Texas judge returns to bench after citizenship resolved

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A South Texas judge who was removed from the bench because she wasn’t a U.S. citizen has been reinstated.

The Corpus Christi city council voted Tuesday to restore Judge Young Min Burkett.

The council placed Burkett on unpaid leave in May when council members learned she was a U.S. permanent resident. Burkett, who grew up in South Korea, had served as a judge for two years before her status came into question.

Officials at the time said she never meant to misrepresent her background and that the qualification process to become a municipal judge never asked whether she was a citizen.

Burkett became a citizen this month.

The 41-year-old Burkett grew up in South Korea before moving to the U.S. at age 25.