However, one candidate has chosen to insert me into it with his misleading rhetoric and, recently, with an easily verifiable untruth. I believe I not only have the right to defend myself, but a responsibility to do so. At a forum hosted by the Frisco Lakes Conservative Coalition this past Sunday, candidate Chris Pochyla stated that I don't allow prosecutors access to my court, which creates a backlog. This is an absolute false statement as prosecutors have assigned courts and days they attend to those courts. Since taking office, the JP2 courts pretrial and trial docket have been held two Thursdays a month. This schedule has never been hindered and there have been times when additional dockets have been added when the criminal caseload increased and required additional time to prevent a backlog.

I confronted Mr. Pochyla on this and he told me a prosecutor from the DAs office told him that. I pressed him and he walked back his statement to, in essence, they don't like coming to the JP2 court because I don't let them do their job. Far different message than I don't allow them access to the court that creates a backlog.

I fully accept that my standards constrain the plea deals prosecutors can do in my court. I stand behind those standards and criticizing those is fair game. But I am not his opponent, so why would he even want to bring that up? That would be a question for him and would like to see him respond. If he wants to have a public debate on my record, here is his opportunity to do so. I can defend any criticism he has about me and willing to do so.

If anyone in Frisco knows the following candidates from the recent city and ISD elections, please ask them to come to the Denton County Government Center in Frisco to take down their signs so the County doesn't have to use its resources to do so. Thank you!

Muni
Sai
Babu
Reddy

Recently celebrating my last birthday in office, my clerks, whom are the true reason that this office is so successful, made it memorable. They work very hard for the pay they receive...been trying to get the Commissioners Court to see their pay is not commensurate to the work they perform for years to no avail...while getting yelled at, cussed at, degraded, given the finger and even had a forty-something year old woman stick her tongue out at them, yet they excel and keep the court flourishing.

Without them, I am nothing! Thank you Lisa, Claudia, Alejandra, Ana, and Nubia for all you do. You all Rock!
..If you notice in the last pic, they reminded me that all of my ducks are almost in a row. 🙂

I will not deny the facts of youth dealing with gender dysphoria. The problem is with the adults and mental health professionals who push the narrative in the wrong direction. As a former mental health professional, who still stays on top of it, I have been saying this since it became a progressive talking point. I will also go out on a limb to say that those who propagated this lie will not stop, even if they read the study. Why? Because when your ideology means more to you than truth, there is nothing that will change your mind! Those people prefer darkness over light.

Landmark Finnish study finds youths’ mental health problems increase after gender ‘transitions’ - Zeale A new study of more than 2,000 Finnish youth found that the mental health problems of young people with gender dysphoria did not diminish after they sought “gender identity” services — and in some cases their mental health issues increased.

When I was at UNT working on my counseling degree, we had to take a diversity class. The professor taught us that in order for diversity to be honored, we needed to think of our society as a salad bowl, not a melting pot. My parents were visiting at the time and I shared that thought with my dad who said, "Yeah, but over time, salad rots."

What the "salad bowl" ideology misses is that the "melting pot" idea brings all together and creates unity, not a bunch of different pieces, but a united culture..."From the many, ONE."

As we approach the 250th anniversary of our country and it's independence, just maybe it is time to focus on unity and not constant division. United we stand, divided we fall. Right now we are falling so hard that the fabric of our society is quickly ripping apart. We need to become that melting pot again that creates steel unity. Unity that is only possible when we again become "One Nation Under God."

E Pluribus Unum

Early voting starts today with only 2 weeks left until election day.

The Justice of the Peace race is at the bottom of the ballot, just before the Republican Party Precinct Chair. As you are considering which candidate to vote for to replace me, here are some additional items to consider in choosing your next JP.

The Justice of the Peace is a unique court in that you don’t have to be an attorney to be elected. It was developed as “The People’s Court.” The other trial courts in Texas are Municipal Courts, County Courts at Law, County Criminal Courts, and District Courts. The administration of the Justice Court is different from these other courts as the judge is responsible for hiring, leading, managing, adjudicating and processing of all court documents. In some small counties, the JP handles all these functions. In Denton County, our volume is so large that we require a staff of Justice Court Clerks to assist in the daily operations of the court. A Justice Court Clerk is “deputized” by the judge who delegates responsibilities to the staff that the judge sees fit to do…this only pertains to the administrative functions; Sitting on the bench or determining the outcome of cases cannot be delegated.

How is this different from other courts? The District Courts have the District Clerk handle the administration of cases, the County Courts have the County Clerk, and the Municipal Court operations are handled by the Court Administrator (title different in some municipalities), that is usually hired by the City Council, City Manager or a designated individual, not the judge.

Why is this important when determining who to vote for? Because you are not just hiring a judge to conduct court and adjudicate cases, you are hiring a leader who can successfully lead a staff of Justice Court Clerks and manage the day-to-day operations of an organization. Hence, it is not just a matter of who “knows” the law going into the job…every elected JP goes through the Texas Justice Court Training Center’s new judge school, regardless of legal background…there is a fundamental need to be able to manage the daily administration operations of the court and be a leader to a staff of clerks. From my perspective, experience in this aspect of the JP role is more important than having a legal or law background. Anyone can learn the law; however, it is a gift to be able to lead people and manage an organization!

Summary…In your choice for Justice of the Peace, look for the individual who can best handle the operations of the court, the legal knowledge will be taught and fall into place.

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Denton County offices will re-open today at 10:00 am.

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Denton County offices will be closed again on Wednesday, January 28th. If you had a hearing scheduled, you will be sent a reset notice. If you have questions, call the court on Thursday. Please be patient if you have to leave a message. A clerk will return your call as soon as possible.