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Will Jan Patterson Retire?

by: David Mauro

Wed Dec 30, 2009 at 07:18 PM CST

It is no secret that an army of Democratic party activists, loyalists, and democratic elected officials are hoping that Justice Jan Patterson decides to retire rather than follow through on a run for the 201^st civil district court. Interestingly, a flurry of activity and action seems to be replacing hope.

This morning, Patterson’s campaign treasurer, Katie Naranjo, sent Patterson a letter resigning her position. Naranjo declined to comment for this post saying, “Even though I can no longer serve in that capacity, I would prefer to keep the contents of my communications with Judge Patterson between the two of us. I have no idea if Judge Patterson intends to retire or not – you’ll have to ask her that question.”

Multiple Democratic attorneys in town are reaching out to Judge Patterson to discuss retirement as a better option than a contested democratic primary. If Patterson opts not to retire, BOR has confirmation that at least a dozen highly motivated activists, attorneys and elected officials have been diligently working to line up support for a credible challenger to Patterson in the 201^st.

The filing deadline is January 4.

What brought all this about?

As you might remember, Patterson and Senator Kirk Watson had a recent dust-up over Patterson lobbying Governor Rick Perry for his appointment to the 353^rd Civil District Court after the untimely passing of Judge Scott Ozmun. Had Perry honored Patterson’s request, Perry would have been able to give the all-important 3^rd Court of Appeals a 4-2 Republican majority. Patterson’s attempt to obtain a Perry appointment and thus give the Republicans a 4-2 majority on the 3^rd Court infuriated Democratic elected officials, donors and activists who have labored for a decade to bring the 3^rd Court to partisan parity.

Thankfully, Senator Kirk Watson had the good judgment to block the Patterson appointment from Perry. According to the Austin Chronicle, “Patterson's nomination was not approved by Sen. Kirk Watson, according to documents obtained through an open records request, and Perry ultimately appointed Jeff Rose, former deputy first assistant attorney general, to replace Ozmun.”

The Chronicle has chronicled this drama here and here.

Tags: Jan Patterson, Kirk Watson, Travis County, Austin, (All Tags)

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Will Jan Patterson Retire? | 6 comments

Good Story (0.00 / 0)

Very interesting stuff.

by: Jim Wick @ Wed Dec 30, 2009 at 23:18:44 PM CST

by: you @ soon

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So which Political Consultant did Judge Patterson Not Hire? (3.00 / 1)

Over the years a pattern of Travis County Judgeships being brokered by a small group of political consultants and attorneys has developed. So who has Judge Patterson not paid to be allowed to play. Imagine the possibility of candidates for Judge in Travis County running without receiving preclearances for their candidacies from courthouse insiders.

by: Les @ Thu Dec 31, 2009 at 16:43:26 PM CST

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Variation on this theme (0.00 / 0)

I would have gotten better insight from this article if it had revealed who these insiders, activists & attorneys are. Women are not making a lot of headway in the judiciary & justice-related offices in Texas. The Western District of Texas has 27 federal judges, only four of whom are women. None of the contenders for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas was a woman. It is now 2010. My question, besides who these anonymous persons are, is this: How many of them are women?

My professional interactions with Justice Patterson have been very good, and in one of my cases she was the only justice (the other two were Republican men) who made the correct decision, which was borne out in a unanimous opinion by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

by: KarylKrug @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 at 07:09:23 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Loyalty (0.00 / 0)

Party loyalty matters for a lot of political offices, both because the offices are inherently political (e.g. governor or legislator), or because party loyalty tells you something about candidates' priorities and how they will act if elected. If you want to lead the Democratic party, you'd better be a real Democrat.

Judges are different. Being a good judge means ignoring party when cases come before you. We also don't need to guess what type of judge Jan Patterson would be. Everybody I have talked to has praise for her service on the Court of Appeals, and there's every reason to think that she would make a very good judge in the 201st.

We don't know the details of why she wanted to leave the Court of Appeals early, and we don't know why Katie Naranjo resigned. Maybe there's something illicit. But if the only thing Jan did "wrong" was try to switch jobs (and let Rick Perry replace her), then I'll put choosing the best judge for the 201st way ahead of enforcing party discipline.

by: LSadun @ Thu Dec 31, 2009 at 23:38:34 PM CST

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good point, but also (3.00 / 1)

This whole situation is just an argument for non-partisan judicial elections.

(That should go with the SBOE, too...)

"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write." - John Adams

by: Michael Hurta @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 at 14:14:11 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Party Loyalty? (5.00 / 1)

The Third Court is the most important in Texas for civil liberties, the environment, choice, public education and every issue we hold dear.

Every appeal of state agency rulings and regulations and constitutional issues usually flow through this court. Two prime examples are the ongoing cases over the decades of equity in school funding, one of the most important judicial issues of my time in public service. The Third Court heard those cases. Additionally, I would not have been able to run for office as an openly gay person and take an honest oath to defend the laws of Texas, if the Third Court of Appeals not previously ruled that the homosexual conduct law was unconstitutional.

Jan Patterson tried to make a deal to give this court to Rick Perry and go from a 3R and 3D court to a 4Rep and 2 Dem majority. That's not about "party loyalty" that's about selling out the core values of Travis County Voters who elected her.

For that action, she should NOT be rewarded with a district court seat. Period.

I'm proud that Travis County Voters might have a choice before this filing period ends.

by: Glen Maxey @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 at 18:35:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]