Why are you seeking this bench and what 3 primary goals do you have in mind if you are elected?
Follow the Constitution and laws, maintain consistency and predictability in our opinions, and administer the business of the Court effectively and efficiently.
Are the United States and Texas constitutions living documents? Please answer in the context of Progressivism versus Originalism.
No, they are not living documents. A judge should follow the Constitutions as written instead of substituting his policy preferences for those of the citizens.
What carries the greatest influence on your rulings: case law, the Constitutions, or other?
The Constitutions. Neither the courts nor the legislature can override them.
Please describe the best way for the average voter to determine which judicial candidate is best.
There are two things voters should consider. First, a judge's entire body of work reveals what kind of judge he is. Second, voters should consider a judge's experience for the position sought. In my time at the Court of Criminal Appeals, I have proven myself to be a true conservative, following the Constitution faithfully rather than substituting my policy preferences. Second, I am the longest-serving Presiding Judge in the history of the Court. I am familiar not only with criminal appellate law and how our judges address cases before us, but with the administrative side of the position. I am effetively the chief operating officer of an entity with a budget of about $23 million per year, and I have decades of experience in that administrative role.
Do you believe in the right of the people to jury nullification as jurors in criminal courts? Why or why not?
I don't. I think jurors are supposed to follow the law, just as judges are.
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 am opposed to the government overriding parents' rights, and I am horrified at what has happened in some of the cases where that has been done. I think children can be removed from parents who criminally abuse them, and parents can be required to see that their children are educated, but short of that, the government should defer to parents.
Please describe the qualifications and experience that make you the best candidate for the office you are seeking.
My experience on the Court makes me uniquely qualified to be Presiding Judge. I have served on the Court for almost 29 years, 23 of which are as Presiding Judge. I know how the Court operates, both as a judge with a caseload and as the administrator of the business of the Court. I have written or voted on virtually every opinion from the Court since 1995: I know criminal appellate law. I have a proven record of following the Constitutions and laws. In my job as administrative head of the Court, I have prepared legislative appropriation requests, testified before the legislature, and ensured that Court operations run efficiently. As Chair of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, I have been instrumental in transforming the indigent defense systems in Texas and ensuring that counties have the help they need in that regard. I live and work in Austin, which is critical for administrative purposes. Collegial relationships with the other judges is also important, and I consider all of the judges on our Court to be friends. Three of our judges recently nominated me for a lifetime achievement award fro the Judicial Section of the State Bar, and I was awarded that honor.
What 2 things about your opponent do the voters need to know?
Any opponent for this position will lack the experience and knowledge necessary to perform the job as well as I do.
Post-conviction habeas corpus cases make up most of our docket, and death penalty cases take more time per case than most other kinds of cases. Any opponent who is not familiar with those kinds of cases will be at a disadvantage as a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals,
What role should government have in reforming criminals?
The government can help prevent criminals who are released from prison from further harming the public by helping prepare them for life after release. I have participated in many meetings of the Reentry and Integration Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. As a member of the board of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, I was involved in the passage of the Second Chance Act, the goal of which is to help turn criminals into law-abiding citizens. No one could fairly accuse me of being soft on crime, but we all benefit when a criminal reforms his life and becomes a contributing member of society.
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".
I don't agree that it is an "either/or" proposition. We have rules for the admission of evidence. The rules in Texas are virtually the same as the rules in federal courts, and they were adopted only after much study by those most familiar with criminal practice. Following those rules protects the innocent while allowing proof against the guilty. To the extent that a trial judge has discretion in the admission of certain evidence, I trust our trial judges to use that discretion wisely.
What Texas State court decision do you think has most impacted society? How and Why?
One of our most important decisions was our opinion ordering the prosecution against Governor Rick Perry dismissed. By holding one of the statutes used against him to be unconstitutional, we protected and upheld the separation of powers provision of our Texas Constitution. The decision was important to society because it stopped a policitally-based prosecution in its tracks.
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 have seen the benefits of civil forfeiture law when, for instance, a sheriff is able to use a car that was bought by a drug dealer with the proceeds of his crime. But civil forfeiture law has been abused as well. There needs to be more oversight. Civil cases do not come before our Court, so my familiarity with the process is limited.
In your view, what is the threshold for determining constitutionality of a legislative act? or a challenge to it?
We defer to the legislature when it is possible, but it is our job to uphold the Constitution when a law conflicts with it. In my time on the Court, we have rarely found a law unconstitutional, but sometimes we do. One example is the opinion I wrote for the Court in the prosecution of Governor Rick Perry, holding that some parts of his prosecution violated the Texas Constitution and ordering the prosecution dismissed.
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 have made countless changes to improve our efficiency over the years. From little (but important) things like deciding to scan our records instead of pay for storage for paper copies, to big things like for the first time at the Court adopting deadlines for circulating opinions, I have transformed the operation of the Court. I continue to look for ways to improve our efficiency.
Because our caseload is so large, we decide most cases on briefs instead of with oral argument.
Our Court meets weekly for conference, with some exceptions during the summer and over Christmas. We meet by Zoom to discuss and vote on opinions once or twice during July and August, but even when we don't meet in conference, we hand down orders. Our goal is to use the time during July and August to catch up on opinion-writing. We hand down opinions and orders almost every week. I work at the Court in person every weekday and often on weekends.
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?
I respect many of the justices, but I respect Clarence Thomas the most. He abides by the Constitution as it is written, and he has continued to do so in spite of being unfairly accused of unethical behavior.
I don't usually agree with Justice Jackson. I find her arguments unpersuasive and I have less respect for her ability as a judge than I do for many of the other members of the Supreme Court.
A Justice of the Supreme Court should uphold the Constitution as it is written, and recognize that his own policy preferences have no bearing on how a case should be decided.
If elected, do you think you'd be invited to participate in the Freedom Caucus? Why or why not?
Not applicable to this position.
