In a meeting with the judges a year or so ago, Harris County District Attorney's Office First Assistant David Mitcham expressed his frustration with the judges and bond reform, giving them a warning that those who didn't share District Attorney Kim Ogg's "vision" would face "consequences." Those who were present for the meeting (at least the ones that I spoke with) indicated that the implication was that the Office intended to field candidates to run against those judges who weren't bending to the District Attorney's will. At least, that's how they interpreted Mitcham's words.
Now that the filing deadline has passed, it is abundantly clear that Mitcham's veiled threat was not an empty one as a significant number almost every of judicial races now has a prosecutorial candidate running as either a Democrat or Republican. Some are great candidates. Others . . . not so much. A few are royal disasters, but we will talk about that more in-depth in a future post.
I thought it was interesting to see that the Republicans filled out an entire slate (as opposed to the past election or so). Perhaps with Donald Trump out of the White House, they assume the Party will be more palatable. The gubernatorial battle has never been one that generated tremendous turnout in Texas, and the battle of Abbott vs. O'Rourke probably won't be anywhere near as exciting as when O'Rourke ran against Ted Cruz four years ago. They must have dug deep to find some of these candidates, however. There are quite a few of them that I've never heard of (which is unusual).
Not to mention that Republican Candidates (with hefty donations from some big names affiliated with CrimeStoppers) have been doing a fantastic (and highly misleading) job of pointing out that this current crop of Democratic Judges are just a clear and present danger to world peace since they follow the Constitution and set bonds for criminals. Ogg and her PR machine have been giving a lot of oxygen to those misleading allegations to the degree that one would be pretty hard-pressed to argue that Ogg is really anything other than a Democrat in Name Only.
So, without further ado, here are the candidates for the Criminal Judicial Races on the ballot in November 2022.
(NOTE: This list is based on looking at the Secretary of State website, the Harris County Democratic Party website, and the Harris County Republican Party website, as well as personal knowledge. If there are any additions, deletions or modifications, please let me know.)
180th District Court
DEM:
Judge DaSean Jones (Incumbent)
REP:
Tami C. Pierce
182nd District Court
DEM:
Judge Danny Lacayo (Incumbent)
REP:
Robert H. Jackson (an Investigator for the District Attorney's Office)
183rd District Court
DEM:
Judge Chuck Silverman (Incumbent)
Gemayel Haynes
REP:
Kristin Guiney (former Judge)
184th District Court
DEM:
Judge Abigail Anastasio (Incumbent)
Katherine "Kat" Thomas (Prosecutor)
REP:
Lori DeAngelo
185th District Court
DEM:
Judge Jason Luong (Incumbent)
Katie Ferrell
Andrea "Andy" Beall (Prosecutor)
REP:
Chris Carmona
208th District Court
DEM:
Judge Greg Glass (Incumbent)
Beverly Armstrong
Kim McTorry
REP:
Heather Hudson (Prosecutor)
209th District Court
DEM:
Judge Brian Warren (Incumbent)
REP:
Kevin Fulton
228th District Court
DEM:
Judge Frank Aguillar (Incumbent)
Sam Milledge, II
REP:
Andy Taylor
230th District Court
DEM:
Judge Chris Morton (Incumbent)
Joseph Sanchez (Prosecutor)
REP:
Brad Hart (former Judge)
232nd District Court
DEM:
Judge Josh Hill (Incumbent)
REP:
Joshua Normand
248th District Court
DEM:
Judge Hilary Unger (Incumbent)
Linda Mazzagatti (Prosecutor)
REP:
Julian Ramirez
262nd District Court
DEM:
Judge Lori Gray (Incumbent)
REP:
Tonya McLaughlin
263rd District Court
DEM:
Judge Amy Martin (Incumbent)
Melissa Morris
REP:
Amber Cox (Prosecutor)
482nd District Court
DEM:
Veronica Nelson
Alycia Harvey (Prosecutor)
Sherlene Cruz
REP:
Judge Maritza Antu (technically not an incumbent since she was appointed to the Bench)
County Court at Law # 1
DEM:
Judge Alex Salgado (Incumbent)
REP:
Nathan Moss (Prosecutor)
County Court at Law # 2
DEM:
Judge Ronnisha Bowman (Incumbent)
Janell Robles
REP:
Paula Goodhart (former Judge)
County Court at Law # 3
DEM: No Incumbent -- Judge Erika Hughes took a Federal appointment earlier this year
Staci Biggar
Porscha Brown
Lorenzo Williams
REP:
Leslie Johnson
County Court at Law # 4
DEM:
Judge Shannon Baldwin (Incumbent)
REP:
Zachary Gibson (Prosecutor)
County Court at Law # 5
DEM:
Judge David Fleicher (Incumbent)
Carlos Aguayo (Prosecutor)
REP:
Elizabeth Buss (Prosecutor)
County Court at Law # 6
DEM:
Judge Kelley Andrews (Incumbent)
Selina Alaniz
REP:
Mark Montgomery
County Court at Law # 7
DEM:
Judge Andrew Wright (Incumbent)
Mauricio Vazquez
REP:
Mike Monks
County Court at Law # 8
DEM:
Judge Franklin Bynum (Incumbent)
Erika Ramirez (Prosecutor)
REP:
Mark Goldberg (Prosecutor. Sort of. Really more of Ogg's PR guy who sometimes moonlights as a prosecutor in an actual court)
County Court at Law # 9
DEM:
Judge Toria Finch (Incumbent)
REP:
Sartaj Bal
County Court at Law # 10
DEM: No Incumbent -- Judge Lee Harper Wilson did not seek re-election.
Juanita Jackson
Thuy Le
REP:
Dan Spjut (former Judge)
County Court at Law # 11
DEM:
Judge Sedrick Walker (Incumbent)
REP:
Dan Simons
County Court at Law # 12
DEM:
Judge Genesis Draper (Incumbent)
REP:
Matt Dexter
County Court at Law # 13
DEM:
Judge Raul Rodriguez (Incumbent)
REP:
Lance Long
County Court at Law # 14
DEM:
Judge David Singer (Incumbent)
Je'Rell Rogers (Prosecutor)
REP:
Jessica Needham Padilla
County Court at Law # 15
DEM:
Judge Tonya Jones (Incumbent)
REP:
Xavier Alfaro
313th District Court (Juvenile)
DEM:
Judge Natalia Oakes (Incumbent)
Glenda Duru
REP:
Julie A. Ketterman
Rachel Leal-Hudson
314th District Court (Juvenile)
DEM:
Judge Michelle Moore (Incumbent)
REP:
Cindy Hide
315th District Court (Juvenile)
DEM:
Judge Leah Shapiro (Incumbent)
Iesha Champs
REP:
Marie Valeria Brock
29 comments:
In Jannell Robles defense, she's been at the county PD for over 2 1/2 years after a very brief stint as a token Latina while I was trying to build some diversity there.
I corrected it. It was presented to me as if her departure from HCDA was recent.
Is 38% the same as “almost every judicial race” these days?
Anon 5:14 p.m.,
So, maybe my math isn't the best . . .
But, some of the races have more than one prosecutorial candidate in it. There is one with a prosecutor from another county (Xavier Alfaro) and Lance Long and Julian Ramirez have been special prosecutors since leaving the office, I believe (although no one would accuse any of those three as having been sent by the Ogg Administration). And there were a couple of those candidates that I initially thought were still with the office but had left recently.
I think you underestimate how many prosecutors are running FROM Kim Ogg’s leadership, rather than running FOR her to punish the current judiciary.
I couldn’t agree more. It seems like there’s more “current prosecutor” candidates than ever before. My heart goes out to them. I can’t imagine what it’s like to work for Kim Ogg. I’m glad I’ll never know. I’m equally glad that my cell phone and laptop will not be subject to seizure after posting this comment.
Using the term “Token Latina” is quite offensive.
I understand the sentiment, and appreciate that you tried to build diversity while at the DAs Office, but using that term takes away from her accomplishments and activism in the Latinx community.
Ya'll remember the Bailey School Kids?
"Zombies don't play soccer"
"Aliens don't wear braces"
"Vampires don't wear polka dots"
Well, someone needs to write "Judges don't wear cowboy hats" and dedicate it to Fleischer and his ilk. Shows about as much decorum as these "brave and beautiful" rail-sitters:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/9/1898244/-Houston-Elects-19-Black-Women-Judges-so-Texas-Gov-and-Legislature-Move-to-End-Judicial-Elections
When we talk about cowboys, we think of people who selfishly plod through life doing everything their own way. So when someone's liberty is at stake, what is more comforting than assuming that the judge in your case must be surrounded by heifers located just off-screen on the zoom call.
Anon 7:37 a.m.,
Well, you were a late entry, but you may have won Dumbest Comment of the Year.
In addition to the not-so-hidden racist message you are conveying about the 19 female black judges, you want to attack Judge Fleischer for wearing a hat?
Get a life.
Harris County has always prided itself on eccentric and flashy characters that have participated in our criminal justice system for decades. Don't be such a Karen.
Did you really just (deleted curse word) post that?
Lauren’s assessment is correct.
"Harris County" aka "Houston", aka "Texas" dba "The State of Texas" must be destroyed immediately. At first opportunity. Do your duty. This is not a joke. The "Texas" system and those who operate it are Satanic.
May the State of Texas prosecute each and every one of you swiftly so that you may be your best you and be well prepared for Heaven.
"Harris County Courts" aka "Harris County" aka "Houston" aka "Texas" dba "The State of Texas" IS A SATANIC OPERATION, RECORDER OF WRONGS, ENEMY OF HUMANITY, AND MUST BE PUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY. ALL WHO OPERATE "TEXAS" ARE EVILDOERS.
And another late entry!
So you can call me racist, sexist or whatever, but Linda Mazzagatti (Prosecutor), is one of the dumbest human beings you will ever encounter.
Absolutely agree, as someone who used to live and practice in Harris County, and no longer does (and thus has no dog in this fight). Zach's biggest problem is that he combines laziness and ineptitude with an unjustified amount of arrogance.
Jarrell, Alycia, and Brad Hart are amazing judicial candidates (on different sides of the aisles!) who voters should seriously consider.
Kate Ferrell and Kim Mctorry, not so much. A lot to be desired in ethics (Ferrell was fired from the DA's office) and intelligence.
Let's face it, judicial races draw about as much voter interest as do the district/county clerk and school board candidates. Your average voter has very little personal exposure to the criminal justice system.
hey getting fired from the DAs office is a badge of honor! I like to think of my exit of the DA's office as getting my time served.
Imagine saying it's a bad thing to be fired from the DA's office on Murray's blog of all places.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/democrats-2021-manchin-racist-build-back-better-deroy-murdock
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/democrats-2021-manchin-racist-build-back-better-deroy-murdock
Justice ought to be colorblind and not pander to Wokeness. To imply otherwise is racist per see.
ADAs are seeking judicial benches in droves to escape the tyranny of Kim Jong Ogg. To imply otherwise is conspiratorial lunacy, Rodney Ellis' judicial peddling excepted.
Every defendant is entitled to a fair and reasonable bond evaluation. To imply otherwise citing the Constitution requiring wholesale PRs or low/no bonds based on poverty and diversity is not only absurd on its face, but it also puts the safety and security of our entire community at unacceptable risk.
Historically, unless you work in the criminal justice system, are a defendant or are a victim of crime, what goes on at the CJC is of little personal consequence and therefore not given much thought by the uninformed general public. However, as criminal conduct is perceived to not have appropriate consequences, the revolving door at the CJC shall have dire repercussions......the madness is unsustainable and change is inevitable.
Karen \kərĭn\ n. [Dan] 1. a woman who disagrees with a man on the internet 2. see Snitch 3. (archaic) a female forename
If there’s anything that is racist by modern standards, it’s the word Karen as a slander of decent white women. You don’t see me calling those 19 black women a bunch of “Shaniquas” for violating the rules of Court which prohibit counsel from sitting on rails and tables. It’s the exact same epithet, just with the script flipped.
The local rules for criminal court require dress in business attire. Unless you’re in the business of ranching, a cowboy hat is not business attire. My opinion is that judges should at least follow their own rules, if they can’t bother to follow the legislature’s.
We don’t need any more “characters” in Harris County. These are lawyers who slap ass and glad hand everybody and they’re very much the type who do their own thing rather than follow the rules. I remember watching Joe Jamail in action as a pup and I always thought he got away with his improper behavior because he made a name for himself by becoming rich. His behavior is nothing to emulate, and that goes for the rest of the “Cowboys” out there.
At least these women stick together, Murray. When are you going to stick up for yourself and your own? You and me being divided against each other is all political minorities need to dictate policy. While we divide ourselves into Rs and Ds, look who is running the show. You’re a good man, Murray, but you will earn nothing by standing up for people who will never accept or love you as their own. Peace man.
Anon 7:37
Old Time Southern Lawerin':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH6SFvRjy0g&ab_channel=Shout%21Factory
I have appeared before the cowboy hat-wearing judge several times. I like the way he conducts business. But I'm a lawyer sort of old school with a law license awarded to me in 1987. I will never get used to wearing your hat in the courtroom. Even Bum Phillips didn't wear his cowboy hat in the indoor Astrodome. Call me an old school fuddy duddy.
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