2014 Texas Judicial Elections Results - Appellate Courts - and a look back at winning margins in 2008

2014 APPELLATE RACES: REPUBLICANS KEEP TIGHT GRIP ON HIGHEST COURTS, AND WIN ALL BUT ONE COURT OF APPEALS RACE   

Republicans remain firmly in control of the state's two highest courts and courts of last resort: Supreme Court of Texas and Court of Criminal Appeals. The members of both courts are elected statewide.

SUPREME COURT AND CCA RACES: WIDE MARGINS OF VICTORY 

In the Supreme Court races, three of the Republican incumbents did better than Greg Abbott in this bid for the governorship, but only in terms of winning percentages. The raw vote totals for the judicial candidates were lower, except for Phil Johnson, who did not draw a Democratic challenger. The same pattern holds for the CCA. The candidates who did not draw a Democratic opponent garnered higher total vote numbers, and a higher percentage of the vote than the successful Republican contender in the gubernatorial race.

Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the longest-serving member of the high court for civil and juvenile cases, won with 59.57% of the vote; Associate Justice Jeff Brown won with 60.31%; Justice Jeff Boyd garnered 58.88%; and long-time Associate Justice Phil Johnson won with 78.78%  -- the highest margin -- in a race that did not have a Democratic contender.

Complexion of Tex. Sup. Ct. won't change as a result of 2014 election 

Texas Supreme Court Membership Roster (2014)

On the Court of Criminal Appeals, Kevin Patrick Yeary won with 76.29% of the vote in a contest that did not feature a Democratic opponent, giving minor-party candidates a chance to test their ability to pick up part of the Democratic vote; David Newell won with 78.28% in a race that likewise featured only a Libertarian and Green candidate, but no Democratic opponent. In the third race for seats on that court, Bert Richardson faced a Democratic opponent in addition to a Libertarian and won with 59.82%.

COURTS OF APPEALS

Member of the courts of appeals are elected from their respective appellate districts. This means that they are more competitive, - at least some of them, but not always.

In San Antonio (4thCOA), Republican Sandee Bryan Marion defeated Democrat Irene Rios with 55.50% of the vote. This was the judicial equivalent of an open-seat contest following Chief Justice Catherine Stone's decision not to seek re-election.
 
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin also featured an open contest for chief justice: Republican Justice Jeff Rose, a sitting member of the court, defeated Democrat Diane Henson, a former member of the Austin Court, with 54.14% of the vote versus Henson's 45.85%. Chief Justice J. Woodfin "Woodie" Jones had decided not to stand for re-election. The outcome will give the new governor an  opportunity to make an appointment for the position vacated by Rose upon ascension to the position of chief.
 
In Houston, Republican Chief Justice Kem Thompson Frost successfully defended against Democrat Kyle Carter, a Harris County District Court judge first elected in 2008, with 57.59% of the vote. Incumbent Ken Wise, formerly a District Court Judge in Harris County, prevailed over his Democratic opponent Gordon Goodman with 58.24% of the vote.

The only incumbent Democrat on the First Court of Appeals, also in Houston, lost to Republican challenger Russell Lloyd. The vote was 57.13% for Lloyd, and 42.86% for Jim Sharp, who was elected to the appellate court in 2008, when Democrats also swept Republican judges from their benches in Harris County, which went with Obama while much of Texas voted for McCain. In that election, Sharp was the only Democrat to win an appellate bench in the Houston Court of Appeals district which includes Harris County and nine additional counties, which makes the appellate district more conservative/red than Harris County alone, not to mention the City of Houston, which elects Democratic mayors.

In Dallas Craig Stoddart, recently appointed by Governor Rick Perry to fill a vacancy, prevailed with 55.59% over Ken Molberg in the contest involving the unexpired term.

In Corpus Christi (13thCOA), Democratic incumbent Dori Contreras Garza won reelection to Place 6 on the Thirteenth Court of Appeals -- but just barely -- with 50.96% of the vote, less than 2% over Doug Norman, her Republican opponent. The difference was less than 5,000 votes (based on unofficial results as of 11/22/2014).

In sum, Republicans won all appellate races save one. Of only two Democratic incumbents in these races, one lost and the second one survived by the skin of her teeth.

DATA SOURCE: Unofficial 2014 General Election Results from the Texas Secretary of State

PARTISAN TIDES

Judicial races are down-ballot races that are driven by straight-ticket voting and partisan tides. That does not make candidate-specific attributes, incumbents’ record and standing with the attentive public, or campaign efforts by them or on their behalf irrelevant, but it makes these factors more important when contests are close. This may not have been the case in 2014 (even without the benefit of hindsight), but 2008 was another matter. Unsurprisingly, Democratic candidates for judicial positions did better in a presidential election that turned the White House back over to a Democrat, but not everywhere. Much has to do with the electoral geography of Texas.  

LOOKING BACK: 2008 DEMOCRATIC WINS IN APPELLATE COURT RACES, AND MARGINS OF VICTORY THEN  

In 2008, Obama did not win Texas (55.45% of the statewide vote went to McCain), but a number of Democrats were elected or re-elected to court of appeals benches with votes shares ranging from just barely over 50% to as high as 66.48%.

  

Democratic challenger Woodie Jones unseated incumbent Republican Chief Justice Ken Law in Austin (3^rd Court of Appeals) with 52.40% of the vote.
  

In San Antonio, Democrat Catherine Stone, originally appointed to a vacancy by Governor Ann Richards in 1994, prevailed over Republican Ann Comerio in the contest for Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals with 55.81% of the vote.  

   

In El Paso (8^th Court of Appeals), Democrat Guadalupe “Lupe” Rivera put Republican Kenneth R. “Kenn” Carr in the shade with a 66.48% landslide.

   

In Corpus Christi, Dori Contreras Garza beat Republican Caroline Bertuzzi with 58.58% of the vote.
  

In Houston, Democrat Jim Sharp beat Republican Ed Hubbard in the contest for a position on the First Court of Appeals with a narrow margin (50.57%). Hubbard had defeated the incumbent in the Republican primary. Republican incumbent Laura Carter Higley, who was also up for reelection, was able to hold on to her bench with 51.23% of the vote, warding off a challenge by Leslie C. Taylor. 
  

On the sister court in the same city, the Fourteenth Court of Appeal, incumbent Chief Adele Hedges faced a challenge by Democrat Joe W. Beverly and survived -- but just barely – with 50.96% of the vote. Three other Republican incumbents on that court also held on to their positions, all with less than 52% of the vote. The margins of victory and mixed outcome (the first Democrat was elected to one of two previously all-Republican appellate courts) made Houston the most competitive appellate battleground in the 2008 general election. In Harris County, the partisan tide had a much more sweeping impact on the district courts because Harris County voted for Obama, though the surrounding counties (which are part of the appellate district that elects the members of the 1^st and 14^th Court of Appeals) did not.

   

In Dallas, Republicans won all three appellate races with more than 52% of the vote. Republican Rex Davis on the 10^th Court of Appeals in Waco cruised to victory with the highest margin on the Republican side: 63.92% of the vote. 

   

Electoral geography matters. Judicial races are no different.

2014 TEXAS JUDICIAL ELECTION LINKS:

Texas Appellate Law Blog (blogpost summarizing results of 2014 appellate races)
Texas Judge Race (2014 pre-election/campaign information with links to campaign finance reports filed with Texas Ethics Commission)
Houston Chronicle endorsements in local appellate races: For Courts of Appeals  (Oct 13, 2014)
Houston Bar Association 2014 Judicial Candidate Qualification Poll: 2014 HBA Poll of judicial candidates in contested races (Table of Result)
State Bar of Texas Judicial Poll Results (note disclaimer): 2014 SBOT Judicial Poll

TEXAS APPELLATE SYSTEM -  2 LEVELS OF APPELLATE COURTS - TWO HIGH COURTS WITH DIVISION OF LABOR FOR CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES 

Structure of Appellate Court System in Texas

THIRTEEN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICTS: FIRST AND FOURTEENTH OVERLAP 

Texas appellate districts shown on map: Numbers match Courts of Appeals
First through Fourteenth 

Holy smoke: Houston Judge looking for a few weed-minded votes ... on Halloween night

Embattled First Court of Appeals Incumbent His Honner Jim Sharp -- don't call him Mr. Sharp or else - must be getting desperate a few days before the election ..... He is a scheduled speaker at Houston NORML's Halloween  event ... oops ... Halloweed event -- or so NORML says.

The Seal of the State of Texas / Judicial Branch is prominently featured on the appearance-just-confirmed announcement on the organization's Facebook page, and his Court of Appeals bio page is hot-linked. What the hell with this lending-prestige-of-judicial-office-thing....it was just a public reprimand last time around anyhow.
 
Gotta make clear to the cannabis-loving crowd that this Sharp fella is not just an ordinary Joe Schmoe down the street. Or a less-than-judicial impostor.

You thought you got a good idea how Big Jim knows to swear like a sailor when he earned his rebuke from the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct!?

Wait until he gets high on the weed vote!

Or perhaps it's all part of good-natured trick-o-treating, ... if not a vast politically motivated conspiracy to sully the public standing of a jurist of great stature.

A man known to take a stand. A true local icon. 

THE HONOURABLE JIM SHARP - HOUSTON'S DESKTOP JURIST

The Houston Chronicle editorialized against him ("Voter should remember Justice Sharp's Temper Tantrum") and the bar poll favored his non-incumbent opponent.

Public Official Jim Sharp Twitter Stats: 35 Followers, 10 Favorites 

Jim Sharp's Re-election Campaign on Twitter: Don't Miss Any Updates 

HOUSTON CHRONICLE REMINDED VOTERS 
THAT JIM SHARP IS UNFIT FOR JUDICIAL OFFICE

Chronicle comes out against Justice Jim Sharp re-election bid
Link: http://www.chron.com/opinion/recommendations/article/Courts-of-Appeals-5822853.php 

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Click link to Texas Code of Judicial Conduct 

on Texas Judiciary web site 

Houston Court of Appeals Justice Jim Sharp soon to face the voters' verdict for misconduct in office

Judicial Elections as a Remedy to Improve the Judicial System  

Having distinguished himself with a formal reprimand by the Texas Commission of Judicial Conduct, followed by a like resolution by a special court of inquiry assembled by the Texas Supreme Court -- in his very first term on the First Court of Appeals, no less - Houston Court of Appeals Justice Jim Patrick Sharp is facing his forthcoming demise as a public official at the ballot box. Elected in 2008 by a narrow margin, Justice Sharp is up for re-election this election season as his 6-year term ends Dec 31, 2014. He performed poorly in the Houston Bar Association's poll of judicial candidates. 

Jim Sharp: Seeking re-election in 2014 to seat on First Court of Appeals
despite Censure by Judicial Conduct Commission 

Sharp's antics range from jumping on his desk and having his picture taken by a photographer for the Houston Chronicle, removing  furniture under cover of darkness without facility management

approval from his erstwhile chamber in the building of the South Texas College of Law to the newly restored 1910 Harris County Courthouse, and picking a fight with security personnel at said courthouse merely because they were doing their humble jobs and would not let him bypass the metal detector screening without showing his badge.

But nothing exemplifies the complete lack of judicial temperament and decorum more starkly than the tirade Sharp launched against employees of the Brazoria County Juvenile Probation Department when they wouldn't accommodate his intervention, seeking -- with reference to his authority as a member of the court of appeals overseeing the judges of ten counties -- the immediate release of the juvenile daughter of a female friend who had been caught shop-lifting; -- "popped", as Sharp put it.

Sharp's rants against the Brazoria County officers involved in the juvenile matters ran the gamut of appellations from "arrogant little prick" and "son of a bixxx" to "stupid axxhole" to "xxxxsuckers".

In his subsequent disciplinary proceeding Sharp sought to justify his impertinent outburst, and use of gutter slang, by averring -- ironically -- that he had to make sure they understood that he was not just a "Joe Schmo down the street". He also averred that he was just "venting".

A psychiatrist hired by Sharp, Dr. Stephen Tew, offered a mild diagnosis of adult attention deficit disorder, but conceded that it was not the sole producing cause of the wayward conduct that brought Sharp to the attention of the Judicial Conduct Commission. In other words, the man has behavioral issues, and they cannot be chalked up to a mental conditions as some sort of clinical excuse for clearly inappropriate behavior.

Dr Stephen Tew's fee for testimony on behalf of Justice Jim Sharp in his disciplinary case
before a special court as reported to the Texas Ethics Commission

Sharp was not just venting. He was trying to use his official position as a member of the First Court of Appeals to secure special favors for the teenage child of a woman with whom he had some sort of personal relationship; accompanied by a tirade of verbal abuse so vile it makes one cringe merely reporting it.

At the end of the disciplinary process, the not-so Honorable Jim Sharp was not removed from office. Nor deprived of his perch and the power to do more harm to the integrity of the judicial system through his participation in appellate decision-making. But that will likely happen, come November.

Democracy has its quirks. It can get unqualified people into public office, to be sure, but it can also flush them out when they betray the public's expectations, and the citizenry's trust. The ballot box can deliver much deserved justice when the peers that get to pass judgment and censor an errant colleague in the disciplinary process stop short of removing him from the bench he has sullied.

 Public official Jim Sharp's less than judicious choice of words:

Some of the findings on Sharp's verbal abuse of county employees 

THE CASE OF HOUSTON JUDGE JIM SHARP 
Now judicial ethics continuing education material 

Justice Sharp (Houston Court of Appeals) Judicial Discipline 

https://static.ark.org/eeuploads/ag/GOOD_LESSONS_FROM_BAD_JUDGES_AG_2014_Materials.pdf

LINKS TO EXAMPLES OF JUSTICE SHARP'S SELF-INFLICTED BAD PRESS

Houston Chronicle editorial on Justice Jim Sharp’s poor judgment (2012)  
Houston judge (Jim Sharp) censored for 'abusive' behavior (2012 Houston Chronicle article) 
Houston Press: Judge Jim Sharp - Rate His Cursing as the tries to spring friend's daughter from jail (9/7/2012) 

HOW CANDIDATE SHARP RATES WITH LOCAL ATTORNEYS: BAR POLL RESULT

Local Bar Poll Results: Jim Sharp lagging behind even though he is the incumbent
with better name-recognition

HALLOWEEN UPDATE: HOLY SMOKE!

The Hon Jim Sharp - featured speaker at Houston NORML Halloween ("Halloweed") event. 

Looking for a few last-minute weed-minded votes?

New Year Brings New Roster of Harris County District Court Judges

NEWLY ELECTED, APPOINTED AND FORMER HARRIS COUNTY CIVIL DISTRICT JUDGES

11th Judge Mike Miller (2009)
11th Judge Mark Davidson (defeated, but continues as MDL judge)
55th Judge Dion Ramos (elected 2008)
55th Judge Jeff Shadwick (former)
55th Judge Jeff Brown (former)
61st Judge Al Bennet (2009)
61st Judge John Donovan (former)
80th Judge Larry Weiman (2009)
80th Judge Lynn Bradshaw-Hull (former)
113th Judge Patricia Hancock
125th Judge Kyle Carter (2009)
125th Judge John Coselli (former)
127th Judge R. K. Sandill (2009)
127th Judge Sharolyn Wood (former)
129th Judge Michael Gomez (2009)
129th Judge Grant Dorfman (former)
133th Judge Jaclanel McFarland (2009)
133th Judge Lamar McCorkle (former)
151st Judge Mike Engelhart (2009)
151st Judge Caroline E. Baker (former)
152nd Judge Robert Schaffer (2009)
152nd Judge Kenneth Wise (former)
157th Judge Randall Wilson (not up for reelection in 2008)
164th Judge Alexandra Smoots-Hogan (2009)
164th Judge Martha Hill Jamison (former)
165th Judge Josefina Muniz Rendon (2009)
165th Judge Elizabeth Ray (former)
189th Judge Bill Burke (not up for reelection in 2008)
190th Judge Patricia Kerrigan (reelected '08)
190th Hon. Jennifer W. Elrod (now an federal appellate judge on the 5th Cir.)
215th Judge Steven E. Kirkland (2009)
215th Judge Levi Benton (former)
234th Judge Reece Rondon
269th Judge Dan Hinde (appointed 2008)
269th John T. Wooldridge (resigned 2008)
270th Judge Brent Gamble (not up for reelection in 2008)
280th Judge Tony Lindsay (not up for reelection in 2008)
281st Judge Sylvia Matthews (appointed by Governor after 2008 election)
281st Judge David J. Bernal (resigned 2008)
295th Judge Tracy E. Christopher (not up for reelection in 2008)
333rd Judge Joseph James "Tad" Halbach Jr. (re-elected in 2008)
334th Judge Sharon McCally (re-elected in 2008)

LINKS TO OFFICIAL WEB PAGES FOR HOUSTON (HARRIS COUNTY) CIVIL DISTRICT COURT JUDGES

11
Judge Mike Miller
165
Judge Josefina Rendon
55
Judge Dion Ramos
189
Judge Bill Burke
61
Judge Al Bennett
190
Judge Patricia J. Kerrigan
80
Judge Larry Weiman
215
Judge Steve Kirkland
113
Judge Patricia Hancock
234
Judge Reece Rondon
125
Judge Kyle Carter
269
Judge Dan Hinde
127
Judge R.K. Sandill
270
Judge Brent Gamble
129
Judge Michael Gomez
280
Judge Tony Lindsay
133
Judge Jaclanel McFarland
281
Judge Sylvia A. Matthews
151
Judge Mike Engelhart
295
Judge Tracy E. Christopher
152
Judge Robert Schaffer
333
Judge Joseph James Halbach Jr.
157
Judge Randy Wilson
334
Judge Sharon McCally
164
Judge Alexandra Smoots-Hogan
MDL
Judge Mark Davidson

Houston Appellate Court Races

2008 Judicial Elections: Contested Benches on the Houston Courts of Appeals - with links to candidates' web sites.

FIRST COURT OF APPEALS RACE

PLACE 3:
[No incumbent in general election due to Justice Nuchia's defeat in the Republican Primary]

Republican Ed Hubbard
vs.
Democrat Jim Sharp

PLACE 5:

Republican Incumbent Laura Carter Higley
vs
Democratic Challenger Leslie C. Taylor

FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS RACES

Contested Re-election for Chief Justice:

PLACE 1:

Republican Incumbent Adele Hedges
vs.
Democratic Challenger Joe Beverly

Contested Re-election for Associate Justice

PLACE 7:

Republican Incumbent Kem Thompson Frost
vs.
Democratic Opponent Martin J. Siegel

Contests Over Unexpired Terms:

PLACE 4:

Republican Gubernatorial Appointee Jeff Brown
vs.
Democratic Candidate Bert Moser

PLACE 6:

Republican Gubernatorial Appointee Bill Boyce
vs.
Democratic Challenger Mary M. Markantonis

Terms: Houston judicial elections campaign contests, candidates, incumbents, challengers, partisan judicial races, election an reelection campaings, first and fourteenth court of appeals Texas.