After a couple of Republican endorsements, the Chron gives us a slate of judicial candidates for the Democratic primary in the district courts. A brief summary:
Singhal in Democratic primary for 1st Court of Appeals, Place 3
We recommend Dinesh Singhal, 52, who has tried more than 25 cases and handled 19 appeals.
Hootman in Democratic primary for 1st Court of Appeals, Place 5
We recommend Tim Hootman, 57, an experienced appellate lawyer who is known for having an atypical legal approach.
Robinson in Democratic primary for chief of the 14th Court of Appeals
We recommend Jane Robinson, 46, who is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Kronzer in Democratic primary for 14th Court of Appeals Place 7
We recommend Wally Kronzer, 65, who has extensive appellate court experience in state and federal courts.
Weiman in Democratic primary for 80th Harris County District Court
We recommend incumbent Larry Weiman, 64, who has been on this bench since 2008.
Harvey in the Democratic primary for the 164th Harris County District Court
We recommend Grant J. Harvey, 55, who is a highly regarded litigator who has participated in numerous trials and appeals.
Daic in the Democratic primary for the 165th Harris County District Court
We recommend Megan Daic, 34, for a court that needs a more efficient and decisive judge.
Acklin in the Democratic Primary for the 176th Harris County District Court
We recommend Bryan Acklin, 34, who is a former prosecutor and is now a criminal defense attorney.
Martinez in the Democratic Primary for the 179th Harris County District Court
We recommend Ana Martinez, 39, who gained a sterling reputation as a human trafficking prosecutor before she became a defense attorney.
Moore in the Democratic Primary for the 333th Harris County District Court
We recommend incumbent Daryl Moore, 58, who may be the most respected incumbent running in Harris County.
Kirkland in the Democratic Primary for the 334th Harris County District Court
We recommend incumbent Steven Kirkland, 59, who has been on this bench since 2016 and served on another civil bench and a municipal bench before that.
Gaido in the Democratic Primary for the 337th Harris County District Court
We recommend Colleen Gaido, 39, who is a respected former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney.
Bell in the Democratic Primary for the 339TH Harris County District Courts
We recommend Te’iva Bell, 39, who has served in the felony courts from three perspectives – as a prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney and a public defender. H
Powell in the Democratic Primary for the 351th Harris County District Court
We recommend incumbent George Powell, 54, who was elected to this bench in 2016.
Phillips in the Democratic Primary for the 507th Harris County District Court
We recommend C.C. “Sonny” Phillips, 59, who has been practicing family law, and occasionally appellate law, for 34 years.
They did actually say more about the candidates they recommend, and they noted who else was on the ballot. Go read all that for yourself. As noted, Weiman, Moore, Kirkland, and Powell are incumbents, while Harvey (Alex Smoots-Thomas), Daic (Ursula Hall), Acklin (Nikita Harmon), Martinez (Randy Roll), and Phillips (Julia Maldonado) are running against incumbents. Here are the Q&A’s I’ve run from candidates in these races:
Tim Hootman, 1st Court of Appeals, Place 5
Jane Robinson, Chief Justice, 14th Court of Appeals
Wally Kronzer, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 7
Grant Harvey, 164th Civil Court
Megan Daic, 165th Civil Court
Bryan Acklin, 176th Criminal Court
Ana Martinez, 179th Criminal Court
Judge Steven Kirkland, 334th Civil Court
Q&A’s from candidates not endorsed by the Chron:
Tamika Craft, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 7
V.R. “Velda” Faulkner, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 7
Lennon Wright, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 7
Cheryl Elliott Thornton, 164th Civil Court
Jimmie Brown, 165th Civil Court
Judge Randy Roll, 179th Criminal Court
Judge Julia Maldonado, 507th Family Court
Robert Morales, 507th Family Court
Q&A responses from Natalia Cornelio (351st Criminal Court) and Cheri Thomas (14th Court of Appeals, Place 7) are in the queue and will be published in the next couple of days. The Chron will do endorsements for the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals separately, and will not be endorsing in the County Court, Justice of the Peace, and Constable races. That’s one way to get through this long list of candidates and races in a (mostly) timely fashion.
One last thing: As is often the case with these judicial endorsements, I agree with some and not so much with others. The one that surprises me is the endorsement of Judge Powell. After the big deal the Chron made about not endorsing any judge or judicial candidate who didn’t support bail reform in 2018, it’s a bit jarring to see no mention at all of that subject in this context.
I think at the end of the day it weighed super heavy on the Chronicle’s editors that george powell- out of law school refused to work for the D A ‘s office opting instead to keep his law practice community based ,additionally im certain they took into consideration that this was Powell’s 1st term in office and hes not perfect and continues to learn on the job , lastly ,eyebrows were raised when his opponent opted to continue filing lawsuits against his ballot position even after the Democrat party was ordered to place him back on the primary ballot , ultimately i would suspect this moved the logic enough at chron HQ to throw the endorsement to powell.
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