The courts never make mistakes and people in government always deal honestly with their subjects. Beleive that and I have some land I want to sell you :) Original Article Maryvale JP draws State Bar suspension Emily Bittner The Arizona Republic Mar. 11, 2005 12:00 AM The Maryvale justice of the peace has been suspended from the State Bar of Arizona and reassigned after repeated allegations of misconduct. Jesse R. Miranda allegedly kept clients' settlement money, allowed a family to move into another client's home and asked another client to lend him $100,000 from a home sale. Miranda is still drawing a salary but isn't hearing cases, said Keith Stott, executive director of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Five clients' complaints were lodged with the State Bar. The commission is investigating a sixth complaint, but Stott declined to discuss it specifically. Miranda has not responded to any of the allegations. Vanessa Villa, a legal secretary, was one of the clients who complained to the State Bar. According to the complaint, she declared bankruptcy after Miranda allowed people to live in a house she was trying to sell without paying her rent. "It's horrible what I had to go through," said Villa, who was a single mother of a toddler at the time. Miranda, the brother of state lawmakers Ben and Richard Miranda, won his seat from incumbent Andy Gastelum in Maryvale in a September election. Justices of the peace decide traffic tickets, issue protection orders and rule on small civil claims. The chief justice of Arizona can reassign a judge when his or her "conduct may pose a threat to the public or the administration of justice." The State Bar informally reprimanded Miranda in February 2004 because he had proceedings on the same issue in two courts, but didn't tell the judges. Miranda was fined and ordered to pay $326.25. He never paid. A formal complaint was filed against Miranda in January 2005. The allegations included four complaints. According to the allegations in State Bar records: One client said Miranda took $2,000 from a car accident settlement for further legal work that was never done. A second man went to court after he wrote a check with insufficient funds. The man agreed to pay $500 and sent Miranda, his attorney, a check for that amount. Miranda never gave the money to the plaintiff and the man's wages were garnished. Villa tried to sell her house to avoid foreclosure and gave Miranda rights to the home. Miranda was supposed to sell the house quickly, but let a woman and her young children live in the house without the owner's permission. The sale fell through and the woman filed for bankruptcy protection. The fourth client hired Miranda to deal with her companion's estate and establish a trust fund. Miranda sold a house for $375,000 and then borrowed $100,000 of the proceeds. He also liquidated $140,000 in stocks. With the proceeds, he bought three flower shops and five properties. Because Miranda didn't dispute the complaints, they were accepted by the State Bar, which has begun a process to disbar Miranda. "As far as we're concerned, he cannot practice law," said Matt Silverman, a spokesman for the State Bar.