The 2016 Judicial Races

As I mentioned in my last post, my best guesstimate about the judicial races is that they will pretty much go as the straight ticket voting goes.  However, as the election of 2012 pointed out, that can be a really close margin.

I highly suggest that those of you with vested interests in the Criminal Court races type up your own lists of recommendations and make sure that you get them out to your voting friends and family before early voting starts in two weeks.  Most importantly, make sure that family and friends take time to vote DOWN BALLOT!

Below are my recommendations.  Some of my decisions were tough calls.  Others weren't.

County Court at Law # 16 - Linda Garcia (R) vs. Darrell Jordan (D)
This Court is a newly created entity and this is the first election for the Judge of this Court.  Republican Linda Garcia is the current sitting judge, after having been appointed to the position.  Judge Garcia has an impressive resume and background in criminal law.  Prior to becoming judge, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County over two different periods of time.  She was highly respected in her position as an ADA and well liked.  In between her two tours of duty, she served as a member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, where Grits for Breakfast referred to her as "one of the best and most enlightened members ever to serve on the parole board."
As I mentioned, when he ran for judge in 2010, I'm not a big fan of Darrell Jordan for personal reasons, over a business transaction.  That incident was quite a while back, so I'll just leave it at that.
Regardless of whatever I think about Jordan, Judge Garcia has many more years of experience in the Criminal Justice System that speak for herself.  Her compassion and integrity from all sides of the System make her easily the best choice in this race.
Recommendation:  Linda Garcia (R)


174th District Court -- Katherine McDaniel (R) vs. Hazel Jones (D)
The 174th District Court is up for grabs since Judge Ruben Guerrero is not running for office again.  The race pits Senior District Court Chief Katherine McDaniel against former 338th Judge Hazel Jones.
I've known both candidates since 1999 when I started at the D.A.'s Office.  Katherine and I were in the same division when I was District Court chief there, so I've worked alongside her as a prosecutor and we've had cases against each other since I've been on the defense side.  She is one of the hardest working, ethical and intelligent prosecutors in the building.   She embodies being tough but fair, and she works hard to make sure she is making all of the right decisions.
Although I don't know Hazel as well as Katherine, I like her very much as a person.  She was elected in the 2008 Democratic sweep, but only held onto her bench for one term.  During her brief tenure, there were some complaints from both sides of the bench about some of her court policies, although I never had a problem when I appeared in her court.
All in all, however, Katherine is the stronger candidate in this race.  She goes above and beyond to ensure that Justice is done on all cases she handles and she would have an excellent judicial temperament.
Recommendation:  Katherine McDaniel (R)


176th District Court -- Stacey Bond (R) vs. Niki Harmon (D)
Incumbent Judge Stacey Bond made a very strong (and positive) impression on the CJC during her first term in the 176th. Her years as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney have served her very well in making thoughtful and thorough consideration of all matters before her.  Her courtroom is a pleasant place to practice (even with a mildly surly coordinator) and Judge Bond is kind and compassionate towards everyone who appears before her.  Most importantly, Judge Bond has illustrated time and again that prosecutors and defense attorneys are on absolutely equal footing when they appear before her, and she's not afraid to make the prosecution mad if they've got a problem with that.  She has courage, compassion and intelligence.  What more could anyone ask from a judge?
Nikita "Niki" Harmon is an attorney and municipal court judge, who I don't believe I've ever met.  Although I don't have anything negative to say about her, I do have to point out that it would be a big leap from the Class C misdemeanor dockets that a Muni Judge handles to hearing Capital Murders. Experience matters on a District Court bench, and Judge Bond's experience is proven and effective.  This recommendation is no contest.
Recommendation:  Stacey Bond (R)


177th District Court -- Ryan Patrick (R) vs. Robert Johnson (D)
There was a lot of grumbling when Ryan Patrick was appointed (and subsequently elected) to the 177th Bench in 2012.  He was relatively young for the position, and some in the defense bar were ready to pounce upon him because of the fact that his father is Lieutenant Governor.  Over the past four years, Judge Patrick has won over the skeptics by just doing a really good job.
He is friendly, knowledgable, and fair.  He stays on top of all incoming legal decisions from the higher courts, and applies them to the cases in front of him easily.  He is willing to hear all arguments before him, reserving judgment until they are complete, and he has a keen awareness about the meaning of Justice.
Robert Johnson is a local attorney that I know in passing, but I don't see too much of him at the CJC.  He practices both criminal and civil law.  As I've written here time and again, criminal law is not a part-time job.  There's just too much on the line to have someone who only practices criminal law part of the time to be a judge.
Recommendation:  Ryan Patrick (R)


178th District Court -- Phil Gommels (R) vs. Kelli Johnson (D)
The 178th is also an open bench, with sitting Judge David Mendoza choosing not to run for a third term.  I'm a big fan of Judge Mendoza and I'm sad to see him go.  Fortunately, there are two very capable candidates running for the bench.
Republican candidate Phil Gommels is a former prosecutor and a current defense attorney.  He's a very nice guy who diligently represents his clients.  His prior military experience and his Board position with the Harris County Criminal Lawyers' Association give him a solid resume for a candidate.
Democratic candidate Kelli Johnson is a senior felony District Court Chief who is also a good friend of mine.  She and I started at the Office at the same time and she is a talented prosecutor who is liked and respected by the defense bar.
In my opinion, both of these candidates are qualified to hold the position, but Kelli has a significant advantage here when it comes to experience and seniority.  Kelli has been practicing over twice as long as Phil and has more experience with a wider berth of cases.
Recommendation:  Kelli Johnson (D)


179th District Court -- Kristin Guiney (R) vs. Randy Roll (D)
Like her fellow freshman judges, Stacey Bond and Ryan Patrick, Republican Incumbent Kristin Guiney has also become a favorite judge at the CJC.  She has brought her strengths of intelligence, common sense, and a bizarre desire to do legal research to the bench.  Guiney has worked hard to do more than just be a sitting judge.  She has worked hard to do research that helps make the Criminal Justice System better in Harris County.  Whether it be studying docket management techniques or outside rehabilitation programs, she adheres to the principle that there is always something that can be done to make things better.  She's been an exemplary judge in her first term.
Democratic candidate Randy Roll is the former judge of the 179th and is looking to reclaim his bench, which he lost in 2012 after serving only one term.  Although I don't have anything against Roll personally, he just wasn't a very good judge during his first year.  His behavior raised concerns from both the prosecution and the defense.  He was known to make strange statements from the bench that indicated that he was much more concerned with keeping his docket numbers low than he was about actual justice in the courtroom.  His campaign literature has been implicitly dishonest, he initially claimed to have never been reversed in trial, until it was pointed out that this was a lie.  He then modified his literature to say that he had never been reversed in trial "as to guilt/innocence."  A judge getting reversed is going to happen from time to time, but Roll's willingness to mislead voters is concerning.
In the interest of full disclosure, Kristin Guiney is someone I consider one of my closest friends, but this is not a close contest.
Recommendation:  Kristin Guiney (R)

337th District Court -- Renee Magee (R) vs. Herb Ritchie (D)
As in the 179th race, Incumbent Republican Judge Renee Magee is also running against the candidate she unseated in the 2012 election.  Democratic candidate Herb Ritchie held the bench for one term after the 2008 election.  I've actually tried cases as a defense attorney in front of both of them, which makes this race a very tough one to call.
I feel a personal loyalty to Judge Magee going back to 1998.  I interned for her an now-Justice Elsa Alcala when they were the prosecutors in the 209th District Court.  She recommended me for my job at the D.A.'s Office.  When these candidates faced off in 2012, I didn't make a call on who I would pick because I had pending cases in the court.  When Judge Magee took the bench, I was one of the first attorneys to try a case in front of her.   I've tried murder cases in front of both her and Ritchie.
In the end, Ritchie was ultimately more neutral on the bench.  Although Judge Magee has improved over the years, there are still some remnants of prosecutorial leanings when it comes to trial.  This is improving and the overall atmosphere of the court is great.
On the bench, Ritchie definitely played no favorites when it came to his rulings and he gave careful consideration to all issues before him.  He suppressed a significant portion of a murder confession in a case I tried with him, but did so on grounds other than which I had drawn his attention to.  His punishments on cases varied to the degree that it was impossible to predict what he might do on any given case where he was deciding punishment.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.
At the end of the day, I'd rather try a case to Ritchie.
Recommendation:  Herb Ritchie (D)


338th District Court -- Brock Thomas (R) vs.  Ramona Franklin (D)
Republican Incumbent Judge Brock Thomas was the only judge who lost his bench in the Democrat Sweep of 2008 only to reclaim it in 2012, and I'm glad he did. Judge Thomas is an outstanding judge.  He is no nonsense and quiet on the bench, but he holds everyone in his court to a high standard -- both prosecutors and defense attorneys.  He once pointed out to me that I had inadvertently put the wrong date on a Motion for Funds to Hire an Investigator on a case.  That attention to detail is funny, but it also illustrates the close attention to detail that he pays to each case.  The level of scrutiny that he gives to all matters before him are exemplary and he makes no decisions off the cuff.  He is wiling to give second chances and he's heavily involved in the mental health courts, but he can also cut through anyone before him who is just making excuses.
Ramona Franklin is a defense attorney who worked briefly for the District Attorney's Office.  I know her in passing, but not well at all.  I honestly don't know her well enough to say whether or not she's qualified to be a judge.
I do, however, know that Judge Thomas is doing a fantastic job and deserves to be re-elected.
Recommendation:  Brock Thomas (R)

339th District Court -- Mary McFaden (R) vs. Maria Jackson (D)
Incumbent Judge Maria T. Jackson is the only Democrat running for re-election for her bench.  She was elected in the 2008 and managed to hold onto her position in 2012.  Eight years after first taking the bench, she is running against senior Felony District Court Chief Mary McFaden.
I've worked several cases in Judge Jackson's over the past several years and she's a very nice lady.  It's a good court to work in and she gives the defense as much consideration as the prosecution.
Mary and I have been friends since she started at the Office.  She is a hardworking and honest prosecutor.
The two candidates could not be more different.  Many at the D.A.'s Office feel that Judge Jackson is too lenient, while many in the Defense Bar feel that Mary would be too tough.  Mary is a tough prosecutor and her recommendations during plea bargains are high, but I've never found her to be anything other than honest and above-board when dealing with her on cases.  She's a good friend of mine and I will vote for her, but it isn't because I have anything negative to say about Judge Jackson.
Recommendation:  Either

351st District Court -- Mark Ellis (R) vs. George Powell (D)
Incumbent Republican Judge Mark Ellis was the lone survivor of the 2008 election that swept out every other Republican judge on a criminal bench, and he easily held onto his bench in 2012.  He's actually been on the bench since 1997, and in my opinion, he's a good judge.  He's worked consistently with Mental Health Court and he knows the law.
George Powell is a longtime defense attorney and a friend, as well.  He's certainly a qualified candidate, but he doesn't have Judge Ellis' experience.
Recommendation:  Mark Ellis

The 2016 Election: Guesses, Hopes, and Predictions

As we get closer and closer to the Election Day on November 8th, I'm getting more frequent questions about what I think is going to happen.  In all honesty, your guess is as good as mine, and I'll always defer over to Charles Kuffner if you want a truly educated opinion.  I have some observations and thoughts, but I'll be the first to tell you that they are more or less just guesses.

Whenever anybody asks what I think will happen in November, I always say that I think it is going to come down to straight-ticket voting.  Predicting how the straight ticket will go, however, is just mere speculation.  If it goes Republican, I think that most (if not all) of our judges will be just fine -- which is a good thing.  However, I also think that even if Harris County goes Republican that the race for District Attorney (between Devon Anderson and Kim Ogg, on the off chance that you just now wandered into this discussion) will be much closer than any other race.  Either outcome would not surprise me.

I know about the University of Houston poll that showed Devon had a one point lead over Kim, but I don't think I would make any big predictions based on that.  The margin is too close to call.  I do think that it is significant that the margin is smaller than any of the other races, but given several things that have gone on at the D.A.'s Office over the past year or so, that isn't surprising.

So, my bottom line is that if the Republicans get more straight ticket votes than the Dems do, the Republican judges will prevail, but the D.A.'s Office will still be up for grabs.  I'll post more about my thoughts on the D.A. race later.

So, here is my amateur analysis of what I think is going to happen in 2016.

To start with, we have to jump back to the 2008 election.  Back then, there was a large amount of Democratic turnout that was motivated by Barack Obama being on the ticket.  As you know, that turnout swept the majority of local Republicans out of office -- including all but one Criminal District Court Judge.  The oddity of the 2008 election was that one of the few surviving Republicans was District Attorney Pat Lykos.  Her defeat of Democrat Clarence Bradford was probably mainly attributable to all of the baggage and scandals brought with him from his days as Chief of the Houston Police Department.

For those who thought that the 2008 election was evidence that Harris County had "turned blue" for the Democrats, that clearly proved not to be the case in 2010, as there was a powerful Republican sweep in the non-Presidential year.

The 2012 results were even more interesting.  The enthusiasm for voting clearly waned for the Democrats, although it was still a factor.  Many of the benches that had been lost in 2008 were recaptured by Republican candidates -- some benches reclaimed by the judges that once held them, while others claimed by rookie judges.  While 2008 swept out all Republican judges, with the exception of one, 2012 swept all Republican judges back in -- with three exceptions:  Democratic Judges Ruben Guerrero, David Mendoza, and Maria Jackson all survived challenges from Republican opponents.  Additionally, Democrat County Attorney Vince Ryan also staved off a challenge from a Republican candidate, as did then-Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Why these judges survived when others didn't isn't exactly clear.  I've heard theories and I've had theories, but they are all just speculation.  Whatever the case may be, the powerful enthusiasm behind Obama in 2008 wasn't nearly as strong in 2012.  Unsurprisingly, the Republicans swept again in 2014, which send a clear message that if you want job security as an elected official in Harris County, you really need to be running in the non-Presidential years.

So, in trying to guess what is going to happen in 2016, one just has to figure out how National politics are going to affect Harris County.

Personally, I don't see Hillary Clinton, standing alone as a candidate, motivating people to vote.  She's too polarizing and doesn't have the charisma that Obama has to duplicate the Harris County turnout that he had in either 2008 or 2012.  If Hillary was running against anyone other than Donald Trump, I would tell all the Republican judges to start their celebrating now.

Unfortunately, the Trump factor leaves too much to the unknown.

I predict that there are going to be a lot of people that vote for the first time because they identify with Trump.   Whether or not they vote straight ticket or just vote for him and leave, however, is anybody's guess.  Conversely, there are going to be plenty of people who aren't all that fired up about Hillary Clinton, but they are more than happy to go to the polls to vote against Trump.  Whether they pull straight ticket or not is also anybody's guess.

If I were forced to make a prediction, I would say that I think the Republican judges are going to be okay.  I'm skeptical of most polling, but I'm really skeptical of local polling.  In the March primaries, 329,768 people showed up to vote in the Republican Primary, as opposed to 227,280 in the Democratic.  Now, a large part of that can probably be attributed to Ted Cruz (who got 148,010 of those votes) being on the ballot, but that's still a margin of over 100,000.  Maybe that means something, maybe it doesn't.

Somewhere, Kuffner is probably rolling his eyes at my amateur analysis.

The bottom line is that I predict Harris County will stay Republican, but by a much more narrow margin than in 2012, and I think that the D.A.'s Office is very much up for grabs.

With a margin that close, getting your friends and family out to vote could not be more important.

Go vote!

The 2016 D.A. Debate

So, I just finished watching the Harris County District Attorney candidates debate, and I had a few thoughts.

First off, with the possible exception of the Sheriff's race, this is the most important local race on the ballot in November for Harris County.   For some reason, it aired between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. and no news network carried it -- not even Channel 2, whose own Khambrel Marshall was the moderator.  It kind of reminded me of the ending of Rocky 3, when Rocky and Apollo had a private fight that only they knew the outcome of.

I had to watch the debate via Kim Ogg's website.  Not that I'm supporting Kim, but she appeared to be the only game in town if you wanted to watch the debate online.  Dave Jennings over at Big Jolly Politics made his long-awaited return to blogging to point out that perhaps Devon didn't exactly want to maximize coverage of the debate.  I'm not sure that I entirely disagree with him.  Given the current news cycle, I actually think that it took a lot of guts to agree to a debate at the moment.

All in all, there were virtually no surprises in the debate, other than the fact that the audience was surprisingly unruly.  Both sides clearly had their supporters who seemed to be trying to outdo each other with their applause.  Disappointingly, some of Ogg's supporters began talking over Devon and yelling out things, which was extremely annoying.

Devon touted her new diversionary programs such as those for cases involving small amounts of marijuana, and prostitution.  Kim attacked systemic problems in the criminal justice system and the need to change.  I missed the closing statements due to a phone call and an overactive two-year-old, but I understand that Devon brought up some character issues with Kim.

As I've said before, Kim is a formidable candidate with some good ideas, but she diminishes them with her pandering and politicking.  Devon called her out on her politicking and she was right to do so.  If Kim would stick to her principles instead of manipulating statistics, it would make her a much more appealing candidate to me.

In the end, I doubt that the debate changed anybody's mind about the candidate they were supporting in the first place -- and I doubt that anybody who was undecided was actually watching it.

Note to Candidates

In the past I have linked campaign websites to each name of the candidates.  I didn't do that this year when I wrote the post on the election but only because it is a time consuming process.

I am more than happy to link up the websites if you send me the links.  I have already been contacted by one candidate to do that, and I was glad to accommodate him.

Just let me know.

The 2016 Election Field

Polling for the 2016 Election closed yesterday at 6 p.m. and we now know the election field for the March 1st primary.  There were a couple of surprises and last minute filings.  Although I'm no Charles Kuffner, I'm thinking that 2016 is probably going to be a very good year for the Republican candidates locally.  I don't think either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will bring people to the polls in Harris County like Barack Obama.  We shall see.

The Democratic Party is going to be hurting in this department as well, because two out of the three incumbent Dems in CJC positions are not running for re-election.

As for the primaries, here you go . . .

Harris County District Attorney

Republicans -- Unsurprisingly, District Attorney Devon Anderson drew no challengers in the Republican primary, which is hopefully a good indicator that some stability has returned to the Party.  Although I haven't always agreed with some of the personnel and policy decisions that have come out of the Office under her tenure, Devon has added some much needed stability for her employees following the Lykos years.

Democrats -- The Democrats this year have a three-way battle between 2014 HCDA candidate Kim Ogg, nimwit extraordinaire and perpetual candidate Lloyd Oliver, and former Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Morris Overstreet.  Once again, the Lloyd Factor will be interesting to watch.  He has a magical way of screwing up elections by his mere presence.  I'm not a fan of the way Kim acts on the campaign trail and find her desire to jump on every passing bandwagon troubling.  So far, I like Judge Overstreet as the best candidate the Dems have in this race.  It is difficult to argue against the experience of being a former judge from the Court of Criminal Appeals and he doesn't have the baggage that Ogg and Oliver bring to the table.

174th District Court

Democrats --  Democratic Judge Ruben Guerrero has elected not to run again for the bench, which is a blow to the Democratic Party as far as CJC elections go.  Guerrero was elected as part of the 2008 Democratic sweep, but he was one of only three judges that managed to hold onto his bench when he was up for re-election in 2012.  His decision to not run has opened up the door to Garland "Mack" McInnis, former 338th District Court Judge Hazel Jones, and attorney Raul Rodriguez.  Hazel was not a popular judge while on the bench in the 338th and it is curious to see her running for a bench other than her old one.  Garland is a former defense attorney who has worked for the County Attorney's Office for some time now.  He's a very sharp legal mind and a good candidate.  Raul Rodriguez is a defense attorney that I know and like.  My early money would be on Raul to win this race on the Dem side.

Republicans -- regardless of who wins the Democratic primary, my vote in November will be going to my friend Merry Katherine McDaniel, who is running without a challenger in the primary.  Katherine is a longtime prosecutor who I've known since I started at the D.A.'s Office in 1999.  I'll talk more about her when we get a little closer to November.

176th District Court

Democrats -- former 176th Judge Shawna Reagin will attempt to regain the bench she lost in 2012, but first she has to get through the primary in a race against Nikita "Niki" Harmon.  Harmon is a municipal court judge who ran unsuccessfully in 2014 for a county court bench.  Of the two, Reagin is immensely more qualified.  She was a highly skilled defense and appellate attorney before becoming a judge in 2008.  

Republicans --  although there were some rumors that the District Attorney's Office was looking to field a candidate against incumbent Republican judge Stacey Bond (because they were upset about her recent ruling on prosecutorial misconduct) that fortunately does not appear to be the case.  Judge Bond has been outstanding since taking the bench in 2013 and she is highly respected.  The D.A.'s Office may be a little pissy with her at the moment, but they will get over it.  She's a damn good judge.

177th District Court

Republican --  Incumbent Republican Judge Ryan Patrick has also been doing a pretty damn good job since taking the Bench.  Defense attorneys were fully ready to give Judge Patrick a hard time based on his relative youth at the time he became a judge, but he has successfully silenced his critics with a strong knowledge of the law and an even temperament.  Judge Patrick is developing a very impressive track record of being a truly neutral judge who knows the law and follows it.

Democrats -- two defense attorneys are running against Judge Patrick - David Singer and Robert Johnson.  I don't recall Johnson running for any other CJC benches in recent memory, but Singer has run several times.  Both are equally qualified but will have a VERY uphill battle challenging Judge Patrick in November.

178th District Court

Democrats -- I was very saddened to hear that Incumbent Democrat David Mendoza had decided not to run again.  I didn't know him before he was elected in 2008, but I've come to be a tremendous fan of the way he has run the 178th District Court over the past 8 years.  I'm truly sorry to see him go and I hope he will be a visiting judge that we see around the CJC quite often.

The race to replace Judge Mendoza will be between prosecutor Kelli Johnson and defense attorney Lori Gray.  Both have run for office before, with Kelli running unsuccessfully in 2014 for County Court at Law # 8 and Lori last running (unsuccessfully) in 2010 for Court # 10.  Kelli is a close friend of mine, so I'm biased, but I think she is the most qualified candidate.

Republicans -- with no incumbent to run against, the floodgates have opened with four candidates running on the Republican side for the178th.  To start with, we have Nile Copeland, who is apparently a municipal court judge who last ran in 2012 as a Democrat.  Prior to about three minutes ago, I'd never seen or heard of him.  Next we have Bash Sharma.  I'm not entirely sure who he is, but I do believe he actually practices criminal law, which gives him a step up on Copeland.

The two qualified candidates in the race are former prosecutors and current defense attorneys Phil Gommels and Xavier Alfaro.  Both of these guys are great guys and good lawyers.  Either would make a good candidate, but I would give the edge to Xavier, who has more experience.

179th District Court

Republicans -- Incumbent Republican Kristin Guiney is running for re-election unchallenged in her primary, as it should be.  In addition to being a family friend and one of my favorite people, she has also proven to be an outstanding judge since taking the Bench in 2013.  Judge Guiney won her primary in 2012 by one of the widest margins that year and she has lived up to expectations on the Bench as an efficient, intelligent, and compassionate judge that strives to make the entire System better.

Democrats -- former 179th Judge and current defense attorney Randy Roll will attempt to retake his bench but first he will have to get through prosecutor Stephen Aslett.  The early word is that this race is already getting contentious.  Although I like Randy, he was controversial on the Bench with both prosecutors and the defense bar.  Aslett is a newcomer to Harris County politics, but is a die-hard Dem.  I'm genuinely curious to see how this one shakes out, but either way, I'll obviously be voting for Judge Guiney in November.

337th District Court

Republican incumbent judge Renee Magee will face off against former 337th Democratic judge Herb Ritchie in a rematch from 2012.  Neither have opponents in their primaries, so we'll have more to say about this one as we get closer to November.

338th District Court

In another race where both primaries are uncontested, incumbent Republican Judge Brock Thomas will be facing Democrat and defense attorney Ramona Franklin in November.

339th District Court

Democrats -- Incumbent Democrat Judge Maria (Terri) Jackson is the one and only incumbent running for re-election in a CJC race.  Since taking the Bench in 2009, she has been very popular in the Defense Bar for her kind demeanor and her willingness to consider both sides of every argument.

Republicans -- Felony District Court Chief and political newcomer Mary McFaden will be running against defense attorney Antonio Benavides for the Republican nomination.  Mary is a friend of mine and a very smart attorney.  She is considered to be a very hard-core prosecutor which makes some in the Defense Bar a little worried.  Benavides is a defense attorney that I only know in passing.  He might want to consider changing his Facebook profile photo before running for office.  Just sayin'.

351st District Court

Republicans --  Longtime incumbent Republican Judge Mark Kent Ellis will run again for the 351st Bench.  He is the lone Republican survivor of the 2008 Democratic sweep and a good judge.

Democrats -- Defense attorneys Greg Glass and George Powell will face off against each other for the Democratic nomination.  Both men are friends of mine and both are qualified candidates.  I have no idea who wins this primary.

County Attorney

Although the County Attorney's Office is really related to the CJC races, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that incumbent Democrat Vince Ryan will be running again.  His challengers are Chris Carmona and sometimes-I'm-a-Republican-when-I'm-running-for-office-but-really-I-support-Democratic-candidates-most-of-the-time attorney Jim Leitner.

Vote for Chris Carmona, please.

And one more Race before we go . . .

232nd District Court Judge Mary Lou Keel is running for Court of Criminal Appeals.  Judge Keel is one of the smartest and best judges that I've ever tried a case in front of.  Although I would hate to see her leave Harris County, she would make an outstanding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals.  Remember to tell your friends and family members across the State about her for this race.  She has more judicial experience than both of her opponents combined.

Election years are always exciting.  Remember to get active and involved.  The general public doesn't pay much attention to what goes on at the CJC, so it is up to those of us who practice down there to get the word out.

Morris Overstreet Joins the Race for Harris County District Attorney

In a somewhat unanticipated move, former Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Morris Overstreet has announced his candidacy for Harris County District Attorney on the Democratic ticket.



He will be running against defense attorney Kim Ogg in the primary.

I only know Judge Overstreet in passing, but he's always been very nice to me.  To be honest, I was unaware of all of his credentials.  I didn't realize he was a former-prosecutor and I certainly didn't know he was formerly on the Court of Criminal Appeals.  He has an extremely impressive resume and a very interesting background.

I was anticipating the primary season to be kind of quiet in 2016.  Looks like I was wrong.  Kim Ogg should be very concerned.

Kim Ogg to Run Again

I received an email today from the Kim Ogg for Harris County District Attorney campaign, stating that there would be a campaign announcement tomorrow (September 25th) at 10:00 a.m. across from the CJC.

This is not surprising news, since she pretty much confirmed that she was going to run again immediately after she lost the election for the unexpired term in 2014.

As I stated when she ran last time, Kim is a qualified candidate.  I was disappointed with some of her antics during her 2014 campaign, and I hope there will be more of a discussion of actual issues this time around.

It is worth noting that Kim had a closer margin in her race than most other Harris County Democratic candidates did in 2014.  She is definitely someone that Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson will need to take seriously on the campaign trail.  However, Devon will now be viewed as a solid incumbent with several years under her belt by November of next year.

As usual, my amateur political analysis is that this race will be decided by who the Republican and Democratic candidates for President are.  I don't see Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden inspiring Democratic voters to flock to the polls like they did for Obama in 2008.  That being said, if Donald Trump ends up as the Republican candidate, I could absolutely see the Latino community being very motivated to get out and vote against him.  I think the Latino voting bloc is the most influential segment of voters in Harris County right now.

As always, the presidential election years are always so much more interesting than the gubernatorial ones.