Supreme Court of Texas Democratic Candidates

	JUDGE JIM JORDAN For Texas Supreme Court, Chief Justice www.judgejimjordan.com
	SAM HOUSTON For Texas Supreme Court, Place 7 www.samhoustonforjustice.com
	JUSTICE LINA YANEZ For Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 www.lindayanez.com

The Supreme Court of Texas is composed of a Chief Justice plus eight Justices and it is the court of last resort for civil matters in the State of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters. The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide elections. When a vacancy arises the Governor of Texas may appoint Justices, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election. Five of the current Justices, a majority, have been appointed by Governor Rick Perry (R) and all the current Justices, like all the Judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, are members of the Republican party. All justices are elected to a "court place position" in state-wide general elections. Other than Place 1, which is reserved as the Chief Justice place position, the Supreme Court place numbers have no special significance.

To stand for election a person must be at least 35 years of age, a United States and Texas citizen, licensed to practice law in Texas, and must have practiced law at least 10 years. By statute, the Texas Supreme Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas, an agency of the judiciary. The Texas Supreme Court also has the sole authority to license attorneys in Texas, and appoint members of the Board of Law Examiners, which under instructions of the Supreme Court, administers the Texas State Bar Examination. Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas.

Additional information on the Supreme Court of Texas can be found on the campaign website of Judge Jim Jordan.

All nine sitting justices on the Texas Supreme Court, who are members of the Republican Party, received an “F” on a new scorecard released by Court Watch, a non-profit consumer project that monitors the state’s highest court. “The Texas Supreme Court has failed Texas families,” said Alex Winslow, Executive Director of the Texas Watch Foundation, which operates the Court Watch project. “Sadly, this is not surprising. The Texas Supreme Court has become a safe haven for corporate defendants seeking refuge from accountability.”

Court Watch reviewed each of the 110 opinions issued by the Court during the 2005-2006 term, 69 of which are classified as consumer cases. Court Watch determined how often each justice sided with consumers. With just a 39% record of voting in favor of consumers, Justice Harriet O’Neill had the Court’s highest consumer score. Meanwhile, Justice Don Willett had the lowest rate with a minuscule 11%. The average pro-consumer score was a paltry 22%.

Winslow points out that it is not surprising that the Court would find in favor of insurance, medical, governmental, and other corporate interests over individual consumers. In the 10 years that Court Watch has been monitoring and reporting on the Court’s decisions, the Texas Supreme Court has consistently and overwhelmingly ruled against Texas families.

“Year in and year out, the Texas Supreme Court distinguishes itself as an activist, pro-defendant Court,” said Winslow.

The report also found the following results:

The Court ruled against consumers a whopping 84% of the time. This is the highest consumer loss rate in Court Watch’s 10-year history. The Court tied its highest defendant win rate at 82%. The Court voted in lockstep. With an average rate of agreement with the majority of 90%, the Court lacks any real dissenting voices. The Court overturned citizen juries in consumer cases a staggering 81% of the time.

Every voter in Texas will have the opportunity to replace three of the Republican Texas Supreme Court Justices with three highly qualified Democratic Justices.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Democratic Candidates

	SUSAN STRAWN For Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 www.susanstrawn.com
	J.R. MOLINA For Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4 Candidate's background

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas and is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight Judges. The Presiding Judge and eight remaining Judges are elected to "court place positions" in staggered six-year terms by state-wide general election. The court place position has no special significance. The appeal of all cases in which the death penalty has been assessed go directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial courts. The appeals of all other criminal cases go to one of the fourteen Courts of Appeals in Texas, however, their decisions may also be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

To stand for election a person must be at least 35 years of age, a United States and Texas citizen, licensed to practice law in Texas, and must have practiced law at least 10 years. When a vacancy arises the Governor of Texas may appoint Judges to the Court of Criminal Appeals, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election. Like the Texas Supreme Court, the Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals are currently all members of the Republican Party. Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas.

Fifth District Court of Appeals Democratic Candidates

	DON B. CHAE For 5th District Court of Appeals, Place 3 www.chaeforjustice.com
	JUDGE DAVID HANSCHEN For 5th District Court of Appeals, Place 6 www.davidforjustice.com
	JUDGE TINA YOO For 5th District Court of Appeals, Place 8 www.judgetinayoo.com

The Texas District Courts of Appeals are distributed in fourteen districts around the state of Texas. The Courts of Appeal have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases appealed from district or county courts. Like the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals are elected to six-year terms by general election. Appeals from Collin, Dallas, Kaufman, Rockwall and Grayson counties (map) are all heard by the 5th District Court of Appeals, which includes one Chief Justice and 12 and twelve other Justices. In the 2008 General Election Democratic Candidates are running for three of those twelve 5th Court of Appeals places. Both civil and criminal appeals are typically heard by a panel of three justices, unless in a particular case an en banc hearing is ordered, in which instance all the justices of that Court hear and consider the case. (Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas)
Click on the Texas District Courts of Appeals
district numbers in the map below.

	Houston Fort Worth Austin San Antonio Dallas Texarkana Amarillo El Paso Beaumont Waco Eastland Tyler Corpus Christi Houston
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Texas Railroad Commission Democratic Candidate

MARK THOMPSON For Texas Railroad Commissioner www.markfortexas.com

There are three individuals who serve together on the Texas Railroad Commission. Railroad Commissioners serve six year terms, with one commissioner seeking state wide election every two years, including this year. The Texas Railroad Commission is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining.

As is suggested by its name, the Railroad Commission was initially created to regulate railroads, terminals, wharves and express companies within the state. Pipelines were added to the commission's jurisdiction in 1917, followed by the oil and gas industry in 1919 and gas utilities in 1920.

Effective October 1, 2005, the Railroad Commission of Texas no longer has regulatory authority over railroads, nor does it have jurisdiction over public utility companies.