(Often overlooked, I think that the Supreme Court races are where we are most likely to see a Democratic pickup statewide on Tuesday. Not to say there couldn't be others, just that I've always held they are most likely. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
To give credit where credit is due, Paul Burka has some excellent analysis of the Texas Supreme Court races. Here are excerpts from Burka's analysis:
"The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court is an intellectually corrupt court. By this I mean that it is infused with the appearance of impropriety and inequity. Who you are matters more than the law and the facts. It has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Texans for Lawsuit Reform. It is also rife with judges who have committed ethical lapses, albeit mostly technical violations of campaign finance and reporting laws. The default choice for the average Court race ought to be the Democrat opposing the Republican, just to bring some balance and fairness back to the Court."
"Wainwright contributes about as much to the Court as an amoeba. He is a go-along judge. He did graduate from an outstanding law school (University of Chicago) and he worked for major law firms. But he is just another TLR vote on the Court. Sam Houston has his law degree from Baylor, and he was a litigator for one of the big Houston law firms. He is supported by a number of prominent defense counsel and has been endorsed by the Dallas Morning News and the American-Statesman. He is not one of those folks who runs for office because he has a famous name, but I'd vote for him even if he were. We have to get some balance on this Court."
"Yanez is the Senior Justice on the Court of Appeals in South Texas. Yanez has won the endorsement of the Express-News, the Chronicle, the American-Statesman, the Caller-Times, and the Bryan-College Station Eagle. The reason is the widespread perception that the Court is predisposed to rule against consumers and injured parties. Johnson has done little to nothing to bring balance to the Court. Yanez will. She has my vote."
"My approach to judicial races is that the Texas legal system is badly out of balance and has been corrupted by the money and power of Texans for Lawsuit Reform - Like so many reformers, TLR set out to do good, and did do good, but then became enamored of power and its ability to spread money around. It is time to restore balance and integrity to the Texas judicial system."
The Daily Texan endorses Jim Jordan and Linda Yanez for Texas Supreme Court (and Susan Strawn for the Court of Crininal Appeals):
Supreme Court Chief Justice: Jim Jordan
Democratic candidate Jim Jordan, who is running for chief justice against incumbent Wallace Jefferson, is a highly experienced, competent candidate that would provide the court the diversity of perspective it currently lacks. Jordan, a practicing attorney with more than 20 years of experience, has actively served the community as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Though Jordan is running as a Democrat, he believes that partisan politics should not interfere with the stance justices take on court cases. In a court that has been criticized for exceeding its Constitutional authority and ignoring the role of juries, we believe Jordan will use his legal knowledge and experience to bring the court back on track.
Supreme Court Justice, Place 8: Linda Yanez
While her opponent Phil Johnson is a respectable candidate, Linda Yanez is well-qualified to be part of the dissenting voice the court lacks. Yanez is a former Harvard Law School instructor and has been serving on the 13th Court of Appeals in Texas since Gov. Ann Richards appointed her in 1993. In her time on the court, she has authored more than 800 opinions and served on panel for more than 3,500. Yanez has the potential to bring a new perspective to the Supreme Court while moving quickly to help the court work through its backlog of cases.
The two high courts have nine members each. Currently, all 18 places are filled by Republicans....
Supreme Court of Texas -- Place 8
Justice Phil Johnson, Republican, vs. Justice Linda Yañez, Democrat ...
Yañez was the first woman on the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi when she was appointed by Gov. Ann Richards in 1993. She has been elected several times since.
She says the Supreme Court has been too eager to overturn jury verdicts, which, she said, Johnson has done six times.
She also criticizes his productivity, noting he has authored only 13 opinions in his three years on the court.
Yañez notes that 50 percent of the civil cases filed in Texas involve family law, but the high court takes no such cases on appeal. She said the court has a hostility to plaintiffs and is result-oriented.
Justice Johnson has done a good job, but we are convinced that Justice Yañez would add a vibrant, intelligent voice to the court, one that it badly needs. Candidates don't come much better.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Justice Linda Yañez to Place 8 on the Supreme Court of Texas.
Running tally of Texas Supreme Court newspaper endorsements below the jump:
Yañez, who is seeking the post now held by Justice Phil Johnson, is unusually well prepared to serve on the state's highest civil court.
Yañez was appointed to the 13th Court of Appeals in 1993 and has since been elected three times. She is making her second bid for the Texas Supreme Court.
During her 15 years on the appellate bench, the Edinburg resident has written 850 opinions. She is a serious, studious judge and a former Harvard Law School instructor. Along with her stellar credentials, Yañez is committed to fair application of the law for all sides. She would be a valuable asset to the high court.
Texas Supreme Court: ... Linda Yanez (D) and Sam Houston (D)
Texans couldn't ask for a more seasoned and reasoned judicial candidate than Democrat Linda Yanez. She's our recommendation for Place 8 on the court. Yanez has been on the 13th Court of Appeals in South Texas since her appointment by Gov. Ann Richards in 1993. She has run once before for the state Supreme Court. Yanez would bring needed philosophical diversity to an all-Republican court that largely is cut of the same cloth.
Her opponent, Justice Phil Johnson, was appointed by Perry in 2005. He is impressive and scholarly. It's tough to recommend against an incumbent. But if the two were side-by-side without the benefit of incumbency, Yanez would be an easy choice.
In the contest for Place 7, the Trib recommends another non-incumbent, Democrat Sam Houston, a highly regarded Houston attorney. His opponent, Justice Dale Wainwright, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003.
Wainwright has drawn fire for contributing to a court backlog. A WFAA-TV report tagged him as the slowest member of a court that doesn't always deliver on the promise of swift justice. Houston, one of Texas Monthly's "super lawyers," would bring needed philosophical diversity to the court.
If you haven't checked out the great Courts on Fire website, you should. Here's an example:
Texas Supreme Court Takes Time From Fundraising to Issue First Decisions
... The Texas Supreme Court continued to take a leisurely approach to justice, ... considering that the court rules against Texans and for insurance companies and corporations 87% of the time, their laziness may be a good thing.
One thing they are doing quickly is raising money from business groups, insurance companies and big corporations. Justice Dale Wainwright is having a fundraiser on Tuesday. Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson will be having a big fundraiser soon and Justice Phil Johnson has already been collecting money from these groups.
Who are some of the sponsor's of Wainwright's fundraiser? "...hosts of the Wainwright reception include ConocoPhillips, Koch Industries, American Electric Power, AT&T, Pfizer, the Texas Medical Association, several large law firms and superlobbyist Buddy Jones..." These groups aren't contributing money to Wainwright to insure a fair and impartial hearing before the Texas Supreme Court. They're giving money in hopes of getting 87% to 100%.
Texas Supreme Court
The Chronicle recommends voters choose Linda Yañez ...
The Texas Constitution requires of its Texas Supreme Court justices only a few qualifications: basically, that they be at least 35, citizens of Texas, that they be licensed to practice law in Texas and have practiced for at least 10 years.
Texas voters should require also that their high court justices thoroughly know the law, apply it with integrity and win the respect of their colleagues and the public by making decisions that are sound, fair and impartial. ...
• Linda Yañez, Texas Supreme Court, Place 8: Yañez is the Democratic challenger in this race. She has served 15 years as a justice on the 13th Court of Appeals. Active and well-respected in state and national legal circles, Yañez has an impressive grasp of the law and of the workings of the Supreme Court.
Noting that the high court justices ruled unanimously in almost all their decisions last term, Yañez promises to bring a fresh perspective to their proceedings.
"The challenge I will bring will be intellectual, not antagonistic," Yañez pledges.
The Dallas Morning News
The nine-member Texas Supreme Court is the state's highest civil court. It has been plagued by a backlog in recent years, taking more than four years after oral arguments in some cases to issue an opinion. And what used to be regarded as a lopsidedly "plaintiff's court" has now become regarded as an unbalanced "pro-business" court, a perception fueled by a legal study conducted by University of Texas School of Law professor David Anderson. It found that the court sided with defendants 87 percent of the time in 2004-05....
Sam Houston for Place 7 seat
Democratic challenger Sam Houston has built solid reputation defending clients against lawsuits and would bring some new ideas to the court. He argues that no one likes lawsuits, but sometimes they are necessary to ensure justice, and that justice is good for business. Mr. Houston, 45, would bring some welcome - and not token - philosophical diversity to the court.
The incumbent in this race says all the right things about being fair and balanced, but Republican Dale Wainwright does not adequately answer criticism about his work ethic. In the last full year statistics were available, for example, he wrote just four signed opinions - the second fewest of any justice on the court and the lowest among the three justices seeking re-election this year. Two of his most recent opinions date to cases heard in 2004.
Justice Wainwright, 47, says there are complex reasons for this, but lives are often on hold waiting for these opinions, and such delays are unacceptable. Justice Wainwright, previously a district judge in Harris County, has a sharp résumé, but voters should send a message to the court that long backlogs will not be tolerated by electing the respected and fresh-thinking Mr. Houston.
Sam Houston beat Baltasar Cruz everywhere except in the four districts that will have Hispanic representatives - HDs 140, 143, 145, and 148, where Houston got a respectable 46%. Linda Yanez, on the other hand, beat Susan Criss everywhere except HD 134, where she got 48%. I confess, I'm amazed at how thoroughly Yanez dominated Criss.
We nominated our most experienced and most electable candidates to take on the corrupt Republican incumbents at the Texas Supreme Court.
As a result of the primary vote, we will take on the incumbents with those Democratic candidates who won nearly all of the newspaper endorsements, who earned the overwhelming majority of endorsements from Democratic organizations and Democratic elected officials, and won the Texas Bar Association poll regarding the qualifications of judicial candidates.
Sam Houston won by almost 250,000 votes (56% to 44%).
Here are a pair of numbers to keep tucked away in the back of your mind: 1,123,899 and 953,584.
Why are those two numbers important? Because Sam Houston got 1,123,899 votes in his contested primary and his Republican opponent got only 953,584 in his uncontested primary.
I am very proud of Baltasar Cruz who was a gentleman in defeat:
I congratulate Sam Houston, Linda Yañez and Jim Jordan (who ran unopposed) on their Democratic primary wins. Sam Houston, unlike Gene Kelly, is a serious candidate whom I now endorse and whom I genuinely hope will win in November. Likewise, I have met and been impressed with Linda Yañez and Jim Jordan, each of whom will also represent the Democratic Party well in the November general election and happily endorse each of them as well.
Justice Linda Yanez also won a hard-fought Democratic nomination, winning her primary by more than 50,000 votes (3% of the vote).
Justice Yanez got 1,028,164 votes in her contested primary while her Republican opponent got only 948,739 votes in his uncontested primary.
It is no wonder why both Justice Yanez and Judge Susan Criss wanted to run against Republican Phil Johnson, who got the fewest votes of any of the Republican incumbents on the Texas Supreme Court (which is unsurprising since he also got the fewest votes in the Texas Bar Association poll regarding the qualifications of judicial candidates of any Republican incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court).
I am tremendously proud of Susan Criss who ran a very tough campaign and who was very gracious:
"It was a great night for my state, my county, my country and my party," Criss said. "I'm happy, believe it or not."
[snip]
Yañez, who holds a seat on the Texas 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi, will face Republican incumbent Phil Johnson in November's general election.
No Democrat has been elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 14 years, but Criss said she was confident her primary opponent would win the seat.
Both Judge Jim Jordan, our Democratic nominee for Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and his Republican incumbent opponent were uncontested in their respective primaries.
Judge Jordan received 1,728,522 primary votes compared to just 959,670 primary votes for his Republican opponent.
We have an excellent ticket to take back the Texas Supreme Court in November. Let's get to it!
From a mail piece sent out to many Democrats in Houston listing the endorsements of Sen. Rodney Ellis, Rep. Garnet Coleman, and Rep. Ann Hernandez for an excellent slate of great Democratic primary candidates:
"Let's pick the strongest ticket from top to bottom."
"These candidates will bring change come November. Please give them your vote."
Here's the slate:
Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate
Sam Houston for Texas Supreme Court, Place 7
Linda Yanez for Texas Supreme Court, Place 8
Tanner Garth for judge of 80th Civil District Court
Jim Wrotenbery for judge of 125th Civil District Court
Robert Shaffer for judge of 152nd Civil District Court
Ruben Guerrero for judge of 174th Criminal District Court
Andres Pererira for judge of 190th Civil District Court
C.O. Brad Bradford for District Attorney
Loren Jackson for District Clerk
David Mincberg for County Judge
Vince Ryan for County Attorney
Adrian Garcia for County Sheriff
Diane Trautman for County Clerk
Art Hall for Texas Railroad Commissioner
