Why are you seeking this bench and what 3 primary goals do you have in mind if you are elected?
To best address this question, I have to start at why I first ran for district judge in 2012, and that is because I was tired of complaining about what a terrible job the 12-year incumbent judge was doing. That judge had the highest backlog, was the least efficient, and had the most reversals of any district judge in Galveston County. In addition, he was soft on crime. No one seemed willing to step up to run against him, so I did and took more than a 50% pay cut to serve. Within my first term, I transformed the court into the most efficient, most effective district court in the county with the lowest backlog. While serving on this general jurisdiction bench, about 70% of my time was spent on felony criminal matters. I loved the criminal law matters and was naturally very good at it. Therefore, in 2018, when there was an opening on the Court of Criminal Appeals, I saw it as an opportunity to serve a greater number of Texans. In addition, I had taken issue with some of the decisions from the Court where, in my opinion, the Court failed to apply a strict interpretation to the statutes at issue. I saw this as an opportunity to apply my constitutional conservative and originalist judicial philosophy to ensure that statutes and the US and Texas Constitutions were properly construed. Therefore, after discussing it with my family and praying about it, I believed that God put it on my heart to run for this current position and has now put it on my heart to run for re-election.
The following are my three primary goals:
(1) Increase the disposition rate to reduce backlog. Even though the Court already has an over 100% disposition rate, there is always room for improvement. There is a large learning curve for this job. Over the years, I have been able to become more efficient at the job and will work hard to continue that increased efficiency level.
(2) Educate the public about the Texas court system. Most Texans are ignorant about the court structure in Texas and how our justice system functions. Over the years, I have taken every opportunity to speak to groups to educate as many people as I can. I will continue to do so over the coming years.
(3) Remind attorneys and judges of their roles and obligations. During my tenure on the Court, I have been faced with many cases where attorneys and/or judges have ignored or have been ignorant about their roles, duties and obligations and have therefore failed to promote justice. To address this, I have written numerous side opinions in such cases to call out and call attention to the problems. I plan to continue doing so. In fact, you can read about one such opinion which was featured in the Houston Chronicle's top news story on Monday, December 4, 2023.
Are the United States and Texas constitutions living documents? Please answer in the context of Progressivism versus Originalism.
Absolutely not! I live by the following quote from the 1930 Texas Supreme Court opinion in Ferguson v. Wilcox:
“The Constitution is the repository of the people’s will. Its provisions are fixed as of the date[] of its adoption. These provisions are the same at all times thereafter. They are superior to all laws enacted thereunder. That many of the provisions of the Constitution are inconvenient and work hardships at times is well recognized. As citizens we might wish relief in many respects from its rigor, but as a court we must respect its mandates.”
In fact, it is because I am constitutional conservative and an originalist that I had to respect the 1876 ratifying voters' will and join the Court's opinion in State v. Stephens that declared unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution, the Election Code provision that purported to allow the Attorney General to unilaterally prosecution election law violations. My dissenting opinion on rehearing in State v. Stephens is linked in my website, www.JudgeMichelleSlaughter.com. It walks the reader through Texas History to explain why the Texas Constitution mandated the decision the Court reached.
What carries the greatest influence on your rulings: case law, the Constitutions, or other?
The Constitution is the superior law of the land. Next, are the statutes enacted by our elected legislators. Case law should only be used persuasive authority. Case law should never be used if it contradicts the plain language (and original meaning) of the Constitution or a statute.
Please describe the best way for the average voter to determine which judicial candidate is best.
The best way to determine the best judicial candidate is to examine that candidate's track record as a judge. Has that judge exhibited a commitment to a strict interpretation of the law as it is written and as it was originally intended? I have that track record. In addition, for a position on the Court of Criminal Appeals, experience is critical. When I joined the Court in January 2019, I had six years of experience as a district judge and nine years of experience as a litigator having tried cases to judges and juries in all court levels. I also had state and federal appellate experience. Despite all of this experience, there was a huge learning curve and the tremendous workload was like drinking from a firehose. As a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals, one of the busiest appellate courts in the nation, you must have the knowledge, experience, excellent work ethic, commitment, dedication to the rule of law, and a passion for the work. I am the only candidate for Place 8 who has all of these qualities.
Do you believe in the right of the people to jury nullification as jurors in criminal courts? Why or why not?
As a judge, I took an oath to uphold the law. Jury nullification is not supported under the law. We elect representatives to create the laws. As judges, our role is to strictly interpret and apply those laws as written and as intended by the representatives we elect. We are required to provide to the jury the law applicable to the case and instruct that jury to follow the law. That being said, when I was a trial judge, I never prevented attorneys from arguing for jury nullification, which they did on a few occasions.
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?
The only time the government should be able to override the beliefs and will of a parent is if that child is being physically harmed - beaten (beyond mere spanking), starved, etc. But otherwise, parents should always have the right to raise their children the way they see fit.
Please describe the qualifications and experience that make you the best candidate for the office you are seeking.
First and foremost, I am a proven constitutional conservative and originalist. Second, I have 11 years of judicial experience. I have served as a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for five years and am seeking re-election to my second term. As a member of the Court, from January 1, 2019 through the present, I have authored more than 80 published opinions and have participated in deciding more than twenty thousand criminal law matters. I also currently serve as an adjunct law professor for Baylor Law School where I help teach a quarterly Criminal Law Bootcamp.
Before being elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals, I served six years as judge of the 405th District Court where I presided over thousands of civil and felony criminal cases and conducted hundreds of bench and jury trials.
Before being elected as a judge, I was a practicing attorney for nine years and earned the distinction of being named a "Rising Star" by the Super Lawyers edition of Texas Monthly magazine. As an attorney, I worked for two large international law firms and had my own successful law practice.
I received my bachelors degree magna cum laude from the University of Houston and my law degree cum laude (top 15%) from the University of Houston Law Center. While in law school, I interned for two federal district judges and for the Texas First Court of Appeals.
What 2 things about your opponent do the voters need to know?
(1) His experience is woefully inadequate to be a judge on the criminal supreme court. My opponent has never been a judge and seems to have next to no appellate law experience and has never filed anything in the Court of Criminal Appeals. I can find only one instance where in 2014 he filed a criminal appeal, and it was dismissed. He has filed only one petition for discretionary review, which was with the Texas Supreme Court, and that was solely as an amicus and was filed jointly with several other attorneys. His only other appellate filing was a petition for a writ of mandamus which was summarily dismissed by the court of appeals. In addition, based on a search of Collin County court records, my opponent's criminal law experience appears to be limited almost exclusively to misdemeanor cases. The vast majority of cases in the Court of Criminal Appeals involves serious felony cases.
(2) He doesn't know how to follow the law. My opponent conducted campaign activities for several weeks without having filed a campaign treasurer designation. That is an ethics violation.
And, while you ask for two things, I will add one more. My opponent apparently cannot manage his personal finances and does not fulfill his financial obligations. In a final judgment from the 366th Judicial District Court dated April 4, 2023, the trial court entered awarded a mortgage serving company more than $440,000 in damages and an award for $140,000 in attorneys fees against my opponent and his wife for failing to make the payments on their home equity loan. That case is currently on appeal. If my opponent cannot manage his own finances, how can we trust him to manage the Court's multi-million-dollar taxpayer-funded budget?
What role should government have in reforming criminals?
I am not sure that I understand the question. Perhaps you can clarify this question so that I can answer it in my interview.
How relevent today is Blackstone's maxim "All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously; for the law holds it better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent party suffer".
This is still relevant today. In a felony criminal case, the stakes are the highest - a person's liberty and/or life. The State must be able to prove each and every element of its case beyond a reasonable doubt. If the State fails on any element, the defendant must be found to be "not guilty." While we do not want guilty people to escape without consequence, that is a better option than an innocent person losing his liberty or life.
What Texas State court decision do you think has most impacted society? How and Why?
~Not Answered Yet~
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?
Judges must follow the law as it is written. But in these types of cases, as a trial judge, I always made sure the State crossed its t's and dotted its i's and provided proper notice to the criminal defendant. I also always gave that defendant every opportunity to respond. I think civil forfeiture can serve as a deterrent and punishment for criminal behavior and a way to supplement law enforcement funding so that fewer tax payer dollars are wasted. But I also believe the legislature should enact stronger due process guarantees for defendants in these types of cases.
In your view, what is the threshold for determining constitutionality of a legislative act? or a challenge to it?
I am not sure I understand this question. Perhaps you can clarify it, and we can discuss it in my in-person interview.
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.”
I think the only way for the Court of Criminal Appeals to become more efficient is to: (1) keep the current judges in place; and (2) allow each judge to hire an additional research attorney like the Supreme Court is allowed to do.
The Court of Criminal Appeals judges all work hard and try to be as efficient as possible. Some cases are more challenging and complex than others, which require more time to ensure that the Court's opinions are thoroughly thought through. Despite the fact that the Court reviews many highly complex cases and despite the Court having about three times the number of filings as the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals' disposition rate is over 100%. Efficiency for each judge increases with more time and experience. When I first joined the Court, I had a huge learning curve and the workload was staggering. But over time, I have become more and more efficient. It is the same way for any new judge joining the Court. Therefore, the longer the tenure of the judges on the Court, the more efficient the Court is as whole.
As to my second point, the Texas Supreme Court receives about a third of the filings as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and issues far fewer opinions than we do. Despite this, the Texas Supreme Court justices are able to hire more staff who work directly for their justices than the Court of Criminal Appeals judges can. If each of our judges had the ability to hire an additional research attorney to assist us, we could become even more efficient. But the tradeoff is, of course, the additional cost to the taxpayers.
Regarding how many days a year our court is in session, I would need to know how you define that. I personally work on my cases almost every single day, including the weekends and when I am on vacation. So none of our judges actually get days "off." I believe a lot of our staff works the same way. They are always available when we need them.
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?
Justice Clarence Thomas. He is a constitutional conservative and originalist like I am. I agree with almost every (if not every) opinion he has written. I respect Justice Jackson the least, because she could not even define what woman is when asked.
A SCOTUS justice should be a constitutional conservative and originalist.
If elected, do you think you'd be invited to participate in the Freedom Caucus? Why or why not?
If I was elected to the legislature, then I believe I would be invited to participate in the Freedom Caucus based on my track record as a conservative.
