Blogging Judge Headed for a Supreme Court Bid?

by: Texas Nate

Tue May 01, 2007 at 04:04 PM CDT

I'm hearing rumors that blogging Judge Susan Criss -- author of As The Island Floats -- is being recruited to run for Texas Supreme Court.

That's really exciting news. Imagine a state wide candidate with major backing who's also intimately familiar with blogging as a way to communicate directly to the public.

Here's my favorite anecdote from Judge Criss' blog, by way of Grits for Breakfast (where she got her start as a guest blogger):

I brought over a defendant this week who had notified the Court that he was having a problem with his lawyer.When I asked him why he was upset with his lawyer the defendant stood and said, "Judge, he's not lying for me.. he's lying to me."

Sometimes keeping a straight face on while on the bench is challenging. A bit more questioning revealed that the lawyer had not lied to the defendant. He had procrastinated about communicating with his client when plea bargain negoitioations came to an impasse. Lawyers sometimes avoid going to see their clients in jail when there is no good news to report. That only causes more anxiety for both the lawyer and defendant in the long run.

Anyone else heard that she might be running statewide?

I've pasted her bio in the extended entry.

Here's her bio from her re-election site:

Judge Susan Criss was elected to the 212th District Court of Galveston  County, Texas in 1998. The 212th District Court is a trial court that handles  both felony criminal and civil cases.

Judge Criss is the Director for District 11 for the National Association of  Women Judges (N.A.W.J.) covering Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. She is the  Project Director of the Color of Justice Video Project for Texas. Judge Criss   had a video created featuring Texas minority judges, lawyers, and law students  who encourage minority children to pursue careers in the law and the judiciary.   She has also participated on the N.A.W.J. Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and  Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Judge Criss joined the National Association  of Women Judges in 2001.

Judge Criss serves as the chairperson of the Gulf Coast MHMR Task Force on  Jail Diversion for the Mentally Ill. That task force is dedicated to pursuing  treatment for the mentally ill and diverting them from the criminal justice  system.

Shortly after coming on the bench Judge Criss set up the first court web site  in Galveston County at www.co.galveston.tx.us/judgecriss.  The  web site includes a section called Court Class for Kids. This  section teaches children about what happens in court and what to do if they  become witnesses.

Judge Criss launched a program to provide Spanish speaking probationers in  her court with written translations of probation terms, conditions and  rules.