Judges Are the Third Branch with the Final Say
In her presentation to the Highway 90 Coalition on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 Judge Rebeca Martinez of the 4th Court of Appeals made a really important point-no matter who is elected as State Representative, State Senator or Governor, the Judges have the last word. Judge Martinez is correct in making the case that our political leaders need to place more emphasis on the judicial races, as the Republican party always does.
Recently, the Texas Supreme Court has made decisions on voting and ballot issues that clearly favor the Republican Party. The current Supreme Court consists of three women and five men, all Republicans. Three were appointed by Perry before running for election and three appointed by Abbott have never run for election. Place 5 was just vacated on August 31, 2020, giving Abbott another appointment opportunity.
Judge Martinez is running for the position of Chief Justice of the 4th Court of Appeals, a court that just achieved a Democratic majority in 2018. If you want to vote for Judge Martinez, you have to work your way down the ballot, past State Representative, to find her name.
Joining Judge Martinez on the program were all of the Democratic candidates for statewide judicial positions on the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals. These candidates have to run on their experience because they cannot promise certain outcomes in cases, and they are challenged to get name recognition.
Four seats on the Supreme Court of Texas are open, and there are four great Democratic candidates, all with impressive credentials:
Chief Justice candidate Amy Clark Meachum of Austin, Judge of the 101st District Court since January 20ll has been recognized for her record of public service to the courts and the community.
Place 6 candidate Kathy Cheng has practiced law for 20 years in Houston, achieving this high level of education after arriving as an immigrant child who did not speak English.
Place 7 candidate Stacy Williams, judge of the 101st District Court in Dallas County has 20 years of judicial experience, and started the Citizen’s Civil Academy to educate people about the civil courts.
Place 8 candidate Gisela Triana is a judge on the 3rd Court of Civil Appeals in Austin, elected in 2018 after serving at every level of the judiciary below Court of Appeals for a total of 24 years on the bench.
Three seats on the Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the highest court for criminal cases in Texas, are open and contested by Democrats:
Place 3 candidate Elizabeth Davis Frizzell, a Dallas judge with 26 years of legal experience including 20 in judicial positions, wants to work to reverse wrongful convictions.
Place 4 candidate Tina Clinton, is judge of the 1st Criminal District Court in Dallas, having held over 400 trials.
Place 9 candidate Brandon Birmingham, is a Dallas District Judge who served as a prosecutor before election to the bench in 2015 and has 18 years of legal experience.
Democratic Events
Around the Hill Country
Please refer to websites and other contact information
for updates on area activities.
Kerr County Democratic Party
Go to kerrcountydemocrats.org to learn about Democratic activities in Kerr County.
To receive emails from the Kerr County Democratic Party, email kerrdemad@gmail.com and ask to be added to the mailing list.
Bandera County Democratic Club
For information, write Eloise Clayton at ekc@att,net.
Chair of the Bandera County Democratic Party: Lynn Oliver, 210-687-9701
Gillespie County Democrats
Gillespie County Democratic Party Headquarters, 209 N. Crockett, Suite 1, Fredericksburg
For information, go to gillespiedemocrats.org.
Democratic Women of Comal County
Visit democraticwomenofcomalcounty.com for more information
