A McAllen judge has ruled against in favor of a group of students who had sued Hidalgo County over the way justices of the peace handled truancy cases.
The students and their parents filed the lawsuit against the nine justices of the peace, Sheriff Lupe Treviño and Hidalgo County back in July 2010.
The case has been set for trial in March but U.S. District Court Judge Randy Crane ruled against Hidalgo County and in favor of the parents and students on Wednesday.
Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the teens.
According to the lawsuit, the teens were over the age of 17, cited in truancy cases and had to spend up to a week with adults in the Hidalgo County Jail.
The civil rights group claims many of the teens were ticketed for truancy and other school-related offense before their 17th birthdays.
The ACLU claims Hidalgo County has created a "school to prison pipeline" burdening teens from poor families with heavy fines that they can't pay resulting in jail time.
According to the lawsuit, one teen has medical problems and was not able to graduate because she was in jail and missed her TAKS test.
Action 4 News will have the full story during our 10 p.m. newscast.
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