This comes as a bit of a surprise.
Judge DaSean Jones, the elected Democrat in the 180th District Court and the defendant in Harris County’s last pending 2022 election contest suit, plans to resign in October, his lawyer said Friday.
Jones on Wednesday sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott announcing his resignation from the felony court effective Oct. 2, said Oliver Brown, who represents Jones in the election contest.
The letter does not elaborate on the reason for Jones’ resignation.
“It has been my privilege to serve the Great State of Texas — not for accolades or ambition, but for the enduring promise of equal justice under law,” Jones wrote.
A similar letter was also shared with Commissioners Court.
In that correspondence, the judge asked the county to cancel his benefits when he leaves office and that any money that may go to him after his departure should go to the general fund instead. He cited county rules that keep judges on the payroll following their resignation when a successor has not been appointed.
[…]
Pierce is still running for Jones’ bench, according to recent campaign filings.
The latest campaign filings for Jones shows he was most recently seeking to retain his bench. He had more than $48,000 in campaign funds through the end of June.
See here, here, and here for the latest updates in this saga. The single most likely reason for his departure is that he’s accepted a job offer, for whatever the reason. That’s a fairly normal thing and wouldn’t rate anything more than a by-the-way news item, if the overall circumstances were different. I would bet a not inconsiderable amount of money that Greg Abbott will appoint Tami Pierce to this bench as soon as Judge Jones’ resignation takes effect. Now there’s another seat for Democratic hopefuls to aim for.