Why are you seeking this bench and what 3 primary goals do you have in mind if you are elected?
1. In cases involving constitutional rights of a litigant, I intend to rely more on the Texas Constitution than the U.S. Constitution. Too often, state courts of appeal read similar provisions in both Constitutions as extending to exactly the same rights. We can exceed the rights granted under the U.S. Constitution, we just can't carve back rights granted under the U.S. Constitution.
2. In the role of Chief Justice, I have duties beyond the court as a member of the Courts of Appeal Chief Justices conference (or committee). My cause outside of the role as a Justice is to ensure that we continue to manage the judiciary's take of the State's budget so that we are spending the taxpayers monies wisely. The goal should be liberty and justice for all under a limited budget. I also would like to see state open records statutes apply to the nonjudicial aspects of the courts of this state. There is no reason why we can see statistics from each of the courts to know exactly how efficient our judges are!
3. My third goal is to change very little about the court's current operation. The train runs on schedule and the tracks are not in need of repair. In short, the system works, appears to be an efficient use of taxpayers' monies, and there are no immediate changes required. At no additional cost to the taxpayers, I plan to visit public fora within the 10 counties to explain what this court does, and why an intermediate court of appeals, such as the 9th, is necessary in our State's system of justice.
To what extent do you believe the state or federal government should be able to obtain court orders directing parents to do things for their children that the parent does not believe should be done?
I answer this question guardedly, as my response might be the basis for a call to recuse myself from a case in which this very issue is litigated in a matter. Absent compelling circumstances that the state legislature has specificly identified in a statute as constituting child abuse, the state has no business interfering with the care of a child. As to matters before federal courts, I cannot comment, as I would not have jurisdiction in federal matters were I to be elected to this state judgeship. I will faithfully apply the statutes of the State of Texas as written and I will not permit my personal beliefs to interfere with the bedrock principle of strict construction of statutes and constitutional provisions.
What carries the greatest influence on your rulings: case law, the Constitutions, or other?
In order of precedence, Texas Statutes, Texas Constitution, U.S. Constitution, decisions of the Texas Supreme Court/Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, decisions of other Texas Courts of Appeals, decisions of other state Supreme Courts that share similar values to the State of Texas, and lastly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
Depending on the type of case, this order of precedence may vary. I commit to adhering to always reviewing the law in each case to which I am assigned to make sure that the case is properly decided under any relevant statutes and the Texas Constitution before I declare that my vote on a case is bound by the doctrice of stare decisis.
Are the United States and Texas constitutions living documents? Please answer in the context of Progressivism versus Originalism.
The US and Texas Constitutions are documents that must be interpreted in accordance with the original intent of the drafters of this document. I reject Progressivism. As member of the Federalist Society, I have consistently held to this view. I object to those that say the Constitution is a living document, meaning it is to interpreted in accordance with the standards of today rather than under the standards that existed at the time of the founding of this nation (and this state). Constitutions are living documents to the extent that they are what governs us today, but that is not how they are interpreted.
Please list the key differences between you & your opponent(s) in this race & why your experience/position is better.
1. I have had a greater variety of life's experiences than my opponents.
a. I am an appellate prosecutor for Hardin County -- I represent the State of Texas before this 9th Court of Appeals on all appellate mattters and responses to writs of habeas corpus.
b. I started my professional career as a command, control and communications engineer at the Pentagon during the Reagan buildup. My engineering mindset is what distinguishes me from my opponents -- I don't have a trial lawyers' mindset, I am much more analytical than most of my opponents (and many other lawyers).
c. I have dealt with personal matters that most have not had to deal with -- including resisting a hospital telling our family that we had to put in do not rescusitate orders on my very ill disabled daughter. I bring a different sense of empathy for the common man to the table of having to deal with those that would discard life and do not regard all life as precious. I am unabashedly and unapolegitcally Pro-Life.
d. I am a small business lawyer, and I have represented a family in this judicial district in a foreclosure matter to try to save their house. I represented BlackBerry when it was Research in Motion as its Chief Legal Officer, and felt like David taking on Goliath when I negotiated major contracts with the Merrill Lynch's, AT+T's and even Compaq's of the world, where we had, at best, less than one percent of the revenue of the other party in the negotiation, and less than one percent of the staff of the other party. The short version of this is I am a champion of the small business owner, the family and the individual, but I am also a capitalist that understands that biasing judicial decisions against the big guy is just as wrong as the little guy not getting a fair shake.
e. As this position is the Chief Justice position, as best as I can tell, I am the only one with significant management experience both within and outside the legal profession. I was the head of BlackBerry Europe, where I had over 100 non-legal employees reporting to me. When I was the Chief Legal Officer of BlackBerry, we had a small, agressive legal department of 12 that I was the head of. One would hope that the next Chief Justice would have adminstrative and executive experience -- I believe I am the only candidate who has been the chief of anything, as I have been the Chief Legal Officer of a publicly traded company.
f. I have monitored elections on behalf of the Republican National Lawyers Association and in 2016 on behalf of the Trump Campaign. In 2012 and 2016 I was part of the election day operations team of lawyers in Ohio to counteract Democrat Party infractions of state and federal election laws. Election Integrity is an important part of what I believe in if we are meant to keep the Republic that our forebearers fought to establish.
Please describe the best way for the average voter to determine which judicial candidate is best.
Ideally in a face to face meeting, but in the absence of that, by reading everything you can about them, including, especially, any statements by organizations who have vetted or at least interviewed the candidate. The key determiner for me is whether the candidate shares my values and is willing to not legislate from the bench, but rather apply the laws as written.
What role should government have in reforming criminals?
That is not an issue that the Court of Appeals needs to deal with. That is a political issue best left to the legislature to determine the role of government. It is clear to me that the Court of Appeals should have no role.
Please describe what you believe are the most significant issues in this race, why and what you'll do to address them?
There do not appear to be any significant issues in this race. The current court of appeals seems to be guided by conservative justices whose views and consistent with my own when it comes to strict constructionism. I am not sure we want judges to do anything other than their job. This race is all about who is the best person for the job. The only thing I intend to do about that is win this race.
My issue is that most people don't know much about this court. I intend to use my own time to educate those who have an interest in the function of this court and why this court is important.
Please describe the qualifications and experience that make you the best candidate for the office you are seeking.
Please see the answer to the question above as to why I am better than my opponents. Also, please go to my linkedin page, www.linkedin.com/in/CharlesMeyer for my full resume.
I will highlight that I was an associate editor of the American University Law Review, and a student editor of the Commonwealth Law Review at the University of Oxford. I have two law degrees -- one from American and one from Oxford. I have two STEM degrees -- a BS from UVa and a MS from Geo. Wash. Univ.
Please describe the changes you will make to improve the efficiency of your court, yet remain thoughful about rulings/orders - that allows all parties to be heard and their arguments considered. Please specifically address how many days a year your court will be “in session.”
The court of appeals operates like a factory in some respects. The court is obligated by the legislature to dispose of as many cases as it takes in. For example, I believe last year, the court had 500 filings in all aspects of civil law and criminal law. It had do dispose of that many cases before year end.
In many respects the court is always in session, as cases have to be voted one and opinions issued once they are decided and written. This court is particularly efficienty, and there is no backlog becuase of the legislative mandate.
I certainly will not disrupt the current efficiency of this court, but I commit to continuous improvement if there is any way to improve the court's operations.
Among the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court(SCOTUS), which one do you respect the most, and why? Which one do you respect the least, and why? What judicial philosophy should a SCOTUS Justice have?
With the passing of Justice Scalia, I would have to say Justice Clarence Thomas. He is, in my view, the most thoughtful and consistent conservative on the bench. I am fortunate that I was able to hear both Justices speak before The Federalist Society meetings over the past few years.
As to the other justices, pick any one of the liberal justices. Any justice that is not an originalist is not one of my favorites! A SCOTUS Justice should be an orginalist, strict-constructionist and dedicated to preserving our founding fathers' intent!
Do you think judges should be elected by the people, or appointed by a commission?
This is not a decision for a judge to make. This is a political decision. I will say that I have worked for a federal judge appointed by a President (Reagan), and a State Supreme Court Justice (Republican) elected by the people. Both were good, thoughtful judges, and very good at their job. Their method of attaining their position had nothing to do with the quality of their decisions.
Although I see merits in both systems, provided a commission appointment gives the citizens the right to vote out in a retention election a judge who was a bad choice, I am more comfortable allowing the citizens to vote on those who will be their judges, especially over a committee of bureaucrats. But it is important that the members of the judiciary are as transparent as possible when it comes to the operations of the court systems. It is also important that as many organizations as are possible actually vet candidates so that someone who might be a great trial lawyer but would be a poor judge doesn't get elected.
What amount of indigent defense is appropriate for the State/Montgomery County? And why?
When it comes to criminal matters at the appellate level, I am troubled by the lack of quality brief writing I see from Criminal Defense attorneys for whom the taxpayers foot the bill. Under my contract with the Hardin County District Attorney's office, I am allowed to bill $90 an hour for usually a maximum of 4 hours. I doubt that the tax payers get as cheap a bill from defense attorneys, but the appellant does have a harder task given the burden placed on the appellant at the phase of the prosecution.
Having said that, the question is whether the rate of indigent defense is appropriate is a matter of risk tolerance. If a criminal defendant is not afforded adequate counsel at any stage, he or she has had her Constitutional right violated. Which means further proceedings post conviction, which the State has to respond to. Most of those proceedings are before the numbered courts of appeal or the Federal Courts. In all cases, society pays for those post-conviction claims too. So, to some degree it is a question of paying now or paying later when someone claims that their counsel was ineffective.
I have no visibility into the amount spent on indigent defense in other courts or for prosecuting criminals at the trial level. In an ideal, Goldilocks world, we would spend enough that the criminal defendant is afforded an attorney who is effective, but no more than what is constitutionally required. It is up to the legislature not the courts to draw those lines.
CSPOA says "Civil forfeiture laws pose one of the greatest threats to property rights in the nation today. They encourage law enforcement to favor the pursuit of property over the pursuit of justice, and they typically give the innocent little recourse for recovering seized property. And without meaningful transparency, law enforcement faces little public accountability for its forfeiture activity or expenditures from forfeiture funds." How should these Civil Forfieture issues be addressed?
I believe I am on the public record when I was running for a non-judicial positon as opposing Civil forfeiture laws for the reasons stated in this question. The Court of Appeals should not have any role in addressing this issues. It is a matter for the Legislature to address. Until the laws are changed, a court should not attempt to intervene. The only situation that I could forsee Court of Appeals involvement is when a case is brought alleging a Constitutional violation under the Texas or US Constitutions. I cannot prejudge a case when I don't have facts that are particular to that type of case, and even if I did have such a set of facts, I am ethically bound not to comment futher.
Understanding that all courts in MoCo have general jurisdiction, the board of judges has moved towards specialized courts. What types of cases are currently filed in the court you are running for? What is your experiences to handle this specific case type? Are you planning on asking to change the case allocation or case type assigned to the court you are running for if you win?
55 percent of the court of appeals docket is criminal, 45 percent civil (including family). I am an appellate prosecutor.
I have been a business lawyer for over 30 years. I have represented clients at the trial level and at the appellate level in the civil sphere, and I have also been the drafter of an amicus brief on aspects of Texas Trade Secret law on behalf of the Texas tech company communities.
There is no reason or possibility to change case allocation at the court of appeals level. The court processes all that is gets in. The State legislature can change the court's jurisdiction, but there is no call to do that as far as I am aware. The chief justice and the other justices write the opinions on a rotation basis. Each of the justices writes opinions in all areas of law before the court. I do not have any plans to change this in the assignment of cases.
In your view, what is the threshold for determining constitutionality of a legislative act? or a challenge to it?
It depends on the Constitututional provision, and whether it is a Texas Constitutional issue or a US Constitutional issue.
Unless the Texas Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals has stated what the threshold should be under the Texas Constitution for a particular provision, then I am biased toward strict scrutiny of governmental actions when it comes to our civil rights and liberties and rational basis for most everything else. Unlike my opponents, I prefer to resolve matters under the Texas Consitution and have the intellectual freedom to interpret the Texas Constitution independently from the same provisions in the U.S. Constitution. I am persuaded that we are not doing ourselves any failure by taking the easy way out and interpreting our state constitution in the exact same way we interpret our US Constitution.
Please list civic, political or union organization or individuals to whom you have contributed (five years):
The Federalist Society
The Republican National Lawyers Association
Sons of the American Revolution
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Woodlands Rotary Club
The Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce
Knights of Columbus
I am an associate member of various Republican Women Clubs in Montgomery and Jefferson County
I have given money to the Montogmery Tea Party, the Texas Patriots PAC, the Tri-County Tea Party, and the Montgomery Eagle Forum, but I think that was more than 5 years ago.
Please list all conservative groups for which you are or have been a member, and list any positions held in each group.
I am an active member of the Federalist Society, which some might say is a conservative legal group. I have been a member for at least 10 years, probably longer. I have never sought a leadership position in either the Houston Chapter or the National organization.
Please list who is endorsing you and what their relationship to you is?
I am not seeking individual endorsements, and to date, I have not been applied for endorsement by any organization.
Probably my wife and mom and dad would endorse me, but I don't find personal endorsements to be very persuasive.
You are asking for the Republican nomination, what have you done to give back to the GOP?
I have been a delegate to the National Convention in 2016.
I have been a long-time member of the Republican National Lawyers Association working on vote integrity issues.
I have blocked walked for a Judicial Candidate (other than myself) for Governor Abbott, for a Congressional Candidate in a runoff election (CD36) and for a Pasadena City Council Candidate (a Republican)
I served as a one-meeting parliamentarian for the Montgomery County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting.
I offered my assistance to Reagan Reid to improve the bylaws of the county party.
