(Karen Sage is a candidate for the 147th District Court in Travis County. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Hello, my name is Karen Sage, and I'm running to be your next judge on the 299th District Court. I am writing this diary because I wanted to lay out why I'm running for judge, what makes me qualified, and why this race is important, so what better forum on the internet is there than Burnt Orange Report to do so? First, I'd like to tell you a little bit about who I am before I get into my legal credentials and the race itself.
Who I Am
I was born 44 years ago in a small Minnesota town called Worthington, a place with fewer than 10,000 residents. It is in the far southwestern corner of the state, just north of Iowa and just east of South Dakota. My father, Jim, was a police officer there for 40 years, and my mother, Dorothy, ran a small drapery and upholstery business. I was the first in my family to attend college, and the first in my family to attend law school. My career and my family have taken me many places, and I've lived in Los Angeles and New York City before settling in Austin, where I'd like to spend the rest of my life.
I am married to a professor of law at the University of Texas, and I have two children ages eight and ten. It hasn't been easy to be a mother and an attorney, but my drive to work in public service has always made the struggle worth it. My experience growing up in the Midwest and living on the two coasts has given me a unique perspective. It is my hope to serve this community with all of my ability, to make Austin a better, safer place, and to broaden the horizon of justice to serve all of the citizens of this world-class city.
Why Run?
The most common question I hear when I'm out on the campaign trail is: "Why are you running for judge?" The answer is simple for me - I believe in public service and I believe in justice. For most of my career, I have been a public servant, and I have always tried to do justice no matter what role I have occupied. Justice is the backbone of our democracy, it is the safeguard of our rights, and it is the last bastion of our civilization. There is nothing nobler than pursuing justice, ensuring equality, and fighting for what is right. I believe that I have the courage, the compassion, and the commitment to be a great judge. |
| The next question I get when I'm speaking to voters is: "What is the 299th District Court?" The 299th District Court is a criminal felony court, meaning that it deals with only the most serious of crimes - murder, sexual assault, battery, and the like. It also deals with serious white collar crimes such as fraud and theft. Judge Charlie Baird is currently the presiding judge, and he has decided to step down at the end of his current term. Judge Baird has had a great career both on the Court of Criminal Appeals and on the 299th District Court, and we will be losing an excellent judge when he retires. The 299th has a jurisdiction of all of Travis County, and there will likely be no Republican opponent in November. This race will be decided on March 2nd.
Working on Mental Health Issues
I have been an attorney for nearly two decades, the last ten years of which have been exclusively in the criminal justice system. I currently serve as the Mental Health Prosecutor for Travis County, a newly created position that District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg formed after her election last year. My job as Mental Health Prosecutor focuses on mentally ill and mentally disabled defendants to reduce recidivism, get them the services and care they need, and divert them out of the criminal justice system. Studies have shown that jails and prisons do not work for these individuals, and warehousing them with other criminals simply worsens their already considerable problems. In the six months since the position was created, we have seen a vast reduction in jail time served, saving the county money in jailing costs and also working to stop the revolving door that many times is at work in our criminal justice system.
I am currently working on new and innovative ways to treat these defendants, but this is not a task for the criminal justice system alone. It involves the mental health community, as well as the community at large. We need to build stronger bridges and strengthen the bonds among all of the groups. To that end, I also serve on the Mayor's Mental Health Task Force Monitoring Committee, a body that seeks to facilitate coordination between various interested mental health and behavioral science entities.
Prosecutor and Professor
Before my assignment to the Mental Health docket, I worked as the Acting Court Chief of the 390th District Court, another of the felony criminal courts in Travis County (there are seven total). In that role, I prosecuted numerous felony crimes, including five jury murder trials. I obtained convictions in all five, doing justice for the victims' families. I have handled hundreds of felony cases and still handle them every day. It's important to have this experience and to be currently working in the felony courts - I know felony law and I know what prosecutors and defense attorneys expect and want out of a judge. It is important for a good attorney to know the law, and it is important for a judge to know it even better. I am constantly educating myself on the latest in felony law, and I will continue to do so as a judge.
My passion for the law isn't limited to learning it. I also teach law as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas. I teach a course that I designed called "The Ethics of Criminal Law," in which I attempt to impart on young lawyers the importance of prosecutorial discretion and the duty that comes with serving in the criminal justice system. I believe it is the duty of an attorney to do justice, even if it means dismissing a case or losing a case. Prosecuting cases has never been about winning for me, it has always been about making sure that justice is done correctly and in accordance with our system of laws. I have also taught "White Collar Crime" at UT as well as at Duke University.
Prior to coming to Austin, I lived in New York, where I served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Brooklyn. As a federal prosecutor, I worked on cases even more serious than those that come before the 299th. I dealt with multi-million dollar fraud cases, organized crime, and drug trafficking. I have sat across the table from a defendant that explained to me how he had killed eight people to protect his criminal ring, and I have endured threats to myself. However, I was not afraid then, and I am not afraid now. Our criminal justice system demands courage, and it demands judges that are not afraid to protect the rights endowed by our Constitution.
In New York City, an experience occurred that changed my life: September 11, 2001. It was a formative moment for me and my family. I worked on the FBI Law Enforcement Task Force for weeks after the event, toiling in a parking garage that was a makeshift office, investigating that terrible crime to find who had struck us. It was after that ordeal that my family and I decided to make a change to find a new home, and we settled in Austin.
The Beginning of my Public Service
Prior to my serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, I worked in Los Angeles for Mayor Dick Riordan as Counsel to the Mayor. I was fresh out of law school at the University of Minnesota, and I had accepted an offer from the nationally acclaimed law firm of O'Melveny & Myers to move out there to work on complex litigation and criminal and civil defense matters. I knew after a little time that the world of big law firms wasn't necessarily for me. I felt the pull of public service. I had thought that I might head to Washington, D.C., to work in the Justice Department for newly elected President Clinton, but instead, I wanted to start my public service at the local level. I'm glad that I did, and I'm extremely proud of my service there.
Los Angeles was torn by the riots in the early 1990s, and the city was in a precarious position. I hoped that I could work to help heal the city in some small way, and one such effort was my work negotiating on behalf of the city to assist Magic Johnson in building his first community movie theater, the Crenshaw 15. The big corporations had deemed certain parts of the city as unprofitable, and were unwilling to develop any new movie theaters in those areas. Citizens living in South Central Los Angeles had to travel miles just to see a movie, and Magic Johnson wanted to change that. We negotiated incentives from the city and helped get that theater built, the first of several that Magic would build around the country. That theater brought people in the community together, and it is still showing movies to this day.
I am also proud of my experience as a federal judicial clerk for Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, who is the first Hispanic female to serve on the United States Court of Appeals. Clerking for a federal judge taught me a lot about how to run a courtroom, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.
A Good Democrat
My legal experience is unique in this race for the 299th, and I feel as though the perspective I have gained throughout my professional career will help to make the court strong and balanced. However, legal experience alone is not all that I would bring to the bench. For as long as I have been able to cast a ballot, I've supported and worked for Democratic candidates and the Democratic Party.
When I was a law student in Minnesota, I had one of the greatest opportunities of my life: I was able to work for Senator Paul Wellstone's legendary grassroots campaign, one of the most innovative and game-changing races in the history of modern politics. I went to phone bank at his office twice a week for months, making thousands of phone calls to voters in Minnesota. I'm proud to have been a part of that campaign, and proud to carry the mantle of grassroots activism throughout my involvement in the Democratic Party.
I continued my campaigning in Los Angeles, knocking on doors for President Bill Clinton on weekends during my time as a private attorney. I helped raise money for John Kerry in 2004, serving on a fundraising committee that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Having canvassed and phone banked, I was eager to help bring in the money that makes campaigns go. I have been an ardent and strong supporter of the Travis County Democratic Party and Travis County candidates for as long as I have lived here - I am a Finance Council member and an Alpha Dog supporter of South Austin Democrats. I still volunteer when I can, whether it is stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, or knocking on doors for qualified Democratic candidates.
My passion for just causes extends to community organizations, including Annie's List, Any Baby Can, and Caritas of Austin, among others. I believe that every citizen must take an active role in our society to make it a better place for all, and I will never stop believing in that philosophy.
The Race for the 299th
I decided to move from the race for the 147th to the 299th when I learned that Judge Baird would not seek re-election. Cliff Brown, my former opponent, has run an excellent race and been a formidable, yet respectful adversary for the 147th bench, and I wish him the best of luck.
Judicial races aren't the most glamorous political contests, and they don't necessarily garner a lot of attention from the media, but I believe that, given the knowledge, Democratic voters in Travis County are very interested in taking an active role in deciding these races. With that in mind, I am running a different kind of judicial campaign. One of the goals of my campaign is to educate voters and to involve the entire community in the judicial process. Many times, these races are decided before they even start by a group of political consultants or political insiders, and in my view, that is not healthy for our democracy, and it subverts the judicial system in our county. Voters should be able to make an educated choice about the judges that will be doing justice in their community. They should be able to look at the qualifications of the candidates and make a choice based on what is best for the community, not political considerations.
Justice is not about politics. It is not about favors, backroom deals, or personal ambition. Justice is about doing what is right. It is about following and respecting the law, protecting the rights of citizens, and ensuring that our community is the safest it can be.
My campaign (including me!) is already out knocking on doors and talking to voters. We're going to work for as long and as hard and as much as it takes to win this race on March 2nd, and I would love to have your support. We've opened an office at 806 West 10th Street, near downtown, and while it isn't much, we're calling it home for the next three and a half months. Judicial campaigns don't often open offices. I'm running a different campaign, and I'd like you to be a part of it. The "Standard Judicial Campaign Playbook" needs to be rewritten, but it is only going to be rewritten by voters - the citizens and community members of Travis County.
Thank you very much for reading all that I have written, and hopefully you have an understanding about me as a candidate and a human being, and you might have an idea of what type of judge I will be. I'm going to fight for this bench, and fight hard, just like I fight for justice every day and just like I will fight for justice on the bench. Travis County deserves no less.
For more information about my campaign, visit my website at http://www.karensageforjudge.com or find my supporter page on Facebook - just search for Karen Sage. Ultimately, talking to and educating voters about how they can participate in this process is what I love about campaigning. See you on the trail! |
