Texas Supreme Court | Face to Face Project

State Level Judicial Candidates

Texas Supreme Court
Chart of Texas Judicial Department
https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1452920/court-structure-chart-september-2021.pdf

Brochure of the Court System

https://www.txcourts.gov/media/675444/The-Texas-Judicial-System_Print102714.pdf

I cannot stress enough how important the Judges are in the day and time in which we live. Especially Democratic Judges. Not only do they make empathetic compassionate rulings that follow the law they have developed on their own special programs to stop the school to prison pipeline and the revolving door on prisons. I will list the ones I know about under the Community Service button on the social bar of each Candidate, in their bios and you can always find more on their campaign websites and Official Government pages. They are in the trenches and know what would improve our judicial systems. Another program I have come across is separating the mentally ill to get treatment under doctor care into special hospitals for that purpose. There are many more...not to mention how the clean up from the last President is being done through the courts and they are able to right so many wrongs. Support them with donations and with getting elected, educate the public about them, and above all vote for them. The Judges will save us. Make sure there is a Democratic Judge in every possible position. As the voter you are the HR person for the state. Make sure to voter for a Judge who is well qualified. Who is experienced. Who has a fair and impartial record. And elect with an emphasis on diversity. Everyone should have a place at the table and be judged by their peers. An educated voter is always a good thing. But make a strong mental note that one major thing that has to be cleaned up in Texas is the strangle hold the Republican Party has on our Judiciary. I have noted where I could find the information how many judges were appointed rather than elected under Perry and Abbott. Almost all on our top level judges are. I am going to put together a list of ones I know are appointed but it is very hard to get that information. I will include it on this page after I get the site set up for the Fall Elections.

Texas Supreme Court

It is the state highest appellate court along with the Court of Criminal Appeals. It is the final appellate jurisdiction in civil and juvenile cases in the state. It is in Austin, immediately northwest of the state Capitol. By statute the Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas. The Court is also the sole authority for licensing attorneys in Texas and appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners, which administers the Texas bar examination. The Court promulgates the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Texas Rules of Evidence and other rules and standards.

Judicial selection

There is one Chief Justice and eight Justices on the Texas Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices are elected to staggered six-year terms in statewide elections. Justices are elected through partisan elections. Vacancies between elections are filled by the governor, with advice and confirmation by the Senate. While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to remain on the court until their terms expire.

Qualifications

The qualifications to be an appellate judge are:

Citizen of the United States and of Texas
Between the ages of 35 and 74
Licensed to practice law in the state of Texas
A practicing lawyer, or lawyer and judge of court of record together, for at least 10 years

Salary

Associates: $184,800

Jurisdiction

The caseload of the Texas Supreme Court is determined by whether the court decides to grant a review of a judgment. The court has mandatory jurisdiction over writs of mandamus and habeas corpus. The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction to answer questions of state law certified from a federal appellate court; has original jurisdiction to issue writs and to conduct proceedings for the involuntary retirement or removal of judges; and reviews cases involving attorney discipline upon appeal from the Board of Disciplinary Appeals of the State Bar of Texas.

Current Membership:

https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/about-the-court/

Sources: https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/; https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Supreme_Court

Chief Justice Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Age 74

Salary: $204,600

Term ends 2026

Appointed by Gov. Rick Perry

Male, Caucasian

Sources: https://www.texastribune.org/directory/nathan-hecht/;https://ballotpedia.org/Nathan_Hecht

Texas Supreme Court Place 2 Age 42

Salary: $168,000

Term ends 2024

Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Male, Caucasian

Sources:https://www.texastribune.org/directory/jimmy-blacklock/; https://ballotpedia.org/Jimmy_Blacklock

Texas Supreme Court Place 2 DaSean Jones

Currently Judge DaSean Jones presides over a State District Criminal Court 180., Harris County. Jones earned a B.A. in English from Tuskegee University, an M.A. in management & leadership from Webster University, and a J.D. from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He served as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2008, as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2008 to 2011, and has served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2012.

Sources:https://www.texastribune.org/directory/jimmy-blacklock/; https://ballotpedia.org/Jimmy_Blacklock

Texas Supreme Court Place 3 Age 66

Salary: $201,600

Term Ends 2028

Appointed by Gov. Rick Perry

Female, Caucasian

Source: https://www.texastribune.org/directory/debra-lehrmann/;https://ballotpedia.org/Debra_Lehrmann

Texas Supreme Court Place 4 Christine Vinh Weems

is the sitting judge of the 281st Civil District Court in Harris County Texas. She is excited to be running as a Democrat for the Texas Supreme Court Place 4 in 2024! She is the Judge in June 2022 granted a TRO to stop enforcement of the abortion ban!
Highlights about Judge Weems:
- Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Personal Injury Trial Law and Civil Trial Law
- Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates
- Member of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists
- Licensed in Texas and California, passed the bar in New York
- Licensed in the United States Supreme Court
- Director of the Mock Trial Program at the University of Houston Law Center and Adjunct Professor in Trial Advocacy and Voir Dire: The Art of Jury De-Selection
- 2021 Honorary Alum award from the University of Houston Law Center Alumni Association
- 2023 Outstanding Mentor award from the Asian Pacific Interest Section of the State Bar of Texas
- Founding Board Member and Executive Director of Cone Man Running Production - an award-winning Houston-area community theatre
- Wife, mother of three boys, extra in Office Space.

Sources: https://www.weemsforjudge.com/

Texas Supreme Court Place 4 Age 64

Salary: $201,600

Term ends 2024

Only current Supreme Court Justice first elected by the voters of Texas

Male, Caucasian

Sources: https://www.texastribune.org/directory/john-devine/; https://ballotpedia.org/John_Devine_(Texas)

Texas Supreme Court Place 5 Age 49

Salary: $184,800

Term ends 2028

Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Female, Latina

Sources: https://www.texastribune.org/directory/rebecca-huddle/; https://ballotpedia.org/Rebeca_Huddle

Texas Supreme Court Place 6 Justice Bonnie Lee Goldstein

sitting judge of the 5th District Court of Appeals. B.A. from Hood College in 1984, with a double major in Law and Society (pre-law) and Spanish, and a J.D. from The George Washington University, The National Law Center in 1990, and licensed in Texas the same year. Prior to her election to the 5th Court, she served as the Presiding Judge of the 44th Judicial District Court in Dallas County. She commenced her legal career in Dallas with the law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch and Knox practicing in a variety of areas including complex commercial litigation, construction, surety, fidelity and state and local government law. For the eleven years prior to her election to the 44th Judicial District Court, Justice Goldstein was a solo practitioner, representing cities as a City Attorney and municipal court prosecutor. In addition, she has served as a Municipal Court Judge for the cities of Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Royse City and the Town of New Hope. In June of 2014, Justice Goldstein was the recipient of the Judge Michael L. O’Neal Outstanding Jurist Award from the Municipal Judges Section of the State Bar of Texas. In 2017, Justice Goldstein served as the Judicial Director for the Dallas Bar Association. She has worked with the Dallas Bar Association and Dallas Association of Young Lawyers establish professional development programs for young lawyers such as the Lawyers on Loan Program (prosecutors for local city and county governments) and Civil Second Chair (second chair criminal defense lawyers), as well as volunteered as a mentor in a combined program with the DAYL and Dallas Association of Women Lawyers. In addition, Justice Goldstein has been working with DBA committees, local law schools and members of the judiciary to provide services to self-represented litigants to navigate within the civil legal system. Justice Goldstein is fluent in Spanish, having been an exchange student with the American Field Service (AFS) to Costa Rica, and studied a semester abroad in Cadiz, Spain. She was appointed Legal Counselor to the Mexican Consulate in Houston in March of 1998, for her work representing a Mexican National on Death Row.

Source: https://www.txcourts.gov/5thcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-bonnie-lee-goldstein/