Walter Bento another.jpg
When Walter Bento was subjected to the Jury, which removed him from the position of judge.
This is the first step in a long journey that will later include personal interviews of the applicants with the advisors, the formation of a shortlist which will be sent to Executive Branch of the Nation and the election, on behalf of the President, of one of the candidateswhich will be recommended to National Senatewhich will put the proposal to a vote until the chosen one.
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The Court that Walter Bento left deals with electoral matters
Federal Court 1 of Mendoza has dual jurisdiction, which makes it more attractive to occupy the position of judge.
They pass through that office criminal cases such as drug traffickingamong others, and also everything related to national electoralsuch as the validation of political parties, lists and presentations and challenges to candidacies for elective positions in the National Congress.
Since Walter Bento was dismissed for poor performance and immediately detained to be tried for corruption crimes by the Federal Oral Court 2, the criminal matters of the vacant Federal Court 1 are in charge of the criminal judge Marcelo Garnicahead of Federal Court 3, while issues related to Electoral Justice are the responsibility of the civil and commercial judge Pablo Quirós, from Federal Court 2.
The subrogation of Garnica and Quirós, who were appointed by the Federal Court of Appeals of Mendoza, will only expire when there is a regular judge, a process that is estimated to culminate at the end of the year.
From Leiva to Bento, the “cursed chair”
Today, the seat of Federal Court 1 is empty and the titular judge is waiting. For some, that place is cursed.
Judge Bento’s office evacuated June 2, 2023 (1).jpg
The office that Bento and Leiva used before has been empty since June 2023, when the Court of Appeals ordered the former to remove his personal items.
The last two occupants, Walter Bento and his predecessor Luis Leiva, were removed in two political trials that took place in Buenos Aires in 2023 and 2002.
Bento, for being seriously suspected of leading an illicit association who collected bribes to benefit people under judicial process in his own court. In fact, he has been in the dock since July 2023 in a process that would culminate at the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2025.
Leiva left due to poor performance in one of the 14 complaints that were received by the Council of the Judiciary after the emergence, in Mendoza, of the banker Raul Monetawho reported him for bribery.
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